Posted on 09/22/2023 7:08:43 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Retirees have lost their appetite for Cracker Barrel and Olive Garden since the pandemic — and it’s not clear when they’ll come back, according to the chains’ top brass.
No amount of biscuits and gravy or unlimited pasta refills seems to be enough to entice the 65-and-older crowd as they continue to pinch pennies amid high inflation and duck the coronavirus, according to Rick Cardenas, chief executive of Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden.
“I do believe that they were a little bit more spooked on the COVID side,” Cardenas told analysts on a Thursday conference call. “We’d love to see them come back more frequently.” Indeed, seniors are heading to the budget-friendly pasta chain less often than they had before the pandemic, added chief financial officer Raj Vennam on a conference call on Thursday with Wall Street analysts.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
It’s also waiting and waiting. To be seated, to give your order, to get your food, to get a refill, to get your check. I hate to wait. After the scamdemic I’m not sure if restaurants will ever be fully staffed again.
Biden doesn’t care about anyone except his family and Democrat politicians.
All restaurants are expensive now. I just spent $14.00 for a KFC 4 piece chicken dinner. Never mind a good restaurant.
Ping
Cracker Barrel allows self-contained RVs to park overnight at no cost. (Most of them do.)
Before heading to bed, we have our dinner inside. The prices are are not any higher than most restaurants, and the serving sizes are so large that each one makes two meals.
For a few years not so long ago meal sizes were noticably skimpy. Then, the price was not worth it.
“Tuscan Zuppa”
That’s my favorite thing on their menu. We only go there maybe once a year now. Their prices ARE too high!
I ate tons of butter when on a low carb diet. Lost so much weight! I understand several factors worked together, but if butter were fattening I’d have been in big trouble.
We actually like Olive Garden, too, but we mostly cook. I make better eggplant parm, but my hubby loves the Tour of Italy and I like getting a single glass of wine with the lasagna. They discontinued an entree that was a seafood pasta, which I loved, a long time ago.
We ate at CB twice last week while traveling. The food was excellent — so much better than it had been a year ago. Not gourmet, but typical diner comfort food.
(But why can’t a “southern” breakfast restaurant have corned beef hash?)
Good explanation re carbs, insulin, diabetes.
Morning CC. Good suggestion.
I find it almost impossible to get enough fat to replace carbs because I get satiated so fast eating fats. Also when eating out the food has so little fat that eating away from home is a choice between eating carbs or not getting enough calories.
However, just putting forth the effort means I have no trace of insulin resistance and my weight is under control.
Exactly.
And COVID allowed me to “up my game” to near-Alton Brown levels.
Elderly and Veterans kicked out of NY nursing home for IllegalAliens.
He drives like an old guy (too slow), but he’s fine.
I never eat there. First, bad food. Second, bad service. And third, bad business model- I hate having to wait in line to pay my tab. They just want you to spend more time in their country store.
No its the corporate cancer that has embraced the trans gay mentally ill protected class
The seniors clean out the steam table buffet at the local Piggly Wiggly every day. Food is pretty picked over by noon.
We stopped going to these places because the quality has dropped, the prices are too high, and worry the fat purple hair inked up waitress will spit in my food.
Big chain restaurants: S#!++y food at inflated prices may have something to do with it as well. A twenty dollar dinner for two is closer to fifty these days. And the food mostly comes out of bags or a freezer to be re-heated.
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