FSR August 2022

Welcome

A New Way Forward WHEN IT CAME TIME TO WORK ON LAST YEAR’S AUGUST ISSUE, the FSR edito rial team was faced with a dilemma: What in the world should we do about the annual report that ranks the highest-grossing full-service chains? Because the FSR 50 pulls financial data from the previous year, we were able to move forward with the report in 2020, which provided a “here’s where the industry stood before the bottom dropped out” perspective. But to build a report in which the vast majority of brands were in a tailspin seemed not only impractical (would their pandemic performance really be an indicator of future success?) but also a bit cruel. At a time when the whole industry was floundering, we wanted to share stories of resilience, not sales figures. That’s why the FSR 50 was supplanted by the Growth 23, which profiled chains that, despite the odds, added units to their system. Now, after a hiatus, the FSR 50 is back and given the amount of double digit sales growth, it’s a rather triumphant homecoming ( PAGE 30 ). Because fiscal years can vary, some brands, including the Darden portfolio, were still weighed down by 2020 calendar months seeping into their 2021 fiscal years. On the flip side, several concepts were already outperforming 2019 levels. As we look to the year ahead, the COVID-era conversations around off-premises options and al fresco dining are giving way to discussions around trimming costs as inflation and a stubbornly tight labor market bear down on restaurants. Call me naïve, but I find something reassuring in this shift. For as abnormal and difficult as the last two years have been, they did not break the cycle of change within foodservice. At the height of the pandemic, it seemed like the industry would be mired in the same challenges for a long time. The advent of new dilemmas pushes restaurants beyond this difficult period—it also keeps them sharp and adaptable. There is no “return to normalcy.” That implies backward motion. Instead, there is resurgence, a new way forward. And if this FSR 50 is any indication, operators now have the wind at their backs.

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CONDADO TACOS AND COOPER’S HAWK (LEFT AND BELOW) MANAGED TO GROW IN 2020.

COOPER HAWK’S CONDADO TACOS

GROWTH

BY NICOLE DUNCAN

Last year offered little in terms of favorable market conditions, but that didn’t stop a small enclave of casual-dining chains from expanding their store footprints.

Nicole Duncan EDITOR

COOPER HAWK’S

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NICOLE: LIBBY M C GOWAN / COVER: DINE BRANDS

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FSRMAGAZINE.COM

AUGUST 2022