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| Free Hospitality Publications |
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Restaurant Industry News
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Tuesday October 24th, 2006 |
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Breakfast trade continues to grow in importance
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Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day. Likewise, the morning dining business also can help a restaurant's health.
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Americans spend more than $47 billion annually on breakfast in restaurants, according to a study done by research company NPD Group.
Even though that's just 10 percent of all restaurant sales, the breakfast segment grew at a strong 6 percent clip last year.
Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research for the National Restaurant Association, chalked up the gain to an improved economy across the country.
"Not only do individuals have higher disposable income, there is also the enhanced demand for convenience," especially as more people are working, he said.
Of the three daily meals, breakfast is the one that most people eat at home. But that also gives it potential for the most growth, experts say.
So, it's no surprise that a couple of restaurant chains known for breakfast have said recently that they want to enter Columbus as part of their overall expansion plans.
Mammoth family-style chain IHOP, with 1,250 restaurants, is looking for several central Ohio locations. Meanwhile, 10-unit breakfast-and-lunch company Peach's Rise & Shine hopes to expand beyond Florida and open near Grandview Heights by yearend.
The biggest gains in meal segment in recent years have been by fast-food chains, which now reap about 70 percent of the money spent on breakfast, noted one report.
Fifty-six percent of fast-food chains serve breakfast, which helps to explain why Dublinbased Wendy's wants to resume a breakfast menu next year.
The rest of the morning res- taurant segment consists of family-style chains, including Bob Evans and Cracker Barrel; fine-dining power spots such as the Clarmont; and mom-andpop places, such as Tommy's Diner on W. Broad Street.
One fast-growing niche in this landscape is the breakfast-lunch chains, led in central Ohio by First Watch, based along Florida's Gulf Coast only a few miles from Peach's headquarters.
The category includes mostly regional chains, such as Le Peep, Good Egg and Toledo-based Scramblers, also known as Scrambler Marie's, which has four central Ohio locations and a fifth on the way in the Hilliard area.
First Watch, which began in 1983, has 62 restaurants, most of them company owned. Plans call for more than 90 by the end of 2007, which would make the chain the category's leader.
External Source - For the complete article click here
Source - The Columbus Dispatch
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