O’Charley’s closing

[Dawgfan61]

I'm in awe of Applebee's and Chili's in Madison remaining in business, side by side. Given all the good local food available, I never end think about those restaurants.

The Chili's in Madison is pretty awful!! Poor service implies they have service to begin with.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

As long as they keep selling their honey mustard in stores.

 

[thedoubledeuce]

I thought TGI Friday’s gave up the ghost years ago. Shocking it’s still around.

Yeah, the only one I know of is in the Dallas airport.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

Their pepper jack wedges were the only reason we went there in the last 10 years

That's why we go to mugshots. Otherwise wings are too damn expensive there. Burgers so so these days.
Use to like getting southern fried chicken salad at o Charley's

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

The era of multiple chain restaurants is fading fast.

Can't keep up. Too expensive to eat out. It's a miracle if I can take my family to any of those chains and come out less than 90 bucks. Last time I went chilis it took forever snd charged me twice for mediocre shrimp
Pasta dish. Not much worth it except burgers and chicken tenders which I can get cheaper elsewhere. But 16 bucks for a burger anywhere is stupid. Same for 4 chicken fingers. Mugshots charging 1.40 a wing ain't worth it either. Hell even Mexican and Chinese use to be cheap food, can't go there any more either

 

[FormerBully]

TGI Friday's is critically endangered. Will probably be extinct next year. Applebee's has lost some stores but still hanging on.

That dumb country song saved Applebee's a few years back. I remember after "Applebee's on a date night line" people were lining up to go there.

 

[mstateglfr]

My wife just got back home and told me O’Charley’s in Tupelo was notified this morning they were closing. Apparently this is nationwide, but I may be wrong. I’ve eaten many a buffalo chicken sandwich there in my day. Hate to see these types of places closing ever since Covid.

You hate to see these typles of places closing? Interesting. I am not happy they are failing, but I also dont feel bad/sad.

Casual sit-down large chain restaurants are one of the least appealing places I can think of to get food.
It wont be bad, but also...why go there over any number of other options? There is nothing special or motivating about them.

Bennigans, TGI Fridays, Max&Ermas, Ruby Tuesday, OCharleys, Applebees, etc etc- they all just seem interchangeable and unimpressive.


If I am going to feel like I overpaid at the end of a meal, I would much rather feel like I overpaid at some small restaurant or local metro chain.

 

[FormerBully]

Tupelo just has too many good local spots and fast-service options now. Places like Cane’s, Chick-fil-A, Newk’s, Super Chix, and a ton of local restaurants have changed what people expect.

We eat out a good bit around Tupelo. We actually had Manhattan Deli today, and if you haven’t tried it, give it a shot. The chicken parm sandwich was great. Two sandwiches, fries, and gelato were around $24.

We went to O’Charley’s a few months ago, and the food was just okay, the prices felt high, and the wait was forever.

That’s the problem. If my wife wants chicken, why go to O’Charley’s when she can go to Cane’s or Super Chix, get better chicken for about the same cost, and have it much faster?

Those places can be packed and still move people through quickly. I think that is what a lot of the older casual dining chains are struggling to compete with now.

 

[FormerBully]

You hate to see these typles of places closing? Interesting. I am not happy they are failing, but I also dont feel bad/sad.

Casual sit-down large chain restaurants are one of the least appealing places I can think of to get food.
It wont be bad, but also...why go there over any number of other options? There is nothing special or motivating about them.

Bennigans, TGI Fridays, Max&Ermas, Ruby Tuesday, OCharleys, Applebees, etc etc- they all just seem interchangeable and unimpressive.


If I am going to feel like I overpaid at the end of a meal, I would much rather feel like I overpaid at some small restaurant or local metro chain.

I know a guy who worked with Sysco, and he told me one of the biggest problems with a lot of chain restaurants is that everything has to be highly standardized, pre-portioned, and designed for quick turnaround. That works operationally, but I think it’s part of what has hurt places like Applebee’s and O’Charley’s. Eventually, the food starts feeling like something that was prepared somewhere else and reheated instead of actually cooked at the restaurant.

He did tell me one thing though: if you’re going to eat at a chain, you can’t go wrong with Texas Roadhouse. They just don’t miss. And there’s probably a reason for that. They still do a lot in-house, from making sides and rolls to cutting steaks, rather than relying as heavily on frozen or pre-prepared food. There’s a big difference between standardizing how you cook food and standardizing the food itself.

 

[Braves Dawg]

Tupelo just has too many good local spots and fast-service options now. Places like Cane’s, Chick-fil-A, Newk’s, Super Chix, and a ton of local restaurants have changed what people expect.

We eat out a good bit around Tupelo. We actually had Manhattan Deli today, and if you haven’t tried it, give it a shot. The chicken parm sandwich was great. Two sandwiches, fries, and gelato were around $24.

We went to O’Charley’s a few months ago, and the food was just okay, the prices felt high, and the wait was forever.

That’s the problem. If my wife wants chicken, why go to O’Charley’s when she can go to Cane’s or Super Chix, get better chicken for about the same cost, and have it much faster?

Those places can be packed and still move people through quickly. I think that is what a lot of the older casual dining chains are struggling to compete with now.

I've been wanting to try Manhattan Deli. The reason I've been reluctant is parking. I've been told to just park at the gas station and walk over. Another "hole in the wall" I've been wanting to try is O'Lucky B's.

 

[DoggieDaddy13]

You hate to see these typles of places closing? Interesting. I am not happy they are failing, but I also dont feel bad/sad.

Casual sit-down large chain restaurants are one of the least appealing places I can think of to get food.
It wont be bad, but also...why go there over any number of other options? There is nothing special or motivating about them.

Bennigans, TGI Fridays, Max&Ermas, Ruby Tuesday, OCharleys, Applebees, etc etc- they all just seem interchangeable and unimpressive.


If I am going to feel like I overpaid at the end of a meal, I would much rather feel like I overpaid at some small restaurant or local metro chain.

your lack of empathy is disturbing.

Why do you hate America!

 

[FormerBully]

I've been wanting to try Manhattan Deli. The reason I've been reluctant is parking. I've been told to just park at the gas station and walk over. Another "hole in the wall" I've been wanting to try is O'Lucky B's.

O'Lucky B's is great, but it is always a long wait.

 

[vhdawg]

Don’t sleep on Chili’s burger in the 3 for me menu.

Chili's in Lake City got me past the ending of last year's Florida game. A big sampler platter and a tall adult beverage was the perfect salve to that.

 

[HRMSU]

I liked the caramel pie they had. Didn't realize you could replicate it by boiling a can of eagle brand milk in water. Be careful pouring it out of the can it's hot.

 

[johnson86-1]

You hate to see these typles of places closing? Interesting. I am not happy they are failing, but I also dont feel bad/sad.

Casual sit-down large chain restaurants are one of the least appealing places I can think of to get food.
It wont be bad, but also...why go there over any number of other options? There is nothing special or motivating about them.

Bennigans, TGI Fridays, Max&Ermas, Ruby Tuesday, OCharleys, Applebees, etc etc- they all just seem interchangeable and unimpressive.


If I am going to feel like I overpaid at the end of a meal, I would much rather feel like I overpaid at some small restaurant or local metro chain.

They are usually right next to the hotel and they are reasonably consistent. If I'm traveling anywhere but the middle of nowhere, I can find a reasonable chain hotel with a long horns if not in the parking lot next to the hotel, at least a stone's throw away, and I can eat reasonably healthy by getting a small sirloin with a salad and broccoli, can get a drink or two, and be in and out in 40ish minutes, be in the hotel and not feel like *** the rest of the night because I've eaten a 1,500 calorie dinner. I think tax and tip I'm in and out for somewhere around $22 if I don't drink alcohol.

 

[vhdawg]

I know a guy who worked with Sysco, and he told me one of the biggest problems with a lot of chain restaurants is that everything has to be highly standardized, pre-portioned, and designed for quick turnaround. That works operationally, but I think it’s part of what has hurt places like Applebee’s and O’Charley’s. Eventually, the food starts feeling like something that was prepared somewhere else and reheated instead of actually cooked at the restaurant.

That points to incredibly narrow margins, and something else I noticed earlier this year....we were going to Disney and stopped at a Ruby Tuesday for lunch in middle of nowhere I-10 Florida somewhere west of Tallahassee. Food and service was fine, but the vinyl was cracked on nearly every booth and the place looked unkept. These chains go pop into slightly larger than small towns, and their market is locals and passthrough traffic, but after 25-30 years, the building and fixtures are showing wear, and the locals have local places they're more likely to go, and it probably just turns the whole operation into a slow death spiral. You can't make enough money to fix the place up, but as long as enough people stop in, you can stay alive for a while longer if you're close enough to the highway to capture passing stragglers.

And all these places we've named, Chilis, O'Charleys, Applebees, Ruby Tuesday.....they're all sitting about that 25-30 year time frame from when they were at full boom. Their stores are wearing out and the locals aren't coming.

 

[FormerBully]

That points to incredibly narrow margins, and something else I noticed earlier this year....we were going to Disney and stopped at a Ruby Tuesday for lunch in middle of nowhere I-10 Florida somewhere west of Tallahassee. Food and service was fine, but the vinyl was cracked on nearly every booth and the place looked unkept. These chains go pop into slightly larger than small towns, and their market is locals and passthrough traffic, but after 25-30 years, the building and fixtures are showing wear, and the locals have local places they're more likely to go, and it probably just turns the whole operation into a slow death spiral. You can't make enough money to fix the place up, but as long as enough people stop in, you can stay alive for a while longer if you're close enough to the highway to capture passing stragglers.

And all these places we've named, Chilis, O'Charleys, Applebees, Ruby Tuesday.....they're all sitting about that 25-30 year time frame from when they were at full boom. Their stores are wearing out and the locals aren't coming.

I was going to make these points. The O'Charleys in Tupelo hadn't been updated in 20 years. The one time we went in there it had old booths and even leaks that forced them to shut down a section.