Millennials are killing chains like Buffalo Wild Wings and Applebee's

[cowgirl836]

Yeah I love trying new places. If I am travelling I will always risk trying somewhere local over something known.

trying new restaurants/foods is one of my favorite things about traveling. Btw, if you're ever in Scotland, get all the seafood. The mussels are amazing.

 

[CY88CE11]

I don't think it's so much that millennials are to blame as it is that these places got big and popularized by the boomer generation. When my wife and I go to a new town we want to try something local and good, but when we go with our parents we always have to find a chain so that they can know what we are going to get. It kills me to go to a place like NOLA and eat at a Texas Roadhouse or something.

Texas Roadhouse is straight garbage.

 

[cowgirl836]

not sure that I've ever eaten at Applebee's, to be honest. But it kinda runs together in my head with places like TGI's and Chili's. Think I've eaten at each of those once. BWW maybe once because friends wanted to go there. I'm not a wing person, but anymore if people want that, there is a great hole in the wall place near us that they go instead.

 

[BMWallace]

It's not millennials fault for these chains having problems. It has just become easier to find other options now. 20 - 30 years ago, the only way you could find the small hidden gems was to hear about it by word of mouth. Mom and pop shops weren't advertising except outside of local radio or newspaper.

Now, you can find tons of review sites with listings for all the restaurants in the area. You can break it down by cuisine, check out the menu before hand, and see what others had to say about the place. There is no reason to fall back on the generic and safe.

 

[KnappShack]

Now can we turn our attention and efforts to killing the Pizza Ranch?

Cause if any place needs to be thrown into the trashcan it's that gawd awful Pizza Ranch

 

[jdoggivjc]

I don't have an issue with B-Dubs, although 95% of the time I eat there it's when I'm on work travel and I'm not looking to be adventurous. Sometimes it's nice to have a "go to" chain when you'd rather have familiarity.

Applebee's, though - I cannot remember the last time I ate there. Probably cashing in gift cards for takeout (my wife's family is notoriously cheap and they think Applebee's is the best thing ever), and in the extremely rare time I get something there it's a hamburger

 

[cowgirl836]

Now can we turn our attention and efforts to killing the Pizza Ranch?

Cause if any place needs to be thrown into the trashcan it's that gawd awful Pizza Ranch

lots of development in my area and one of the new restaurants they put in was a Pizza Ranch. We could use more non-chain options in our immediate area so that was super annoying.

 

[CY88CE11]

I don't have an issue with B-Dubs, although 95% of the time I eat there it's when I'm on work travel and I'm not looking to be adventurous. Sometimes it's nice to have a "go to" chain when you'd rather have familiarity.

Applebee's, though - I cannot remember the last time I ate there. Probably cashing in gift cards for takeout (my wife's family is notoriously cheap and they think Applebee's is the best thing ever), and in the extremely rare time I get something there it's a hamburger

Ugh. We've had an Applebee's gift card for like two years. It's probably losing value on it, but we just can't bring ourselves to go eat there.

 

[chuckd4735]

While not my first choice, I dont mid either of these places. When they dont burn it, the blondie at Applebees is the best thing Ive ever put into my mouth.

 

[DSMCy]

I've been to Applebees once in probably 10 years. It was a couple years a go to get a Hoiberger.

Like the rest of you, I try to support local business. When we travel, we try hard not to go to a chain. We've had some great meals and some misses but we like that it adds to the experience.

 

[cycloner29]

BWW could probably recover if they improve their quality (both food and employees) but I don't think there's anything that could save Applebee's at this point.

Food is never hot when you get it. Was there a couple of weeks ago and asked for a Guinness and the waitress brings me a Pepsi after everyone else had there drinks for 10 minutes. There is your food and employee quality, but the bigger thing is over priced!!

 

[bos]

So Millennial of you, gross.

Ill slum it occasionally and order the oriental salad. Im worldly like that.

 

[Mr Janny]

Now can we turn our attention and efforts to killing the Pizza Ranch?

Cause if any place needs to be thrown into the trashcan it's that gawd awful Pizza Ranch

lol. I don't think their clientele cares about trendiness and food quality. My daughter's girl scout troupe had their end of year bridging ceremony at Pizza Ranch, because they had a big, private room where everyone could fit, and they held it on "Kids eat Free" night. (Not blaming the Girl Scouts one bit. It absolutely made sense for them) First time I've been in a pizza ranch in a long, long time. Will likely be the last time I'm in one for a long, long time.

You won't kill Pizza Ranch, though. They're too ingrained in the small towns where it's one of the only options available for folks. They've got their customers held hostage. And don't get me wrong, good for them, business-wise. That's a strong position to be in. Doesn't make their food any better, though.

 

[cowgirl836]

Ugh. We've had an Applebee's gift card for like two years. It's probably losing value on it, but we just can't bring ourselves to go eat there.

Husband and I used to do Olive Garden as our date night in college and family got us a gift card after graduation that we didn't use for years. Used it finally last fall and holy crap, either that place has gotten worse or our taste buds have matured. We were like how did we ever think this was so good??

 

[cyclonespiker33]

I guess it is millennials fault.

It's their fault that they don't put up with crappy food just because they are told to by advertisements.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

I know that millennials are trending to living in more urban environments, but I wonder if this is a regional trend. Like are millennials on the east and west coasts more likely to live in urban environments, where the Midwest, Southwest, and Southeast are maintaining traditional purchasing decisions? I am a millennial myself, but on the older side of the spectrum.

But I can agree with eating at non-chain restaurants. I personally will eat at them, but will often look for a local place to eat. If My girlfriend and I go out, it is almost always an independent restaurant. I think my generation is always looking to try something new and explore new experiences as opposed to repeating old ones.

I think urban living is more of a testament to a city's attempt to re-invigorate their urban areas than anything tied to a certain generation. Here in KC, the options for living downtown were terrible when I first moved here 20 years ago. Now, with P&L, a decent grocery store, reconditioned buildings, lofts, etc, it's much more appealing. I would definitely have looked into living downtown had those options been here (and if I could have afforded them!)

That being said, once these same millennials get older, marry, and have kids, you'll likely see them migrate to a more laid back atmosphere in suburbia so the next wave of 20-somethings can take over. And they'll take their kids to the same restaurants they are familiar with because they don't want to fight their kids to get them to eat something new.

As far as chain restaurants mentioned in the OP, I think the market got saturated with them and the ones that knew their niche have been able to survive while others did not. Applebees got comfortable being one of the leaders and didn't respond well when other places started taking a bite into their market share. I don't think it has one single thing with one generation being more open to trying something new. Every generation feels that way.

 

[ComCY]

I never go to Applebee's with all the cool, locally-owned places here in KC.

But I will go to BDubs on Wednesdays every once in a while for 50cent boneless...

 

[KnappShack]

I've been to Applebees once in probably 10 years. It was a couple years a go to get a Hoiberger.

Like the rest of you, I try to support local business. When we travel, we try hard not to go to a chain. We've had some great meals and some misses but we like that it adds to the experience.

I saw something a few years ago that I've tried to stick to. Don't be a tourist, be a traveler.

Get out to the local places. See and be with the people from the area. Come to a place like Southern California just to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp, ESPN Zone, or Cheesecake Factory??

Missing out on everything the area has to offer.

 

[bos]

I saw something a few years ago that I've tried to stick to. Don't be a tourist, be a traveler.

Get out to the local places. See and be with the people from the area. Come to a place like Southern California just to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp, ESPN Zone, or Cheesecake Factory??

Missing out on everything the area has to offer.

Yeah, when we travel we do our best not to eat chain. In town we will occasionally depending on where we are at the time, but yes, local places are so much better.

 

[CYphyllis]

Ill slum it occasionally and order the oriental salad. Im worldly like that.

Mmm, nothing like the world's shittiest coleslaw mixed with sunflower seeds and doused in what I assume is used fryer oil to get those Applebees juices flowing.