The Daily Rail: Is the Demise of Fast Casual Good or Bad for Full-Service Dining?

Friday, June 9, 2017

MARKETING: Use Instagram Collections to Collect Marketing Ideas [Hack #094]

Restaurant managers are usually too busy to dedicate a ton of time to marketing. But you can find some sweet social media marketing ideas by using Instagram Collections.


DID YOU KNOWS…

29 of Your Fav Foods Threatened by Climate Change

Love avocados? What about peaches? Can you get through a day without a cup or two of coffee? Well, you might have if climate change continues to get worse. They’re just a few of our favorite foods that could go extinct (or get super pricey) because of climate change. Here’s the full list.

Stadium Unveils Programming, Upcoming Launches for Online & TV

Stadium is a joint sports programming venture between Silver Chalice (Campus Insiders), 120 Sports, and American Sports Network. It’ll air live on TV as well as stream 24/7, and will be a mix of live college sports, highlights, live studio programming and classic games. Stations like this provide great alternate content for sports bars looking to differentiate themselves from the pack.

Saved by the Bell Pop-Up Hits L.A.

If you grew up in the ‘90s, you know all about Zach Morris, Kelly Kapowski and the rest of the Bayside High School. Looks like NBC is bringing Max diner to life, with a Saved by the Bell pop-up diner in L.A. It’ll include the colorful booths, neon signs, and vintage arcade games. We’ll have the Save by the Bell theme ringing in our ears the rest of the day now…


ABOUT FACE! LABOR DEPARTMENT REJECTS PRIOR JOINT EMPLOYER GUIDANCE

Why it matters to you: Joint employer interpretations could encourage more litigation.

With every new presidential administration comes new interpretations of the laws and rules of the land. The announcement yesterday that Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta had withdrawn an Obama administration guidance on "joint employer" definition, the franchise industry can breathe a momentary sigh of relief.

The previous guidance dictated that franchisors can be held liable for the labor practices of their franchisees. This sent a shiver through the franchise community amid fears that it would encourage lawsuits against perceived deep-pocketed franchisors.

Any of you in a franchise situation know that you are also an independent business operator. While your franchisor has sweeping influence on your operations, you are the ultimate determinant of how you run your business. This guidance was intended to force franchisors into an enforcement role to ensure their franchisees were complying with all labor related regulations. That may have been a laudable goal, but it’s the government’s job to enforce labor laws, not private industry. This announcement is cause for relief, but the fight will continue until there is legislation that specifically enumerates the relationship between franchisee and franchisor as pertains to their internal conduct.

FAST CASUAL ON THE BRINK

Why it matters to you: Is the demise of fast casual good or bad for full-service dining?

You don’t have to be economics professor to know that full-service dining segment has been disrupted over the past several years. New competition from fast-casual dining, home delivery, grocery, and meal replacement services have eaten away at our growth and given us reasons to stay up at night.

With the emergence of the Millennials as a consumer bloc, concerns for full-service were at its highest pitch. However as 2017 has progressed, some widely-held beliefs about the fast-casual segment seem to be unraveling a bit.

To start, it appears that sales have been slipping consistently across much of fast casual. While there are multiple factors that could explain this sales plunge, the most likely causes are centered on unbridled growth. Fast-casual operators have lower barriers to entry than full service, and have been the new opening leaders in the industry. Unfortunately, it also appears that they have over-developed and created their own destructive competitive environment. Is this good for full service? Maybe. Fewer outlets and renewed interest in a more complete service experience certainly can hurt.


Share

Follow