TECHNOLOGY
DON’T OVERLOOK TAKEOUT’S ROLE IN THE CASUAL-DINING COMEBACK Tech Check: Value meals are getting all the attention, but pickup and delivery are quietly driving sales and traffic for a lot of resurgent brands.
Y ou may have heard that casual dining is back. Not just Chili’s, but also Olive Garden, Apple- bee’s and BJ’s Restaurants are seeing sales perk up after a couple years of less-than-stellar perfor- mances. Even the recently bankrupt Red Lobster is making waves. Much of the segment’s revival has been chalked up to value—both real and perceived. As inflation has driven up menu prices, casual dining has started to look like a good deal relative to fast food. Casual-dining brands have doubled down on that advantage by flooding the market with low- priced value meals backed by a level of service and atmos- phere that limited-service chains typically can’t match. But this is not the only thing helping casual-dining chains rebound. In fact, for some, a significant portion of their growth is coming from outside of their four walls altogeth- er—a result of both better off-premise operations and savvier digital tactics. At Texas Roadhouse, average weekly to-go sales grew by 11.4% in the second quarter, to more than $22,000 per restaurant. That was more than twice as fast as the chain’s on-premise sales, which rose 4.4%. Roadhouse is often thought of as old school because of its famous resistance to offering delivery. But it has actually invested quite a bit in takeout, and it has gotten better at operating the channel as well. Its restaurants have external walk-up windows where customers can pick up orders, and the chain has made improvements to its mobile app. It has also focused on details like reducing errors on missing items that can make or break a takeout order. “The missing items is really the biggest thing, and we’ve just gotten better at it,” CEO Jerry Morgan said of the jump in takeout sales. “The guest is rewarding us because when they get home, they have their items.”
JOE GUSZKOWSKI
JOSEPH.GUSZKOWSKI@INFORMA.COM
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RESTAURANT BUSINESS OCTOBER 2025
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