"Seniors" Have Stopped Eating At Cracker Barrel and Olive Garden (separate, cousin)

[BugsyPal]

Had no idea either restaurant was a big thing with senior citizens, but apparently that demographic made up a good share of customer base pre-pandemic. Post covid they just don't seem interested any longer.

https://nypost.com/2023/09/22/senior...-olive-garden/

[SunGrins]

We have a Cracker Barrel but isn’t convenient. In ten years I visited once or twice. I go to Olive Garden about once a month and it is always full. I hear negative comments on the place but I have no complaints. It is sort of in the middle of local Italian restaurants.

[rodolfocostarica]

I'm senior and in the past have liked CB. I like the specials and a nice selection of sides.


Recently on US road trip and stopped at one in NJ. They were out of the special and had to go up to hostess after 10 minutes to ask about a waitress to take my order. New Young lady was in training. Maybe an example of how hard to find employees now in USA.
also they took off the dinner size salad as a side option.


How can us seniors maintain our lithe sexy bodies without a salad?


Anyway I'll go again to see if this was just an anomaly and maybe down south I'll have a better experience.

[davebarnes]

Old news
https://www.nrn.com/family-dining/cr...-boost-traffic
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline...eting-misfires

[Mayvenne]

Paywall kept popping up but I did read the beginning of the NY Post article.
It's funny because we were never CB people ( I think we've been there maybe 4 times in 20 years) but we did, every so often, go to Olive Garden. We particularly loved the lunch salad -soup and bread sticks. It seems when we moved, we tried one location which was really pretty bad. It was crowded but horrible service. There's another one that we tried and it was much better but I think they got more limited with the hours and refills. ( yes, it's unlimited but they weren't super available).
Some of this was right as we were coming out of covid. We may have to give it at try again......... I never thought their food was great, but the soup salad and bread sticks were a wonderful deal.

[thinkalot]

Too damn loud at Cracker Barrel. You can be the first one in the restaurant at opening and its already loud.

I do like their food.

[gentlearts]

Around here there is a chain called Carey Hilliards. It’s where the geezers go because they have half portions for small appetites.

We never go to Cracker Barrel unless we’re traveling. I got Thanksgiving to go last year and it was good.

I’ve gotten Olive Garden to go when I had company. Salad and lasagna, and it was a great time saver.

[TimAZ]

Most of the food served at both of these restaurants is prepared in a commissary kitchen and reheated, really not much different than what you’d get at the freezer aisle or hot deli of a grocery store. They do offer table service, and we get to skip cleanup so there is that bonus. Is it enough to justify paying 2X-3X the cost for food that is nothing special? Apparently a lot of folks vote “no”.

[selhars]

I guess for seniors CB and OG were the new Horn and Hardhart's on Wednesdays.

My family went through a Cracker Barrel phase decades ago on road trips when I was a teen and young adult. It was a novelty for us.

Having lived in Italy I can't do Olive Garden. Well, oddly enough when I said I'd treat my elderly aunt and separately on another occasion an elderly cousin to anywhere they wanted to eat -- I'll be darned if they each didn't pick Olive Garden. One even had a coupon!

I tried my BEST to talk them out of it....suggesting other places, really building them up (you could try this or that dish, the atmosphere is really nice) nope -- they wanted Olive Garden. You've got to be kidding me if people think that's real Italian food. No. Just. No.

I know there are MILLions of Americans, and MILLIONS of them eat out -- but from time to time I've wondered how all these restaurants stay in business.

I haven't been to a Red Lobster, Cracker Barrel, Olive Garden, Outback, Boston Market, Bertuccis, Longhorn, Hibachi Buffet, or diner in decades.

I rarely go to a sit down restaurant unless it's the new "fast casual" MOD Pizza, Panera. Once every couple of months -- maybe.

However I do order out sushi about once a month.

You might say well if I'm eating out at Panera, I should stick my nose up at Olive Garden. I suppose. But the fast casual places don't act like they're a full service restaurant ...where I expect a little more authenticity or effort regarding food and atmosphere.

I eat out during Restaurant Week but trust me those are not chain restaurants. I do have it in me to be a food snob.

[Pitt Chick]

Both are very busy in my county. IF seniors are staying away (and I don't think they are), others are picking up the slack.

We don'r do either often.
We DID take my mom to the Cracker Barrel in her county two weeks ago. DH and I were the target demographic for our mid-afternoon meal. We are late 60s.