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Nearly Half of Parents Polled Visit Family-Style Restaurants Weekly

Opportunities exist for growth among Millennial and Hispanic customers.


While 49 percent of parents polled note that they take their brood to family-style restaurants on a weekly basis, there are other segments of the population that also frequent the restaurants, according to Technomic's Family-Style Restaurant Consumer Trend Report.

Other pertinent findings in the report include:

  • Forty-five percent of Millennials and 57 percent of Hispanic consumers say they visit family-style restaurants once a week, compared to just 41 percent of all consumers polled.
  • Sixty-nine percent of consumers say they are likely to visit family-style concepts when seeking sit-down meals at an affordable price, and roughly half say they'd visit when craving certain menu items (54 percent) or when seeking comfort food (45 percent).
  • Fifty percent of moms and 34 percent of dads say toys and games for children are highly appealing at these locations.
  • More than half of parents (56 percent) place high importance on healthy options, compared to just half of consumers who say expansive menus for young children, tweens and teens are important.
  • Sixty-one percent of consumers would pay more for items described as fresh; a smaller percentage are willing to pay a premium for other leading health call-outs, such as seasonal, natural, low fat, low calorie and more.
  • Forty-eight percent polled say they would be very likely to try new or unique items or flavors at family-style restaurants. Three out of 10 consumers say they would like family-style restaurants to offer a wider variety of ethnic items.