RIGHT TO THE CHIN

Try It, You Might Like It: Breaking the chains of chain restaurants

Why do people herd themselves like cattle to eat at Chattanooga’s chain restaurants when there are so many tastier, independently-owned establishments worthy of their dining dollars?

It’s not that chain restaurants are intrinsically bad. To many, a meal at Chili’s or Logan’s or Applebee’s or Outback or TGI Friday’s is a great night out. And they’re perfectly within their rights to feel that way. Like my artist father says about people’s wide-ranging tastes in art: “If they like it, it’s good.” You can’t really teach good taste, and it’s easier to do your thing and let others do theirs. But I can’t help myself. As a journalist, I feel a sense of responsibility to inform, even if it’s about something as mundane as dining choices.

Chain restaurants are calculated, carbon-copy, corporate entities where homogeneity, expansion, and profit are the motivating factors. A burger in a Friday’s in Chattanooga tastes like a burger in a Friday’s in Manhattan. The menus are the same, the floor plans are the same, the policies are the same, the training methods are the same, and the beepers (that alert millions that their tables are ready) are the same. Some of the dishes are good – some not so good – but when a restaurant has to be replicated thousands of times all over the world, factors like efficiency and consistency become more important than variety and quality.

People like the familiarity of a chain restaurant. If they’re on vacation, it’s just too easy to stop at an Outback or a Chili’s. They expect a certain perceived quality level, and they like the comfort of a place where they’ve eaten before. They feel like they’re getting a decent meal at a decent price, and they can then continue on with their other vacation activities.

But if you live in a city, like Chattanooga, where the dining choices feature many successful chain and non-chain restaurants, wouldn’t it be more rewarding to try other places to eat? Can’t the same foods at the same restaurants eaten over and over again get boring after a while? Well, if the lines outside Olive Garden or Red Lobster are any indication, I guess the answer is no. But why?

Are people afraid to try new restaurants? Well, maybe some people are, but it seems more likely that people more often succumb to misconceptions about some restaurants and decide not to patronize them.

One misconception is that privately owned restaurants (especially the really nice ones) are far more expensive than their chain competitors. While some fine dining establishments are, in fact, pricey, chain restaurants like Logan’s and Outback aren’t exactly cheap, either. Take a steak, an appetizer, a dessert, a couple of drinks, and multiply it by two people, and pretty soon you’re spending $50 dollars or more – about the same as you’d spend at many nicer independent restaurants; usually for food that leaves you saying, “That was OK.”

The quality of food at chain restaurants is limited to corporate boardroom decisions. Chains have to supply many restaurants, and have to do it cheaply, in order to keep the consistency that so many folks count on. Even their “specials” are most likely “specials” in 100 other locations, selected from a list of pre-planned and distributed “specials.” In a privately-run place, owners and chefs can buy things and try things on a whim, constantly tweaking their offerings to fit the adventurous tastes of their customers.

You might also hear people say, “Oh, their portions are too small” when you mention a slightly more upscale place to eat. But if you consider that entrees at some places are designed to be eaten as part of a full meal consisting of an appetizer, salad, entrée, and dessert, the portion sizes make sense. Chefs at many independent restaurants like to think of their food as part of a diverse dining experience, exercising your tastebuds with variety. Health plays a role, too, as smaller portions are relatively healthier than the trough-like experiences found at many buffets and all-you-can eat places.

Another misconception is that many independent restaurants are too stuffy. Well, yes, a Dale Earnhardt t-shirt might not be appropriate for some places, but you’d be surprised at the laid-back dress codes and atmospheres at even some of the city’s more “ritzy” restaurants; a golf shirt and khaki’s is actually considered dress attire in many places.

In short, there’s a time for Applebee’s and there’s a time to try something new. Independent hometown restaurant owners took a chance in putting themselves up against the big boys. The least you can do is take a chance that you might actually like what they have to offer.

Posted by colrus at January 26, 2004 01:33 PM | TrackBack