Here in Kansas City, there’s a chain of family-style restaurants called Waid’s. The times I’ve gone there for breakfast or lunch, I was struck thatr, excepting me, all the customers were senior citizens. Most were much older than the minimum AARP membership age limit, too – they appeared in their 70s and 80s.
In my travels, I’ve noticed that sertain restaurants seem to be popular with the elderly, for some reason, while you don’t see the elderly in others. The Village Inn near me is another favorite of the elderly, but in other cities the patronage Village Inns is more diverse. Go to Chili’s or Applebee’s, where the prices are similar to a “family style” restaurant, and you hardly ever see oldsters eating there, unless they’re with younger relatives.
I’ve heard “price” used to justify the popularity of certain restaurants, but Waid’s is no cheaper than other diners or family-style restarants, like Denny’s or Perkins, that has a customer base spanning different age groups.
So … what are the old folk’s restaurants in your area? What do you think makes them attractive for the elderly? Why do young people avoid such places?
My own suspicion is that the “meat and three” style of food preparation appeals to oldsters because it’s what they would be fixing at home if they wanted to bother with it. Some of them may still do their own cooking and may just want a night out.
No doubt in time, as the Boomers edge on into their seniorhood (and later generations as well) the places they prefer to eat at will be along similar lines, but with differing menus. Things they grew up on.
Luby’s doesn’t salt anything, and they have appalling side dishes like boiled cabbage and that hideous carrot-raisin salad that keep the old folks regular.
Mr. Levins’ father says that Luby’s is like the hospital cafeteria without the IV’s.
I’m not sure if that’s comforting to 'em or maybe just conditioning. Either way, they love it.
My dad loved Hometown Buffet. I call it “Bluehair Buffet”. It’s okay, I guess. The food is somewhat tasty (only somewhat), and the prices are reasonable. Seniors get a discount, but I don’t know how much. I think the reason seniors like it is because they can have as much as they want, it’s not seasoned too highly for senior digestive systems, it’s “old school” food (stuff they grew up with), and the prices are good.
A former co-worker related a story. He went to Hometown Buffet and saw an old man with a tray of food. The man fell, dropping his tray; then picket himself up, sat down in a chair, and cried. My former co-worker felt so bad for the old man that he couldn’t bring himself to go back to Hometown Buffet.
A long time ago, when my grandpa was alive, I asked him the same question. He preferred certain places for the quality of service. Some of those places have an “early bird special” offering discounts prior to 5PM. I also think it is the predictablilty of the menu and probably the lack of other types of folks dining (just like others feel at their favorite joints) that make these places attractive for seniors.
What, exactly, is “old school” food? As in, please give an example or two of a lunch or dinner item which illustrates this.
Tell you why I ask, besides general curiosity – when I eat out, I like diners best (and this is very popular with the local elderly). I’m not young anymore but I’m not elderly yet either. When not in the mood for a diner – and not in the mood to cook either – I tend to go for Chinese or Italian food when left to myself. My boyfriend (who is also neither young nor elderly) also is a diner afficionado so that’s where we often eat out. However, he also enjoys some of the chain restaurants such as Pizzeria Uno, Lonestar, Bertucci’s, Chili’s, Appleby’s, etc.
Since we both love Italian food, he’s taken me to Pizzeria Uno and Bertucci’s, and he says Lonestar is next on the list (I do love a good steak, so I’m willing to try it). But now that the idea of ‘old people restaurants’ is mentioned, from what I saw at Pizzeria Uno and Bertucci’s, me and him were at the upper end of the age spectrum for the most part, yet while when we go to the diner, we’re either in the middle or at the younger end (he’s late 30s, I’m early 40s). He absolutely loves the food in these places. I thought Pizzeria Uno and Bertucci’s were OK food wise (I’d go back to either of those restaurants again if he wanted to, but I doubt I’d go by myself). But I can’t help but wonder if my “this is just OK” opinion about the chain restaurant food is because the chain restaurant food isn’t as good as non-chain (or diners), or if it’s because…
I can’t figure out the appeal of hometown buffet. People go out to eat frozen peas and potato buds??? My grandma loves the place. I can’t figure out why you’d spend your money on food that seems to revel in its mediacracy.
We call Steak and Ale the “bring your own oxygen” restaurant. My friends all used to be waiters and bartenders at the Steak and Ale in Kendall (South Miami), and the average age of the patrons, particularly the bar patrons, was late 60s.
I think that older people may not like the trendy Italian-Tex-Mex-Southwestern-Cajun-Thai-deep-fried menu items at family restaurant chains like Friday’s and Chili’s, so they stick to meat and potatoes and things they know. Morrison’s Cafeteria and Ponderosa Steakhouse also come to mind for that. The food is blander, and more traditionally “American” at those places.
I think the “old folks’ restaurants” appeal lies mainly in the food itself. It’s what most old folks would eat if they were eating at home–nothing fancy, nothing highly spiced or seasoned, nothing “foreign.” Also, there’s the idea itself of a cafeteria–no squalling kids, no over-bearing, gum-chewing waitron.
When I was driving across the country, I actually made a point of trying to eat at a few of those places. Being in the car 10 hours a day, by myself, I didn’t want to have anything greasy or spicy. Plus, driving all day with nothing to see on the interstate except signs like “Denver 562 miles” left me a little mute and incoherent, so the concept of not having to deal with a counter jockey or waitron sounded good. I think I ate in a Wade’s in the KC area, and there wasn’t anyone in there who was younger than I’ll be in 40 years.
It’s kind of hard to explain, but I think one of the “secrets” is to overcook it. I like crisp veggies, but dad always liked the mushy kind – overcooked. When I was growing up, veggies came out of a can and were mushy. Then there’s meat and potatoes. Sure, you get meat and potatoes at a lot of places, but there’s a way of doing it that you know when you see it. Meat loaf and mashed potatoes. Who orders meat loaf at a restaurant? Hot turkey sandwiches. You know, turkey breast over white bread and smothered in gravy – with a side of mash and mushy green beans. Fried chicken and mash. I guess you might call it “comfort food”.
I consider Denny’s to be an “old people’s restaurant”, since that’s the kind of food they have. Of course, Denny’s is popular with families since it’s inexpensive. Dennys and IHOP are convenient places to go after a night of partying, or when someplace else isn’t open. But they still serve “old people’s food”.
As I said, it’s not easy to explain. (Or perhaps I’m just tired after paddling from Marina del Rey to Santa Monica and back today.) But I know it when I see it.
Another reason you will not see older folks in places like Applebees a lot is the noise level. If your hearing is not what it used to be, the high volume of “music” in many of those kinds of places makes it almost impossible to have a conversation. A hearing aid usually won’t help in that situation, either.
I agree with MLS. I know that whenever I think about going to Red Robin, I’m reminded of how loud they have their music and I decide to go to someplace quieter, such as Denny’s.
I’m not a senior yet but I think one of the things that appeals to them (and me) is a certain comfort level where the wait people are just friendly enough and don’t act like they’re in a hurry to get rid of you. If you want to sit around and chat with your friends, they’re happy to pour you another cup of coffee, or two, or three.
And you’ll probably notice that the seating is comfy too. If it’s a booth, the table is more than a foot from the backs of the benches so you can sit back and relax instead of having the table jammed in your gut. If there’s chairs, they’ll be sturdy and not likely to tip if you sit in them wrong.
And, as mentioned by others, the food isn’t likely to be very exotic, just good basic stuff.
My Dad and his friends actually hang out in a donut shop. There’s basic food for you.
In my “hometown” (OK, just up the road from my hometown) the old people congregate at Hardee’s. They seem to invade about 7:00 and stay until about 11:00. All of them have their special Hardee’s coffee cups so they can get unlimited coffee for 32 cents all morning.
Unfortunately there’s a Luby’s here in Albuquerque, too. When I first moved here I naively accepted a dinner invitation to Luby’s from some elderly friends. The food is indeed horrendous, and I didn’t think it was very cheap either. JB’s is another loser restaurant, but somehow it’s always packed with diners, and not just senior citizens.
Those Pizza joints you mentioned BLOW AWAY Lonestar so try the steak at your own risk.
The food I’ve seen every time at old people places: apple sauce, beets, sour beef, liver, and hot roast beef/turkey open faces sandwich. Oh yeah, got to start with some of those nasty brown & serve rolls.
