Posted on 11/25/2025 12:55:59 PM PST by nickcarraway
Several restaurant chains are sounding the alarm about their customers’ attitudes as the country’s economy worsens due to inflation and slow hiring numbers.
Chipotle, Sweetgreen and Cava — all purveyors of “slop bowls” — have seen their stocks drop dramatically in 2025. Chipotle’s stock is down about 50% for the year, while Cava has seen a 60% decline. Sweetgreen last week revealed in its earnings that same-store sales slid 9.5% and visits fell nearly 12%.
“The 25-to-35 (year old) consumer is the most under pressure, and they make up about 30% of our consumer base,” Sweetgreen’s CFO Jamie McConnell said.
Chipotle’s CEO Scott Boatwright added the chain is not losing its consumer base to competition, but instead to grocery stores and people eating at home.
A “slop bowl,” an informal term for a bowl of mixed ingredients, has been popular for years among young adults, who are “one of our core consumer cohorts,” he said. “They feel the pinch and we feel the pullback from them, as well.”
Raymond James restaurant analyst Brian Vaccaro said customer bases for chains are also being affected by the government shutdown and by increased competition from value meals at fast-food rivals.
“The fast-casual restaurants face several issues, in particular that the softer wage and spending growth that had been affecting lower-income consumers seems to be creeping up into the middle income and young professional consumers,” Vaccaro said.
McDonald’s and WingStop also acknowledged sales have declined in areas made up largely of low-income customers.
Starting this week, Sweetgreen said it will begin promoting that it has boosted protein portions by 25%.
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My lunch was some warmed up leftovers. So a slop bowl at 1/4 the price an it tasted great!
I ate out for lunch yesterday because I was out of town. I had a Cook-out Chocolate milkshake.
For lunch today, I had my homemade split-pea soup flavored with country ham and country ham side meat. Why would I eat out?
It’s based on the Mediterranean diet. My family has eaten at several Cava locations in SC. The food is always very good and the service is as well. It is our favorite chain restaurant.
What about Guacamole Bowls?
“””””It costs us about $6.00 to make a 16 in thick crust pizza, 1 lb of cheese, 1 lb of pepperoni home made dough,”””””
What is the exact figure that one of those pizzas cost you if you do a detailed pricing?
5 lb bag shredded cheese 9.00, 1 12oz jar pizza sauce 1.75, 4 lb pepperoni stick sliced at home 10.00, 4 cups flour, pkg yeast. So 7 or 8 bucks!
Overpriced artisnal crapfood for hipsters
Who can afford eating out? Burgers start at $25 around here now. I went to a pub the other day and it was $60 per person for just some pub food and a beer. I can afford it but Geesh.
Nicely done, do you freeze them or some of the cheese?
Sounds like terrible economic times. If only we could return to Bidenomics.
For me the main reason for the lost sales is declining food quality and poor customer service. Some of it is due to pricing but mostly it’s declining quality. Chipotle used to be excellent and worth whatever they wanted to charge. The food was fresh and the service at the store impeccable. In general, the people that work at these stores now don’t seem to care about doing a good job at all.
The former Chipotle CEO is Brian Nichols. He's about to do the same thing to SBUX.
I can go into many dining restaurants as cheap or just slightly more than fast food.
yep. Break the large bags of cheese into 4 zip lock bags, same with pepperoni. Keeps 6 months easily. Only the wife and I here. All 6 kids have moved out years ago.
“The 800lb Gorilla no one want to talk about is that the minimum wage is too damn high!”
You live off minimum wage for a couple of years and then get back to us and tell us how extravagant your life is.
After 40-50 years of inflation, paychecks are way behind expenses for most people.
That's the lingo.
A lot of lettuce/rice/refuse meant to fill you stupid women up before they ever realize they have been completely ripped off for $17.99. And whatever these pudgy broads saved calorically with lettuce/rice/refuse is negated by the 3-extra dressings "on the side".
Sweetg and Cava will probably merge next year, their menus are too close; and then expect any number -- my over/under is 6 -- of the 28 national-brand chicken-only shacks to rapidly contract as well.
Yes...we could eat out many days a week if we wanted...we basically eat out once a week...because we need to get out! And we are not that impressed.
A slop bowl (also known as a slop basin or waste bowl) is a historical component of European tea sets, dating back to at least the 18th century. It was designed as a handleless ceramic or silver bowl—typically holding about half a pint—used to discard cold tea, dregs, and loose tea leaves from cups before refilling with fresh hot tea. This was especially practical in an era when tea was often brewed with leaves that ended up at the bottom of cups, rather than using modern strainers or tea bags. These bowls were commonly made in pottery but could be found in finer materials like porcelain or silver for wealthier households.
I cook casseroles and soups, which are cheap and easy, two of my favorite adjectives.
Boil the pasta al dente.
Drain if not a soup.
Add whatever.
Bake if not a soup.
“Can they make slop great again?”
What about Gruel?
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