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Special Reports

America's favorite family-dining chains

By Sara Rush Wirth on Dec. 27, 2018
cracker-barrel
Photograph courtesy of Cracker Barrel

There's no denying that the family-dining segment has struggled in recent years. The old guard buffets and all-day concepts are losing sales and traffic to different types of restaurants. But consumers aren't giving up on the segment just yet; there's a bright spot with breakfast-and-lunch only concepts such as First Watch that are growing their footprint -- as well as their fanbase with a mix of on-trend menu items and marketing focused on freshness.

Get more intel on today's consumers.

Cracker Barrel
Photograph: Shutterstock

1. Cracker Barrel

Service/Hospitality: 66.9%
Ambiance/Appearance: 60.2%
Food/Beverage: 58.0%
Takeout/Convenience: 56.9%
Value: 50.1%
Overall Score: 58.3% 

 

first-watch
Photograph: Shutterstock

2. First Watch

Service/Hospitality: 65.7%
Ambiance/Appearance: 54.5%
Food/Beverage: 58.2%
Takeout/Convenience: 57.9%
Value: 42.5%
Overall Score: 55.9%

While many family-dining chains are losing favor with today’s consumers, the segment’s bright spot is breakfast-and-lunch only concepts such as First Watch. The chain has been growing quickly through both organic growth and acquisitions, and has been able to do so in part because of its loyal customer base and strong consumer ratings.

bob-evans
Photograph: Shutterstock

3. Bob Evans

Service/Hospitality: 60.1%  
Ambiance/Appearance: 49.0%
Food/Beverage: 50.2%
Takeout/Convenience: 54.5%
Value: 42.7%
Overall Score: 50.4%

Photograph: Shutterstock

4. Shoney's

Service/Hospitality: 58.1%  
Ambiance/Appearance: 44.7%
Food/Beverage: 47.3%
Takeout/Convenience: 53.0%
Value: 40.9%
Overall Score: 47.7%

Perkins
Photograph: Shutterstock

5. Perkins Restaurants & Bakery

Service/Hospitality: 57.2%  
Ambiance/Appearance: 44.9%
Food/Beverage: 46.7%
Takeout/Convenience: 51.6%
Value: 37.5%
Overall Score: 46.7%

methodology

America's favorite fast-casual chains

Photograph: Technomic Ignite

Methodology

The Technomic Ignite: Consumer program is an ongoing study that tracks the performance of leading chains by measuring the consumer experience. This report includes the top chains in the U.S. by sales, plus 53 additional chains to round out categories or capture regional data. The data represents responses from over 100,000 consumers, collected from Q4 2017 to Q3 2018. Scores represent the percentage of respondents who strongly agree with the statements, on a scale of 1 to 5.

Get more intel on today's consumers.

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  • America's favorite fast-casual chains

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