National Restaurant Association Show 2025

For more consumers, the car is the dining room

because they are worried about the future. Restaurants can win in an environment like this, but it takes effort. Consumers want their restaurants to be sustainable, Pawlak said. According to Technomic, 77% of Americans say it’s important to be “environmentally conscious,” up from 72% in 2020 and 2022. They also want their restaurants to be innovative. Sixty-eight percent of Americans told Technomic that it’s important for restaurants to introduce “new, exciting products,” up from 62% in 2022. But consumers also want their restaurants to be a good value, and Byrne highlighted Chili’s, which has seen same-store sales rise more than 31% over each of the past two quarters—and over 15% over the past four—despite an environment otherwise brutal for casual-dining restaurants. They noted the chain’s 3-for- Me offer for $10.99 and up, and a Big Smasher burger introduced last year that targeted consumers frustrated by high prices at fast- food chains. “Value can come from anywhere,” Byrne said, “so why not casual dining?” He also cited Taco Bell, which outpaced most of the fast-food sector in the first quarter with 9% same-store sales growth. The chain introduces a lot of new menu items and then markets them, which gets consumers hungry. “They’re always hitting the menu board with something new, something exciting, and they’re able to turn that into advertising that makes you hungry,” Byrne said. Consumers are looking for you to give them a reason to be excited about your operation, he added. “Diners love innovation,” he said.

BY JONATHAN MAZE

Americans love their cars. They love them so much they’re increasingly turning them into dining rooms. A growing number of consumers are eating their meals in the car. According to Technomic data, the percentage of consumers who eat limited-service breakfast out of their car has increased eight points since 2019. It’s increased 5 points for lunch and 4 points for snacks. It’s even true for full-service restaurants, according to Technomic. In-car consumption of snacks purchased at full- service restaurants is up 11 points since 2019. It’s up three points for full-service breakfast. More consumers are eschewing meals with partners, friends, family or coworkers to dine on their own. Apparently more of those occasions are taking place behind the wheel of an automobile. “Car consumption of food has skyrocketed and not really let up,” said Robert Byrne, director of consumer insights with Technomic, a sister company of Restaurant Business. He presented the data at the National Restaurant Show, noting that the car has become the “new third place.” Consumers have long consumed meals in their cars, thanks to the proliferation of drive-thru, fast-food breakfast and more hurried lifestyles. Nearly three-quarters of meals purchased from a restaurant are for consumption outside the home, and with more diners ordering from their phones, it’s only natural that they would eat meals in the car after they pick it up. But Byrne suggests other elements are work. He believes the proliferation of social media is driving a lot of this, as TikTok food reviewers show themselves testing food from the front seats of their cars. “If you look at that user-generated content on social, the amount of videos that are recorded in a vehicle just shocks me,” he said. “You just live in your car or something like that.”

PHOTO CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK