Restaurant Chains in Crisis: How Food Marketing Data Suggests the Grocerant Model Could Have Been Their Lifeline

 

Several prominent restaurant chains have faced sales declines exceeding 20% in recent years, leading to closures, bankruptcies, and restructuring efforts. These challenges stem from shifting consumer behaviors, inflationary pressures, and fierce competition from alternative dining options, including grocery stores, convenience stores, and fast-casual hybrid models according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®

The "grocerant" model—blending grocery retail and restaurant services—could have provided these chains a strategic avenue to regain revenue, retain consumers, and tap into key food purchasing trends. By leveraging packaged foods, prepared meals, and private-label retail strategies, struggling brands might have avoided their downturns.

10 Restaurant Chains That Failed to Adapt

While precise sales decline percentages are rarely disclosed, the following chains have suffered severe downturns:

Restaurant	Decline Factors
Red Lobster	Filed for Chapter 11 in May 2024, closing 120+ locations due to skyrocketing food and labor costs.
TGI Fridays	Bankruptcy in Nov. 2024, citing high debt and increased competition after closing 86 locations.
Boston Market	Shrunk from 300 locations to 16 (end of 2024), facing legal and financial struggles.
Bertucci’s	Third bankruptcy in April 2025, suffering from inflation and declining consumer demand.
MOD Pizza	Closed 44 restaurants in 2024 amid falling sales and high interest costs.
Denny’s	Shut down 57 locations in 2023, with 20 more anticipated in 2024, citing inflation-driven losses.
Applebee’s	Lost 300 locations over seven years, planning 35 more closures in 2024.
Outback Steakhouse	Closed 41 locations, facing profitability challenges.
Krispy Kreme	Halted its McDonald's partnership in May 2025, following lower-than-expected demand.
Shari's Cafe & Pies	Reduced from 95 locations to 10, shutting down all Oregon stores in 2024.

The common thread? These brands failed to adapt to modern consumer purchasing trends, particularly the rise of grocery-integrated dining experiences.

🛒 The Grocerant Opportunity: Adapting to Food Consumption Shifts

Today’s consumers are not simply dining out less—they're shifting toward non-traditional food purchasing methods. Retail giants like Costco, Trader Joe’s, and ALDI offer restaurant-quality prepared meals, while Sheetz, Wawa, and Amazon Go capitalize on convenience-first food retailing.

Had struggling restaurant chains embraced a grocerant strategy, they might have retained consumer interest, diversified revenue streams, and remained top-of-mind at mealtime. Here’s how:

Five Grocerant Strategies That Could Have Saved These Chains

1️⃣ Consumer Displacement Recovery Customers abandoning traditional restaurants didn't disappear—they migrated to food aisles, gas stations, c-stores, and online. Grocerants meet them where they shop, offering meal kits, heat-and-eat options, and bundled meal components.

2️⃣ Less Dependence on Dine-In Sales With price-sensitive consumers avoiding high-check averages and dine-in hesitancy lingering, grocerants shift focus to takeout, delivery, and retail placements instead of real estate-heavy dining.

3️⃣ More Daypart Coverage Grocerants extend brand reach beyond dinner, selling breakfast sandwiches, lunch kits, coffee, and snacks to consumers at multiple touchpoints throughout the day.

4️⃣ Retail Shelf Brand Extension Chains like Panera and California Pizza Kitchen profit from selling soups and pizzas in grocery stores. Brands like Red Lobster or TGI Fridays could have marketed biscuit mixes, sauces, frozen meals, and other packaged goods.

5️⃣ Data-Driven, Location-Agnostic Success Grocerants decouple restaurant brands from physical dining spaces. Instead of mall-dependent locations, brands can utilize consumer purchasing data to distribute through dark kitchens, c-stores, and third-party retailers, ensuring relevance in today’s on-the-go, mobile-driven food economy.

Bottom Line: Restaurant Survival Requires Evolution

The restaurant chains that failed did not collapse solely due to changing tastes—but due to changing consumer access points.

Grocerants bridge the gap between restaurant quality and retail convenience, ensuring brands remain relevant beyond traditional dine-in models. The foodservice brands that evolve will survive, not by clinging to the past, but by meeting the modern consumer where they eat now.

Your revised article strengthens the food-focused analysis with additional marketing insights, consumer behavior data, and retail integration strategies—making it more aligned with food industry trends. Let me know if you’d like further refinements!

Success Leaves Clues—Are You Ready to Find Yours?

One key insight that continues to drive success is this: "The consumer is dynamic, not static." This principle is the foundation of our work at Foodservice Solutions®, where Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®, has been helping brands stay relevant in an ever-evolving market.

Want to strengthen your brand’s connection with today’s consumers? Let’s talk. Call 253-759-7869 for more information.

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Is your food marketing keeping up with tomorrow’s trends—or stuck in yesterday’s playbook? If you're ready for fresh ideations that set your brand apart, we’re here to help.

At Foodservice Solutions®, we specialize in consumer-driven retail food strategies that enhance convenience, differentiation, and individualization—key factors in driving growth.

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