Raw Data Report: Restaurants

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Most Red Robin Gourmet Burger  (RRGB) Joints See Business the Same or Slower Than a Year Ago, Survey says

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. was polled this month as the company's stock flounders on Wall Street with recent closes on new lows.

Representatives at 30 locations around the country were interviewed and asked which shift was busiest, which food sells best, what two people usually spend per visit and what specifically about the restaurant brings customers back?

Lunch and dinner were equally busy, according to our poll, with lunch cited as busiest by 47% of respondents and dinner cited by 53%. Four people or 13% said their location was new. 87% said it was older than a year. Ten people or 33% said the atmosphere, menu and prices attracted customers equally. Nine people or 30% said it was the atmosphere exclusively, 7 people or 23% thought it was their menu that the customers liked and five or 17% said it was the prices. Twenty people or 67% said two people spend about $20-$30 per visit. Only 10 people, 33%, said bills for two reached $32-$40.

The Whiskey River BBQ Burger was the best selling menu item (7 mentions, 23%) and the Red Robin Bacon Cheeseburger was next (6 mentions, 20%). Other one or two-off mentions included the chocolate shakes, Caesar Wraps, Prime Rib Dip and A-1 Peppercorn burgers. And business is reportedly the same as a year ago, according to 47% respondents. Nine people or 30% say it is busier and only 3 people, 10% say business has slumped.

21% of P.F. Chang's (PFCB) Restaurants Have No Customer Waits at All, Survey Says

P.F. Chang's China Bistro, the popular Scottsdale, AZ founded restaurant chain, was revisited by Tickermine this month after announcements in March that its consolidated income was slightly up from a year ago.

We asked how long customers are waiting, which menu item sells best and how much the average party of two spends?

The most popular wait time was 10-20 minutes, cited by 38% of those interviewed. However business is not especially booming because another 21% of respondents cited having no customer lines at all. Eighteen % said their waits were 20-30 minutes and then 12% of those polled said either 5-10 minutes or 35-45 minutes was a typical wait for their patrons. Customers are still spending well at the Asian infusion chain, however. Most respondents said the average check for two people is $40-$50 (19 persons or 56%).

This is higher than most other restaurants polled. Another 10 people or 29% cited $25-$35 and five people or 15% said a hefty $60-$80 was normal for two customers.

The most popular menu item was the Lettuce Wraps (26%). Other menu items mentioned included the Chang's Spicy Chicken (9%), the Orange Chicken and Orange Peel Beef (each were 9%), the Asian Marinated New York Strip was cited by 6% of those polled along with the Salt and Pepper Prawns, Shrimp with Lobster Sauce and Sweet and Sour Chicken. We consulted 34 P.F. Chang's locations for this poll.

On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina (EAT) Reports Business as Steady, the Same as Last Year, Survey Says

Within a tough restaurant market, shares of Brinker International Inc. fell in mid-May. Analysts said the restaurant operator is facing a tough environment and downgraded the stock.

Tickermine surveyed the On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina restaurant this week, one within the Brinker International Inc. chain. Our surveyors asked respondents whether lunch or dinner was busiest, what were the most popular menu items, what kind of competition they had nearby, was business up or down from a year ago and how old was their location?

27 locations were consulted across the nation. Twenty six respondents or 93% reported dinner as their busier shift and only two respondents or 7% reported it to be lunch. And in spite of poor rankings, most respondents reported that business was the same compared with this time last year (46% or 13 respondents.) Eight people or 29% reported business was busier and only 7 respondents or 25% said that business had dropped. Only one respondent, 4%, claimed their location was new, i.e. less than a year old and 27 respondents or 96% said the location was older than a year.

Most respondents, specifically, 11 or 39% of those interviewed felt that their customers returned to their location because of the atmosphere. 10 respondents or 36% thought it was the menu luring people back and 7 or 25% thought, moreso, it was the prices.

The average check for a party of two, according to our respondents was, $36.92 and while 15 respondents or 54% of those interviewed reported having competing restaurants nearby, 13 or 46% reported having none.

Several competitors were cited including Chevy's, Atlantic Seafood Company and Chili's.

The most popular menu item at On the Border locations this month was hands down, the fajitas, which were mentioned by 16 respondents or 57% of those polled. Other menu items mentioned included the Build your own Burrito (5 respondents or 18%), Grande Fajita Nachos (2 respondents or 7%) and the following each were mentioned once or by 4% of those interviewed: Chicken Flautas, Chicken tortillas, Jalapeno BBQ Salmon, Mesquite Grilled Steak and Southwest Chicken Tacos.