What is it with sheeple and chain restaurants ?

DdBob

DdBob

Dogue in teh desert
It's certainly not the first I've noticed it but on the way home this evening passing two different malls with their Chedders, their Cheesecake factory's, their Red lobsters, Olive Gardens, Texas Roadhouse...you name it and they all got like thrity people waiting outside in the heat...I'm like
Charlie-Day-WTF.gif


I'm wondering if these people know that there are p[lenty of non chain restaurants off the main drag...nice and mellow with better food and cheaper prices....I'm truly dumbfounded. Are these people or are these sheeple :confused: I don't get the draw...long wait, loud enviornment where converstion is a chore, high prices, phoney service and no relaxation...just wtf is the draw *spits*
 
Wake up, sheeple!

Yeah I agree about waiting to get in. I won’t turn my nose up at a mlcr in some situations, if I’m hungry enough. Can’t stand waiting to get in though.
 
I think the general argument is that people don't want good/interesting food, they want predictable/familiar food, and TGI olive chilis, etc delivers that.
 
The whole premise of food franchise. Predictable slop at predictable prices. Bleh. I tend to solve this using the (IMO) nice trend of local quality breweries to find a decent rated local brewpub with locally made brew, and decent pub food. I then don't order anything to fancy that is beyond a typical pub's abilities. I generally am pleased. :)

Unless in Seattle, or on the coast somewhere, where I seek out good seafood.
 
yabba said:
I think the general argument is that people don't want good/interesting food, they want predictable/familiar food, and TGI olive chilis, etc delivers that.
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Actually Trader Joe's success has been going against that general argument. They don't do focus groups or surveys to get people's opinions, they send buyers all over the world and come up with new food items to push on the public. Now that they're having grand openings all over middle America, with lines around the block for opening day and no mass media advertising, they must be doing something right. The day after they open in Kansas City or some similar town, people are buying hummus, thai noodles, and a hundred other unfamiliar things they never heard of before. Restaurants could follow that model, but you need actual talent to come up with the menu.
 
We used to have this phenomenon in Florida. In season, when the old people from the north and middle of the country come to their timeshares and condos, the lines for these national chain restaurants are out into the parking lots and the waits are measured in hours. Off season, the places are ghost towns and some of them even close down. I think it is just old people that are afraid to take a chance on something they have never tried. I suppose the massive portions and cheap food doesn't hurt either. They prefer Olive Garden and playing canasta with people just like themselves as they ride out their golden year in a air conditioned box where they can join or fight with a condo board.

The town I lived in had a Michelin star restaurant, some of the best local seafood in the country, a series of amazing local chefs, big resort hotel high end places, and an awesome dive restaurant bar gastropub scene....yet every night the line outside Outback was 100 people deep.
 
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BlockInlay said:
Americans don’t enjoy good food. They enjoy getting an obscene amount of sub-par food off a dull menu at a perceived discount. That’s why they pile up at those crappy chains.
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do they have coupons? because if you look at those MLCR's their prices are generally like 15.95 for mac-n-cheese and a mud pie is like 7.50
 
rickenvox said:
Actually Trader Joe's success has been going against that general argument. They don't do focus groups or surveys to get people's opinions, they send buyers all over the world and come up with new food items to push on the public. Now that they're having grand openings all over middle America, with lines around the block for opening day and no mass media advertising, they must be doing something right. The day after they open in Kansas City or some similar town, people are buying hummus, thai noodles, and a hundred other unfamiliar things they never heard of before. Restaurants could follow that model, but you need actual talent to come up with the menu.
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I lived in Kansas City when they opened Trader Joe’s there. People knew about Thai food and hummus before TJ showed up.

I think the appeal of TJ is bargain prepared foods that are slightly different than grocery store foods. Frozen curries, pirates booty, pumpkin spiced Oreos, etc. Plus the budget price craft beer and cheap wine.

Trader Joe’s is a gussied up convenience store.
 
The MLCR (corporate chain or franchise) offers some very real benefits for people looking for a meal:

Generally kid-friendly
Held to standards for cleanliness and quality
Menus are accessible and broad—something for everyone in a large group
They’re in that sweet spot of affordable but not so cheap that your “going out” seems tawdry or unimportant
Serve booze, but not in a rowdy bar environment
Atmosphere is safe and predictable—no rough crowds, surly regulars, possibility of winding up in an uncomfortable “in the wrong place” situation
Close to hotels, shopping, movie theaters, other amenities
Acceptable for bland social situations like birthdays, after church meals, celebrating a good report card, etc.

In a lot of towns MLCR are the most readily visible places to eat. And you can assume that they’re decent. There’s a bunch of little taquerias near my house. By how is someone new to town or someone squeamish supposed to know which ones are good and which ones suck? If they drive out to Uncle Julio’s at the mall, they’ll get some serviceable tacos. Sure, they won’t be amazing...but they won’t be gross either. Noodles and Company (fast casual, but still) is not going to be great, but you don’t run the risk of almost accidentally ordering tripe in your pho and grossing yourself out because the menu was poorly translated. (Hi, mom.)

And if you have to travel to boring places for work, MLCRs are a god send. They are priced within tolerance for expense reports. You can pretty readily ID those meals that won’t kill you instantly now that some nutritional info is printed on menus, and the food is at least recognizable vs what’s in the drive through.

When I’m on the road for work, I do all sorts of crazy shit after hours. Driving 45 minutes into the boonies to some crab shack on the side of the road because the Yelp reviews were good. Driving an hour into a totally different city at night because I want noodles. But some folks don’t feel safe doing that. So the TGIFridays in the parking lot of the hotel serves a useful purpose. (Plus you can drink there when you get back from your crab adventure and then stumble back you your room.)
 
I know that, if I am travelling, the chain restaurants are located right off the highway and are highly visible. The local places are not as visible and I don't know where to find them; I don't even know they exist. Whenever possible, I try to find the local spots; Google Maps helps a lot with that.
 
Peen Simmons said:
The MLCR (corporate chain or franchise) offers some very real benefits for people looking for a meal:

Generally kid-friendly
Held to standards for cleanliness and quality
Menus are accessible and broad—something for everyone in a large group
They’re in that sweet spot of affordable but not so cheap that your “going out” seems tawdry or unimportant
Serve booze, but not in a rowdy bar environment
Atmosphere is safe and predictable—no rough crowds, surly regulars, possibility of winding up in an uncomfortable “in the wrong place” situation
Close to hotels, shopping, movie theaters, other amenities
Acceptable for bland social situations like birthdays, after church meals, celebrating a good report card, etc.

In a lot of towns MLCR are the most readily visible places to eat. And you can assume that they’re decent. There’s a bunch of little taquerias near my house. By how is someone new to town or someone squeamish supposed to know which ones are good and which ones suck? If they drive out to Uncle Julio’s at the mall, they’ll get some serviceable tacos. Sure, they won’t be amazing...but they won’t be gross either. Noodles and Company (fast casual, but still) is not going to be great, but you don’t run the risk of almost accidentally ordering tripe in your pho and grossing yourself out because the menu was poorly translated. (Hi, mom.)

And if you have to travel to boring places for work, MLCRs are a god send. They are priced within tolerance for expense reports. You can pretty readily ID those meals that won’t kill you instantly now that some nutritional info is printed on menus, and the food is at least recognizable vs what’s in the drive through.

When I’m on the road for work, I do all sorts of crazy shit after hours. Driving 45 minutes into the boonies to some crab shack on the side of the road because the Yelp reviews were good. Driving an hour into a totally different city at night because I want noodles. But some folks don’t feel safe doing that. So the TGIFridays in the parking lot of the hotel serves a useful purpose. (Plus you can drink there when you get back from your crab adventure and then stumble back you your room.)
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See I don't get the "affordable prices" . 9 times outa 10 in my experience the chain comes out more expensive. Also yelp or trip advisor has the "nearby location" thingy. Last time I was out of town on vacation I had no problem finding a local place for food pick up. If I need booze there is always a grocer or conveneince store nearby....
 
DdBob said:
See I don't get the "affordable prices" . 9 times outa 10 in my experience the chain comes out more expensive. Also yelp or trip advisor has the "nearby location" thingy. Last time I was out of town on vacation I had no problem finding a local place for food pick up. If I need booze there is always a grocer or conveneince store nearby....
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The prices aren’t the best, but they’re not surprisingly high...it’s an affordable “nice” night.

And if you’re not a lone wolf, sometimes being able to get a beer with the kids in tow without dragging them to a bar can be a nice treat for a parent.

And, again, if you’re not flying solo sometime just going along to an easy choice is better than seeking out something interesting.
 
Trader Joe's food is a very simple formula all it's own: find something 'novel but familiar' (e.g., chicken with pasta with a sauce with a new name), and load it up with salt and fat. TJ's has some great items (the low sodium spaghetti sauce is a fave for $2), but a lot of what they do is nutritionally awful.

Chains sell "dining experience," which is alllll about predictability. That's why people go there with their kids - they don't want to hear junior throwing a tantrum about "what IS this, Mommy?!??!"

I can go either way; it's like vacation spots to me. Sometimes you go to the big resort, and sometimes you rent a cabin on it's own somewhere. (WARNING: epic rant post on vacation planning upcoming).
 
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