Consumer Trends

Buffalo Wild Wings’ turnaround efforts have chipped away at something chief executive Paul Brown alluded to before the ink dried on Arby’s deal to acquire the 1,200-unit chain.

If you examine the past decade, the reality hasn’t changed all that much for restaurants. Guest counts have declined as brands flood units into a saturated system.

It isn’t a novel statement: Demand for delivery is shaking up the restaurant industry. Guests want the food they’d grab in-store, where they are, as fast as they can get it.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill president Michael Kappitt touched on a universal truth for restaurants. “We have competitors everywhere,” he says. But that’s where the generalizations end.

The independent restaurant scene is always in flux. According to CHD Expert, the segment represents 68 percent of the total U.S. dining landscape.

Across the restaurant industry, positive same-store sales growth—although modest—remains a consistent.

One positive side effect of rising wages, as far as restaurants are concerned, is higher consumer spending. Does that balance out the labor issue? Probably not, but it doesn’t hurt, either.