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☆ Affordable luxury: Price-conscious Americans are turning to cheaper steakhouses
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

So business is booming at Texas Roadhouse and LongHorn Steakhouse, even as Americans pull back elsewhere. And in the three months through May 26, sales at Longhorn Steakhouse locations open at least 16 months rose 4%. An affordable luxuryWhen it comes to steakhouses, Texas Roadhouse and LongHorn Steakhouse are on the cheaper end, noted Jim Salera, a research analyst at Stephens. Patrons sit at a bar and watch sports at a Texas Roadhouse restaurant in November 2023. “Retail demand has been probably a little bit weaker,” said Michael Bailen, senior director of investor relations at Texas Roadhouse.

Persons: Texas, ”, Jim Salera, Salera, you’re, Peter Saleh, They’ve, Scott Olson, Saleh, Rick Cardenas, It’s, Michael Bailen, ” Bailen, “, ’ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Texas, Texas Roadhouse, LongHorn, Longhorn, Darden Restaurants, steakhouses , Texas Roadhouse, Stephens, of America, CNN, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kroger Locations: New York, Texas, Olive, steakhouses , Texas, Skokie , Illinois, . Texas

☆ Why Olive Garden doesn’t want to give discounts
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But Olive Garden is holding out. In the quarter ending on May 26, sales at Olive Garden restaurants open at least 16 months dropped 1.5%. Olive Garden has tried to avoid such pushback by keeping its price increases low. “While Olive Garden same restaurant sales were below the industry, same-restaurant guest counts outperformed the industry,” Vennam said. “The way we do it is more sustainable.”Rather than vie for customers with steep discounts, Olive Garden is planning to bring people in by highlighting its regular offerings.

Persons: they’ve, Olive, “ We’re, ”, Rick Cardenas, Olive Garden, Cardenas, Raj Vennam, ” Vennam, Eddie V’s, David Henkes, Technomic, ” Cardenas Organizations: New, New York CNN, Darden, Olive Garden, Olive, LongHorn, Bureau of Labor Statistics, CNN Locations: New York, Applebee’s, Olive Garden’s, Olive

☆ The forgotten racial history of Red Lobster
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-08 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“Red Lobster cultivated Black customers. Red Lobster did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on current customer demographics. Red Lobster was not a “place we frequented a whole lot” in its early days, said Harold Dwight, who graduated two years after Boatwright in 1968. Red Lobster later named one of its signature dishes after King: “Walt’s Favorite Shrimp.” King died last year. Red Lobster brought the “outdoor fried fish experience” indoors, Autry said.

Persons: Clarence Otis Jr, Otis, Mardeio Cannon, ” Clarence Otis Jr, Phelan M, Red, Chris Rock, Nicki Minaj, Minaj, “, Jimmy Fallon, Beyoncé, Hurricane, Marcia Chatelain, ”, Bill Darden, Darden, Beverly Boatwright, Harold Dwight, Dwight, Darden’s, Waycross , Georgia —, ” “, Jim Crow ”, John Fluker, Horace Thomas, Walter King, ” King, “ They’ve, we’ve, Michael Nagle, Robyn Autry, Autry Organizations: New, New York CNN, Red Lobster, Darden, CNN, Sacramento Observer, Darden Restaurants, University of Pennsylvania, Civil, Lakeland, NAACP, Bloomberg, Getty, Wesleyan University Locations: New York, America, Black America, McDonald’s, Lakeland , Florida, Lakeland, Waycross , Georgia, Okefenokee, Waycross, Georgia

☆ Restaurants are competing for frugal diners’ dollars
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

For some restaurants, it feels like a battle to get them to spend. Olive Garden-parent Darden Restaurants saw same-restaurant sales dip during its most recent quarter. Darden saw sales from households with incomes above $150,000 climb from the prior year. What to expect in Friday’s jobs reportThe US job market has been on a roll for the past three years. That’s about 25,000 more jobs per month than last year and 111,000 more per month than in 2019.

Persons: ”, Laxman Narasimhan, “, we’ve, Ian Borden, Ricardo Cardenas, Scott Sheffield, “ Mr, —, Matt Egan, Read, Alicia Wallace, ” Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Starbucks, Darden, OPEC, Federal Trade Commission, Sheffield, Organization of, Petroleum, Saudi Arabia, Regulators, Pioneer Natural Resources, CNN, of Labor Statistics Locations: New York, China, Olive, American, Saudi, Sheffield, Texas, OPEC, Russia

☆ Olive Garden and Cracker Barrel are still seeing a decline in older customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Even the unlimited breadsticks at Olive Garden and wooden rocking chairs at Cracker Barrel can’t seem to lure back the baby boomers. Now, some older customers are still staying away, exacerbating a foot traffic problem faced by restaurant chains. Darden Restaurants (DRI), which owns Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen and others, noted during an analyst call Thursday that it, too, is seeing declining visits from older customers. The largest of Darden’s franchises by far, Olive Garden is about “more and more and more,” as Cardenas said Thursday. For Cracker Barrel, which has also been trying to attract younger consumers but has traditionally appealed to an older clientele, the pullback from older customers is a bigger deal.

Persons: It’s, …, ”, Sandra Cochran, ” Cochran, Burger, Scott Olson, Raj Vennam, Vennam, Ricardo Cardenas, Darden, ’ ” Cardenas, we’ve, Cardenas, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Darden, Olive Garden, Longhorn Locations: New York, Olive, Orlando , Florida, Lebanon , Tennessee

☆ Darden’s Profit Falls 16.4% on Rising Costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Dean Seal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Darden Restaurants Inc. posted a 16.4% drop in quarterly profit as higher sales at Olive Garden and the company’s other restaurants failed to offset rising food and labor costs. Darden, which also operates chains such as LongHorn Steakhouse and Capital Grille, on Thursday said sales rose 6.1% in its fiscal first quarter to $2.45 billion, just under the $2.47 billion Wall Street analysts had been expecting.

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