Happy 80th Birthday, Chain Store Guide!

Transcription

1 Happy 80th Birthday, Chain Store Guide! The year was 1933, the heart of the Great Depression. Unemployment was 25%, banks were failing, and strong winds across the Midwest stripped the top soil from drought-stricken farms to begin several years of the infamous Dust Bowls. If you were lucky enough to have a job, average wages were $1,550 per year. Across the Atlantic, Adolph Hitler became Chancellor of Germany and opened the first concentration camp, setting the stage for what would become World War 2 a few years later. Franklin D. Roosevelt became the 32nd President of the United States and immediately set to work addressing the many issues the country was facing through his New Deal initiatives. Perhaps the only bright spot for some people was the repeal of the 18th Amendment, effectively ending national prohibition. That same year a visionary young businessman named Irving Slobod founded what would become Chain Store Guide when he saw the realization of his dream of creating truly effective business directories that would focus on distinct individual markets. His directories would include companies across the nation and would provide such vital information as the full address, the number of stores operated, and the name of at least one senior executive at each company. The list would be broken out by state then by city within each state. He published the first such directory in 1933, titled The List of Restaurant Chains. It contained information that Irving had personally verified and included listings for no more than a few hundred companies. The direct descendant of Irving s brainchild is now the Database of Chain Restaurant Operators, a compilation of more than 7,000 restaurant-operating companies in the U.S. and Canada that is updated continuously by Chain Store Guide. As Irving Slobod recognized, nothing replaces primary research to ensure accuracy and currency of data, and CSG has maintained this level of scrutiny for the past 80 years. The Threadbare Thirties The economy has certainly come a long way over the past 80 years, and so have consumer tastes and habits. In the 1930s, choices for dining out were pretty limited: automats, cafeterias, coffee shops, and full-service fine dining restaurants. With high unemployment and low wages, eating out wasn t an option that many folks exercised. For those who did venture out, they might have found (depending on where they lived) an A&W Restaurant, Big Boy, Bridgeman s, K&W Cafeteria, Krystal, Pat O Brien s, Peter Luger, S & S Cafeteria, Trader Vic s, or White Castle. a3

2 a4 Chain Store Guide The Fighting Forties and Fabulous Fifties The war years of the early 1940s were harsh and new restaurant businesses were slow to open the CSG database includes only 33 new businesses founded in those years. Between 1946 and 1949, that number nearly doubled. Among the notable names that were developed during those years were Baskin-Robbins, Carl s Jr., Dairy Queen, In-N-Out Burger, and Shoney s. The post-war boom in the 1950s saw an increase in the availability of different types of restaurants. Bob Evans, Burger King, Denny s, IHOP, KFC, McDonald s, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell are just a few of the hundreds of restaurant companies that debuted in that decade. The Swinging Sixties The ten years following the peaceful and prosperous 1950s was highlighted by massive social upheaval. The civil rights movement reached its peak, the Vietnam war was heating up and becoming increasingly unpopular, especially among young people, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and two of the Kennedy brothers were sober reminders that the world was changing. Many of the so-called baby boomers were in college and no longer content with the status quo, not at all hesitant to protest and express their dissatisfaction. Amid the turbulence, Pete s Super Submarines was opened by a teen-ager named Fred DeLuca in 1965 as an effort to earn enough money for college. That little sandwich shop is now the Subway system, operating nearly 40,000 stores in 100 countries around the world. Arby s, Blimpie, Captain D s, and Hardee s also began selling their sandwiches in that decade. Huddle House, the restaurant that famously never closes, opened its first door in 1964 and was marketed as a place for customers to huddle after the big Friday night football games. Red Lobster and Ruth s Chris Steak House started operating to serve the needs of a more adult diner. The Disco Era By the 1970s, the world was a little more settled. The Vietnam war came to an unsatisfactory conclusion with the fall of Saigon. The hippies had gone home, and disco dominated the music and fashion scene. Women took to the streets and the halls of Congress demanding equal rights, and Richard Nixon was forced to resign in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The 1970s were boom years for restaurant growth, with nearly 800 companies in the CSG Database debuting between 1970 and Women were an increasingly large part of the workforce during this time: According to U.S. government numbers, the participation rate of married women jumped from 27.6% in 1960 to 39.7% in 1970 up to 54.1% by Married women often have families so this movement of women into the workplace began to signal the increasing importance of quality time with their loved ones. Casual-dining chains such as 20

3 e Bennigan s, Cheddar s, Cheesecake Factory, Houlihan s, Ruby Tuesday, and Tony Roma s all premiered during that decade, offering consumers a relaxed, friendly atmosphere where they could congregate with family and friends over adult beverages and eat mostly American food that they didn t have to cook themselves or clean up after. Perhaps because of the burgeoning Subway chain, the era also saw the proliferation of sandwich chains, including Au Bon Pain, Jason s Deli, Cousins Subs, Mr. Submarine, Port of Subs, and Potbelly Sandwich Works. There was also an increasing emphasis on ethnic food, especially from south of the border. Taco Cabana, Taco Mayo, and Taco Maker joined the growing Taco Bell chain in bringing Mexican food to the masses. Baja Cantina, Chili s, El Toro, Hacienda Mexican Restaurants, King Taco, Mighty Taco, and others were part of the movement. Starbucks served its first cup of coffee in 1971, launching the gourmet coffee trend that continues up to today. The Decade of Decadence In 1987, Ronald Reagan challenged the Soviet Union s leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this [Berlin] wall. By the end of the decade Germany was reunified, and the Soviet Union was unraveling. The computer age was well and truly underway with the introduction of personal computers into offices and homes. On the foodservice front, the 80s were the decade of the chicken wing. The most commonly accepted version of the origin of the Buffalo wing phenomenon is that they were first served at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY, in the mid-60s, and were created by the bar s owner to 1) serve unexpected company, 2) prevent them from going to waste or 3) provide a treat on late Friday night to serve their Catholic customers who hadn t eaten meat all day. Wings were typically discarded by restaurants at the time, so finding a profitable use for them was like found money. In 1982, Buffalo Wild Wings opened its first restaurant, followed the next year by Beef O Brady s then Hooters in the mid-decade. We also saw the start of The Wing Machine, Wings N Ribs, and Wings to Go. Another trend noted at the time was a growing desire for gourmet ice cream and treats. Feeding this appetite were Bruster s, Cinnabon, Cold Stone Creamery, Culver s, Dippin Dots, and Marble Slab Creamery. Sandwich chains continued to proliferate with the openings of Jersey Mike s, Penn Station, Philly Franchising. Five Guys Burgers & Fries and Panera Bread ushered in the era of what we now call fast-casual foodservice, with food prepared to order but a lower price point than a traditional casual dining location. More coffee houses opened under the Barnie s and Joffrey s name.. Many of the other restaurant operators that began in that decade were franchisees of varied concepts as the idea of the franchise business model caught on. Among the more than 1,200 restaurant companies founded in those ten years was a proliferation of many different types of ethnic chains, ranging from Mexican to pizza to Chinese to Italian to Vietnamese and beyond. a5

4 a6 Chain Store Guide The Naughty Nineties The 1990s began with the invasion of Kuwait by the troops of Iraq s president Saddam Hussein. Although the invaders were quickly turned back by a coalition force from 34 nations, it foreshadowed the violence that was to come. The World Wide Web became available to the public, and computers continued to revolutionize how business was done, particularly as Microsoft technology grew in popularity and dominance. There were two major foodservice trends in the 1990s: the growing popularity of the fast-casual service model and the desire for more and better gourmet coffee. Building on the popularity of the new fast-casual chains Panera and Five Guys, restaurateurs such as Steve Ells, Steven Kolow, and Aaron Kennedy developed the Chipotle, Boston Market, and Noodles & Co. brands. Other well-known fast-casual chains that were started during those ten years are Atlanta Bread, Camille s, Cosi, Firehouse Subs, Pei Wei, and Qdoba. The service model lends itself well to items such as sandwiches, salads, and some ethnic foods, including Mexican and Chinese. The basic characteristics for most of these chains are the lack of freezers and deep-fryers and the availability of customized, made-to-order food. For timestarved consumers, the allure of fresher and healthier food has proved undeniable. Two decades after Starbucks debuted in Seattle in 1971, the company was up to 125 locations. By 1992, there were more than 250 Starbucks coffee houses, and by the end of the decade, there were more than 2,000. The job title of Barista entered the American vocabulary. Among the companies that took note and began their own caffeine-fueled operations during those years are such well-known brands as Caribou Coffee and Tully s, along with regional brands such as Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii, Blenz, Jittery Joe s, and Port City Java. Buffalo wings continued to be a money-maker for companies, and the decade saw the entry of Wingstop, Wild Wing, and Wing Zone into the market. The New Millenium As in the decade before, the 2000s began with violence and carnage as terrorists attacked America on its own soil. The attacks profoundly altered America s complacency but did not stifle the American spirit. The second Gulf War is finally winding down, and the effects of what has been a worldwide recession are starting to ease. During this decade, the U.S. inaugurated its first non-white president, a milestone that Dr. Martin Luther King would have celebrated. In the restaurant industry, the 21st century has seen the explosion of the fastcasual gourmet hamburger. At the start of the decade, the most well-known of the better burger chains, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, had a grand total of five locations. At the end of 2012, that number had swollen to more than 1,100. Trying to cash in on this movement have been a number of burgermeisters, including BGR The Burger Joint, Cheeseburger Bobby s, The Counter Burger, Smashburger, and Square One. Established restaurant-operating companies jumped into the 20

5 e competition with Front Burner Brands (The Melting Pot) opening Burger 21 locations, Bold Foods (headed by celebrity chef Bobby Flay) debuting Bobby s Burger Palace, and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. introducing its Burger Works concept, a stripped-down version of its casual dining model. Coffee and Buffalo wing restaurants have continued to be popular, as are ethnic and other fast-casual concepts. Throughout the past 80 years, Chain Store Guide s customers have seen the evolution of Irving Slobod s simple idea of basic contact information compiled in a print directory to the complex and detailed CSG digital database that exists today. He would be proud of the legacy he left behind and the work that Chain Store Guide employees continue to put into it every day. Our customers have always had access to the most current and accurate information on the planet, and we plan to continue Irving s heritage for the next 80 years and beyond. If you have suggestions on how Chain Store Guide can continue to progress to better meet your needs and help your business progress along with us, please contact Senior Editor Linda Helman at lhelman@chainstoreguide.com. Chain Store Guide Business Leads Market Research Celebrating 80 Years a7