4. Is delivery worth it?
With on-premise traffic continuing to soften, casual chains are feeling the pressure to branch into delivery, despite some significant hesitations about product quality, guest experience and even the economics. The potential complications were driven home this week when executives shared some of the complexities with financial analysts.
For one thing, acknowledged Doug Benn, CFO for The Cheesecake Factory, there’s the cost of paying a third-party deliverer. Margins might take a hit, but counterbalancing the impact are the savings from not having to wash patrons’ dishes and napkins, he revealed. About half the chain is now offering delivery, a development CEO and co-founder David Overton had initially discounted as something the brand would not do.
Still, a lot goes into the decision and the rollout, revealed Liz Smith, CEO of Outback parent Bloomin’ Brands. About 135 of the company’s restaurants now offer delivery. “We have a dedicated team that we've had in place for two years focusing on that,” she said.
Texas Roadhouse is still not convinced it’s the way to go, unless you’re talking about a store in New York City or some other dense urban setting. Founder and CEO Kent Taylor readily acknowledges that he doesn’t want to surrender control of the guest experience by moving a Roadhouse meal out of the restaurant.