Is Fast Food Indoor Dining Dying?

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marshd1000
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Is Fast Food Indoor Dining Dying?

Post by marshd1000 »

One of the effects of COVID is the slowness of some fast food operators to re-open their dining rooms! I'll be honest, I'm put off if I am forced to use a drive-thru as often there are long lines. Once you are in, you're stuck! Some places do let you in for a "to go" order, so that is slightly better. But I'm weary of this new era of having to take your food with you or eat in your car. As a result, I haven't seen a KFC or KFC co-brand with an open dining room. The Dairy Queens near me still have closed dining rooms. Popeye's is mostly open as is most Starbucks and McDonald's. As for KFC, I'll take my business to Safeway. I'm in Renton, WA near Seattle. What is the situation like near you?
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Re: Is Fast Food Indoor Dining Dying?

Post by pseudo3d »

marshd1000 wrote: June 16th, 2022, 10:24 am One of the effects of COVID is the slowness of some fast food operators to re-open their dining rooms! I'll be honest, I'm put off if I am forced to use a drive-thru as often there are long lines. Once you are in, you're stuck! Some places do let you in for a "to go" order, so that is slightly better. But I'm weary of this new era of having to take your food with you or eat in your car. As a result, I haven't seen a KFC or KFC co-brand with an open dining room. The Dairy Queens near me still have closed dining rooms. Popeye's is mostly open as is most Starbucks and McDonald's. As for KFC, I'll take my business to Safeway. I'm in Renton, WA near Seattle. What is the situation like near you?
I live in a light blue area and everything seems to be open during daytime hours. Even the KFC/LJS seems to have consistent seating opening again.
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Re: Is Fast Food Indoor Dining Dying?

Post by jamcool »

It used to be that fast food was all drive-up and/or drive thru, with a few tables outside. I remember the Jack-In-The-Box drive thrus (which looked like a big box)
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Re: Is Fast Food Indoor Dining Dying?

Post by Alpha8472 »

Many old Jack In The Box restaurants near me have remodeled but they still have very limited seating inside. They still have the box shape.

In areas where they have staffing issues, they often close the dining room. Jack In The Box is advertising double rewards points if you avoid the drive thru and pick up inside. They really are trying to take the load off of the drive thru line. It is ridiculously long. There are too many Doordash or other delivery app drivers.
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Re: Is Fast Food Indoor Dining Dying?

Post by storewanderer »

Alpha8472 wrote: June 16th, 2022, 1:40 pm Many old Jack In The Box restaurants near me have remodeled but they still have very limited seating inside. They still have the box shape.

In areas where they have staffing issues, they often close the dining room. Jack In The Box is advertising double rewards points if you avoid the drive thru and pick up inside. They really are trying to take the load off of the drive thru line. It is ridiculously long. There are too many Doordash or other delivery app drivers.
When I go into California, everything is normal and open. Even at night.

Basically what is happening with these fast food businesses is the employees decide they don't want to deal with people coming inside so they just lock the doors. The franchisees or owners of the locations are either not paying attention to what is going on or are scared to confront the employees and tell them to keep the doors unlocked for fear they will quit if they are told to keep the inside open. I simply cannot believe this is happening. If I owned these businesses the inside would be open for to-go orders without exception during typical meal periods (maybe the dine in part would be closed or limited) and the employees would have never had the opportunity to be "drive through only" in the first place.

In Reno area it continues to be a big joke. The burger chains are perpetually broken. I was near what used to be a busy Burger King yesterday with a sign posted they close at 5 PM due to staffing issues (a McDonalds across the street was open and fairly busy...). I can go into a different part of town and encounter multiple different McDonalds that have been drive through only for basically 2+ years, randomly opening inside for a few hours here and there some lunches. Jack in the Box has one location in Reno that closes at 3 PM and is drive through only, and other locations closing at 7 PM and drive through only. I don't really care what goes on at MCD or Burger King and really if I never went to another one of them again I would not be too upset. Jack in the Box, it is too bad, but I didn't go there very often anyway. I used to frequent Wendys and basically gave up on them in Reno and Sparks, but have noticed some Wendys are open inside again in the evenings (I'm sure the next time I try to go will be one of the nights the employees on duty have decided to lock the doors). I am not happy to have had to cut Wendys from my rotation.

KFC oddly is a chain that in Reno area has allowed to go orders basically the entire COVID period. Some locations had made the decision to be drive through only but that was without the franchisee's knowledge and was corrected. KFC also started their ad campaign for the mobile order quick pick up directing app users inside to pick up mobile orders. El Pollo Loco is another chain in Reno area, under two different franchisees that has reliably allowed to go orders the entire pandemic inside.

What I have observed the most is the franchisees who made the decision to close things and tighten up staffing have basically not been able to (or have no desire to) revive/recover their operations again to previous service levels and previous hours. You go to El Pollo Loco and the place is fully staffed like it has always been and it is no different in there than it was a few years ago. Some chains, like Chickfila, who closed inside but then sent a ton of employees to take orders outside, direct traffic outside, collect money in the drive through lane, etc. have had an easier recovery in most cases (though I know of one Chickfila that got hit hard and flat out couldn't retain employees, but various other Chickfilas that have done fine).
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Re: Is Fast Food Indoor Dining Dying?

Post by Brian Lutz »

From my limited observations indoor dining in general seems to be recovering, although it seems to have lagged a few months behind the removal of the remaining COVID restrictions. At a McDonald's in Everett today(the 41st Street location) while waiting for a curbside order it seemed like there were just as many people going in and coming out as there were people in the drive thru line, and other fast food places we go to seem to have decent amounts of dine in customers as well. Sit-down restaurants are markedly busier lately than they have been as well.
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Re: Is Fast Food Indoor Dining Dying?

Post by cjd »

Most of the fast food places here have reopened indoor dining at least a year and a half ago, I think this is more of a west coast thing. However, it seemed until more recently that the more expensive restaurants were getting more customers than fast food dine in.
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Re: Is Fast Food Indoor Dining Dying?

Post by BillyGr »

cjd wrote: June 25th, 2022, 8:17 pm Most of the fast food places here have reopened indoor dining at least a year and a half ago, I think this is more of a west coast thing. However, it seemed until more recently that the more expensive restaurants were getting more customers than fast food dine in.
Not everywhere - we had this with a couple local Wendy's and at least one McDonalds in March or so (far less than 1.5 years ago), and this is in NY State. Not sure if it has changed now or not since, as I haven't been to those particular spots since.
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Re: Is Fast Food Indoor Dining Dying?

Post by Alpha8472 »

In California, indoor dining has been back for a while. All restrictions ended a long time ago and dining rooms all seem open. The dining room might close at night, but they are open during the day.

The problem is that people are so used to drive thru now that Jack In The Box and even KFC are encouraging ordering online and picking up inside. They need to get the drive thru times down.
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