Latest / From Kitchen to C-Suite
No Room for the Middle: How "Trading Down" is Killing the Casual Restaurant
$12 at the drive-thru vs. $13 for a sit-down booth. The math says we should be flocking to the booth, so why are casual dining rooms sitting empty while fast-food lines wrap around the building?Welcome to the Barbell Economy, where the restaurant middle class is facing a mass extinction event.Driven by a macroeconomic shift known as "trading down," skyrocketing fast-food prices are actively crushing casual dining rather than saving it. With inflation pushing QSR prices up 36% since 2019, casual chains slashed prices to compete. But running a 5,000-sq-ft restaurant with an army of staff on…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.