Yeah, around here the Texas Roadhouse is always very busy. It seems to be the ONLY casual dining chain doing well.
I’m not hearing dire news about Olive Garden or Maggiano’s Little Italy; perhaps pasta-based restaurants have better economics? Similarly, the Cheesecake Factory, though that’s more expensive than those in TGI Friday’s class.
Same here, had good Ethiopian food in a small town in Eastern Iceland.
TGIF’s really went downhill when the wait staff stopped wearing their flair.
TGI Fridays (and Ruby Tuesdays and similar) strike me as extremely dated. Same cluttery decor of fake antiques, overly salty fried fried fried stuff, burgerfries and mozzarella sticks. Noisy! And it just seems so 70’s/80’s single-bars meeting place. After work, everyone: TGIF! Woooot.
Pasta is probably one of the cheapest things you can make at a restaurant, so you’d expect them to have a better profit margin. A few basic pasta shapes paired with several different sauces gives you dozens of “dishes” that are superficially different, but built on just a few ingredients.
They are both national chain pasta joints in the “fast casual” category, but IMO they aim at a very different demographic. Working class versus white collar comfortable class. As such they could be having two very different trajectories.
Good question though.
Wait, Olive Garden is working class? My mother likes that place. I can’t tell her that it’s working class. And I think I’ve been to Maggiano’s maybe once, on a business trip.
Maggiano’s is owned by Brinker International, which also owns Chili’s. Their Fiscal 2024 report (for the year ending 6/30/24) says that same-store sales for Maggiano’s was up about 4% (and Chili’s was up about 7%). Which sounds OK, but that appears to be entirely due to higher prices (i.e., inflation); Maggiano’s traffic (number of guests) was down 7%, while Chili’s traffic was flat.
(FWIW, there are only about 54 Maggiano’s restaurants.)
Olive Garden is owned by Darden Restaurants, which owns a bunch of chains (Ruth’s Chris, Capital Grille, LongHorn Steakhouse, Seasons 52, etc.), and which owned Red Lobster until 2014. For their Fiscal 2024 (which ended in May), Olive Garden’s same-store sales were up slightly (+1.6%) – I can’t find information on store traffic in their annual report, but given the difference between same-store sales and traffic for the Brinker restaurants, I think it’s a pretty good bet that Olive Garden’s traffic was down, at least a bit.
In Olive Garden’s most recent quarter (June-August), same-store sales were down 2.9%, and traffic was down 5%.
So, it doesn’t appear that either chain is particularly thriving at the moment.
That’s consistent with my experience at both chains, and having previously done advertising in the industry. Maggiano’s is at least a bit more upscale than OG, and probably a bit pricier.
I almost struggle to fit Maggiano’s in the “fast casual” category. It’s sure not fine dining, but it’s also not really aimed at the same sort of “move-em-through” fast that OG, etc., practice.
Does anyone have a good cite to the restaurant taxonomy usually used by marketers?
I think you mean “casual dining”. My understanding is “fast casual” refers to places like Chipotle and Five Guys, places where you order at the counter like fast food, but are a bit higher quality and more expensive than typical fast food. “Casual dining” are the sit down places with waitstaff like TGI Fridays, Olive Garden, etc.
They really aren’t “fast casual;” they’re “casual dining.”
Off the top of my head, having worked in the industry:
- Quick Serve Restaurants (QSRs): what are commonly called “fast food.” Relatively low menu prices, usually have a drive-thru, not necessarily known for high quality. Counter service. Rarely, if ever, serve alcohol (at least in the U.S.) Examples: McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell, Subway, etc.; Starbucks and Dunkin’, though different from a typical QSR, also fit into this space.
- Fast Casual Restaurants: fairly recently evolved, a bit pricier and a bit higher quality (and/or fresher) than QSRs, but with (usually) service time that’s comparable to QSRs. Usually counter service; often don’t have drive-thrus. Some may serve a limited selection of alcohol (typically beer and wine). Examples: Chipotle, Panera, Five Guys, Panda Express, etc.
- Family Restaurants: typically offer breakfast items as well as a wide range of lunch/dinner items on the menu. Usually sit-down service with a waitstaff, though some are buffets. Typically don’t serve alcohol, and don’t have a drive-thru. Examples: IHOP, Denny’s, Cracker Barrel, Golden Corral, etc.
- Casual Dining Restaurants (CDRs): sit-down restaurants with waitstaff, typically a bit nicer (and pricier) than family restaurants and fast casual. Most focus on lunch and dinner (and not breakfast), and nearly all have bars (or at least serve alcohol). Many focus on a particular type of food (Italian, seafood, etc.) Will nearly never have drive-thrus. Examples: Applebee’s, TGI Friday’s, Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory, Red Lobster, Texas Roadhouse, Buffalo Wild Wings, etc.
- Fine Dining (a.k.a. “white tablecloth”): Nicer (and more expensive) than Casual Dining. Sit-down service, very likely will serve alcohol, may or may not have a separate bar on premise. Many aren’t chains, but a few chain examples: Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Capital Grille, various Brazilian steakhouses, etc.
There’s also places that aren’t fast food, they’re good food fast!
Thank you for the taxonomy and the correction on “fast casual” vs. OG & Magg’s; that was a total brain fart.
Every once in a while, my ill-gained ad industry knowledge comes to good use. 
Said another way:
All us grizzled veterans know some shit! Different shit for each, but we earned it the hard way and by gum, we’re gonna share!!
Looks like some of these chains are looking at ways to innovate, like combining two restaurants together:
I’ve seen this with fast food restaurants, like a combo KFC/Taco Bell operating out of a single location. The chains that are a step up might be trying out the concept.
It reminds me somewhat of the ghost kitchens with a variety of menus that are often found on delivery services like DoorDash. The delivery service might list a variety of restaurants with names like “Tia’s Mexican”, “Photastic”, “Mike’s Beefy Burger”, etc., but those aren’t separate restaurants. There’s just one kitchen making all the food and sending it out through DoorDash.
The QSR combos are typically under the Yum! Brands umbrella, and have generally been successful for them. Similarly, IHOP and Applebee’s are both under the same corporate parent (Dine Brands); I’ll be curious to see if that combination works, as the two chains have pretty different atmospheres (coffee shop / diner versus fern bar / sports bar).
Anecdote: when I had Applebee’s as a client, 20+ years ago, the chain’s president (whom I knew fairly well) was passed over for a promotion to CEO. She left, and went to IHOP, where she did become CEO, and oversaw their takeover of Applebee’s. 
Though business at IHOP probably peaks in the morning, while Applebee’s is a lunch or dinner destination so perhaps the combination would work?
Wait, are — are they not calling it IHOPplebee’s?