Off-premises dining seems to be well established with a lot of consumers. Chipotle is introducing a new store design that features drive up service. Two major restaurant acquisitions were announced. These stories and a whole lot more This Week in Foodservice.

Is off-premises dining here to stay?

The National Restaurant Association has been monitoring consumers’ usage of restaurants since February 2020 with the goal of determining the impact the coronavirus had on the industry. The survey followed breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon snack dayparts as well as beverage purchases.

Prior to the pandemic an average of 59% of adults went out to dinner at least once a week with Generation Z and Millennials most likely to go out to eat. To nobody’s surprise, on-premises dining fell sharply when the pandemic hit with the weekly usage falling 40 percentage points. The frequency with which consumers use on-premises dining proceeded to fluctuate depending on weather and other factors. Finally, earlier this spring, on-premises dining occasions started to grow more consistently.

It is interesting to note that prior to the pandemic, an average of 58% of adults purchased takeout or delivery dinners every week. This is about the same percentage of adults eating dinner out every week.

The NRA says that the increase in off-premises meals came at the expense of on-premises meals. Further, while on-premises dining is coming back into favor, off-premises meals continue to grow, which leads the NRA to suggest that restaurants will need to adopt a hybrid model moving forward.

Economic News This Week

• Fourth quarter gross domestic product continued its upward trend, per the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The bureau’s third estimate for fourth quarter GDP came in with an increase of 4.3%, up .2% from its second estimate.
• Initial-jobless claims totaled 694,000, a decline of 97,000 for the week ending March 20. The 4-week moving average was 736,000, a decline of 13,000. Claims are now at their lowest level since the start the pandemic last March. Claims are also less than the pre-pandemic high of 695,000. The numerous predictions that jobless claims would fall have finally come into fruition.
• Both personal income and personal expenditures declined in February, per the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The BEA attributes the 8.2% drop in real disposable income to a sharp reduction in government spending related to the pandemic. The decline in personal consumption was thought to be impacted by extremely bad weather over large parts of the country.
• Existing home sales decreased 6.6% in February compared to January, per the National Association of Realtors. Sales were up 9.1% from February 2020, though. Record-low inventory and high prices held down sales.
• New single family home sales fell 18.2% in February from January. But sales were up 8.2% from February 2020. Sales for February were 775,000 on a seasonally adjusted annual basis.
• The University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment continued to rise through late March. The Index rose to 84.9 in March from 76.8 in February. The March reading is the highest the index has been in a year. The Current Economic Conditions Index increased to 93.0 in March from 86.2 in February. The Index of Consumer Expectations hit 79.7, up 9 points from February. A university spokesperson said reasons for the strong March results include the third disbursement of stimulus checks and the expanding vaccination program.

Foodservice News This Week

• Taco Bell rolls out its Go Mobile store design. The new restaurant has dual drive-thrus and smaller dining areas. The chain expects to have 10,000 of the Go Mobile stores in the next decade. But this is not Taco Bell’s only new design. The quick-service Mexican-themed chain opened its first drive-thru restaurant that has a fire pit and an outdoor game area. Eventually the restaurant will have a full bar as well.
• Muscle Maker, Inc., the parent company of fast-casual chain Muscle Maker Grill, acquired Superfit Foods, a meal prep business located in northern Florida. In 2020, Superfit produced more than 220,000 meals, per a release announcing the deal. The acquisition of Superfit Foods comes on the heels of Muscle Maker Grill’s partnership with Happy Meal Prep to begin shipping its fully prepared meal prep options to customers throughout the Northeast.
• 7-Eleven opened its first drive-thru store for the chain’s Laredo Taco Company. The store will also sell Slurpees, coffees and other 7-Eleven signature beverages.
• The Delight Restaurant Group acquired 54 Wendy’s restaurants. The units are in the Raleigh metro area and were purchased from NPC International. The price of the sales was not given.
• The Flynn Restaurant Group reached an agreement to purchase 937 Pizza Hut restaurants and 194 Wendy’s locations from bankrupt NPC International. Flynn currently is a franchisee of Applebee’s Arby’s, Panera Bread and Taco Bell. The news release did not provide the amount paid for of the purchase.
• Growth Chains: Iron Hill Taphouse, a fast-casual concept created by the Iron Hill Brewery, plans to open as many as five locations a year. Chipotle will add seven restaurants in Canada, one of which will feature the fast-casual chain’s new drive-up design. Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen plans to open hundreds of restaurants in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. PJ’S Coffee will open 28 units in the next 2 to 3 years. Blaze Pizza opened 20 restaurants last year and plans to open 30 more in 2021.
• Comparable Store Sales Reports: BBQ Holdings, Inc. (Famous Dave’s down 5.5% and Granite City down 40.7%) and Darden (blended results down 26.7%, LongHorn Steakhouse down 12.6%, Olive Garden down 25.8%, fine-dining sales down 45.2% and other business down 36.9%.).

For details and same store-sales of other chains, Please Click Here for the latest Green Sheet