Also known as casual-dining restaurants, according Adam Jones's article on the website Market Realist, a full-service restaurant is a restaurant with full table service that, "[has] a relaxed, casual ambiance with a lot of seating," (Jones, 2014). Casual-dining restaurants, along with other full-service restaurants make up 44% of the restaurant industry in the United States, (Jones, 2014). But when it comes to the geographic distribution of casual sit-down franchises, different ones are more or less common in different areas of the country.
This webpage will take the ten largest casual-dining restaurant chains in the United States and divide each state's population by the number of establishments each chain has in that particular state in order to find the number of people per restaurant each chain has in each state. The fewer people per establishment, the more common a restaurant chain is in that state. The states will also be categorized by their United States Census Bureau region to allow the aforementioned calculation to show which regions have a greater abundance of a particular chain.
Note: Alaska and Hawaii will be excluded from this study because neither of them has any of these ten restaurants.
Note 2: The District of Columbia will also be excluded because it is a city and therefore does not compare well with the states.
10. Red Lobster
The threshold for this seafood restaurant to be successful seems to be 200,000 to 500,000 people per establishment. While no particular region seems to have an abundance of Red Lobsters, it would be advisable for the company to set up more in the West and Northeast, since five out of eleven Western states have over 700,000 people per restaurant. Meanwhile, five Northeastern states, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, do not even have any Red Lobsters. This is probably because the Northeast is known for the fishing of the restaurant’s titular arthropod and local seafood eateries already dominate its market.
9. Outback Steakhouse
This Australian themed steakhouse’s threshold for success appears to be 200,000 to 500,000 people per restaurant. While Outback Steakhouse is numerous enough in the South and West, it could use more establishments in the Midwestern states of Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, as well as the Northeastern states of Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine.
8. Ruby Tuesday
It is probably hard to see the threshold on this one because the taller bars distort the data. The following is the same graph with the bars after the one labeled KS removed.
The threshold for this American grill and bar to be successful seems to be 100,000 to 500,000 people per restaurant. Though Ruby Tuesday is most abundant in the South, it could use more establishments in Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma, as well as four Midwestern states, several Northeastern states, and most of the West. Ruby Tuesday is probably most common in the South because it was founded in Tennessee, which is roughly in the center of the region. Tennessee is one of the ten states that has the most Ruby Tuesdays per person, with an additional seven of them either bordering Tennessee or being separated by only one state.
7. Olive Garden
This Italian restaurant’s threshold for success appears to be 100,000 to 500,000 people per restaurant. Olive Garden does not seem to be more common in any one region over another and the only state that could use more establishments is Rhode Island, which has way over 700,000 people per restaurant.
6. Buffalo Wild Wings
The threshold for this sports bar to be successful seems to be 100,000 to 400,000 people per restaurant. Buffalo Wild Wings is most abundant in the Midwest, but could use more locations in the Northeast, particularly Vermont, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Buffalo Wild Wings is probably most common in the Midwest because it was founded in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio is second of the top eleven states that have the least amount of people per Buffalo Wild Wings, with an additional eight of the remaining ten also being in the Midwest. Since Ohio is the Midwest’s farthest east state, perhaps the company decided to focus most of its expansion westward.
5. Chili's
It is probably hard to see the threshold on this one because of the tallest two bars distort the data. The following is the same graph with the bars labeled OR and WA removed.
This Tex-Mex restaurant’s threshold for success appears to be 100,000 to 400,000 people per restaurant. Chili’s does not seem to be more common in any one region over another, but could use more locations in New York, Maine, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington, all of which have over 600,000 people per establishment.
4. IHOP
The threshold for this pancake house to be successful seems to be 100,000 to 400,000 people per restaurant. While IHOP is most common in the South, it could use more restaurants in eight states, including one Southern state, two Midwestern states, and four Northeastern states.
3. Denny's
This pancake house’s threshold for success appears to be 80,000 to 400,000 people per restaurant. Though Denny’s is most abundant in the West, it could use more establishments in seven out of sixteen Southern states, as well as three in the Northeast and two in the Midwest.
Denny’s is probably most common in the West because it was founded in Lakewood, California, the state with the fourth lowest people to restaurant ratio. With seven out of the remaining eleven states with the least people per restaurant being in the same region, the company probably just decided to expand most to the states closest to their origin point.
2. Waffle House
It is probably hard to see the threshold on this one because the taller bars distort the data. The following is the same graph with the bars after the one labeled KS removed.
This pancake house, a self-described icon of the South, was founded in Avondale Estates, Georgia and became very common both there and in the surrounding states. In contrast, few states outside the South even have a Waffle House. The threshold for success appears to be 24,000 to 500,000 people per restaurant. It would be particularly beneficial for Waffle House to set up more restaurants in New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, as well as the numerous states that do not have a Waffle House.
1. Applebee's
The threshold for this American grill and bar to be successful seems to be 50,000 to 300,000 people per restaurant. While a slight majority of states with the least people per restaurant are in the Midwest, most states fall within the threshold range and the only one that could really use more is Connecticut.