Decline of Casual Dining - What Wall Street Cannot Measure

Every person has their own point of reference in life, or perception, that colors how they see and experience life. Here is my point of reference on the shift happening right now in which I see our culture moving towards social consciousness.

I read an article the other day about the decline of the casual dining segment, which includes Olive Garden, Chili's, Red Robin, Cheesecake Factory, etc. The article outlines the continuing decline of sales in this segment over the last few quarters. And they are losing sales to the fast-casual segment, which includes Panera, Garbanzo, Noodles, Five Guys, and Qdoba, just to name a few. Interestingly enough, my husband have been having this same belief that the casual dining segment is in the tubes, and that the Fast Casual segment is becoming more and more relevant to society.

"The big question is whether these restaurants are going through a brief dry spell, or are they suffering a permanent trend downward? There's a few different ways to look at the problem."

The article was based around a typical Wall Street ideology that the reason is because of the economy. The author of the article also points out that the decline has to do with the outdated menus, and that these big chains need to reconnect with their customer base, but again, he only mentions using natural, locally sourced ingredients.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2014/01/11/why-red-lobster-olive-garden-and-their-casual-dini/


But I have a different theory, and it goes a lot deeper than these restaurant chains.

I think people are developing a social consciousness. I think people want to go to a restaurant, coffee shop, clothing store, whatever, that makes them FEEL good about being in said establishment and spending their money. The great thing today is we have so many choices in just about everything we buy, and we can cast our vote for the type of society we want with how we choose to spend our money.

In my opinion, people are opting out of the casual dining segment because of something Wall Street cannot measure. And yes, food quality is a big factor, obviously, but what about the subjective stuff, like the genuine positive energy, transparency, and being truly valued as a customer? People are becoming more and more aware everyday of the gap between a "canned" and "corporate" feel versus a "unique" and "local" feel. People are becoming increasingly loyal to establishments that can "walk the walk". They want to go to a restaurant/coffee shop/store that gives them a positive EXPERIENCE. They want the place to have good energy, with employees that are happy and genuine, and they want said establishments to have a sense of community. What we are seeing is that it takes more than good food to be a good restaurant.

I am not saying all corporations are bad. Look at Starbucks. They have managed to create a company, and a large one at that, with a "soul". Howard Shultz, the guy behind Starbucks said in a recent interview, "A great, enduring company must have a conscious; a balance between profitability and social conscientiousness."

Think about it like this: Families prior to the 1970s ate predominately homemade meals, as a family. Then, in the late 60s/early 70s, the casual dining boom began and really caught steam in the 1980s.  I believe that originally these institutional pioneers wanted to create a positive experience, a place of human connections, around an endearing social ritual, eating. These restaurants grew at a massive rate, thus becoming what we call today, 'chain restaurants'. And in that growth, some people saw the possibility of massive profits, and Wall Street got on the bandwagon. Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-profit, but I think there is line we cross when we take much more than we need, and cause suffering for those that aren't strong enough to take what belongs to them.

Wall Street is blinded to the things that matter like people, by the endless pursuit of yield and profit. I hope I am right about this shift in our world. I hope that a connection, social awareness, transparency, passion, and love are all going to eventually trump profits.