Foreigners are propping up NYC’s economy according to the New York Times, filling up top restaurants and buying up real estate. But the Times adds, “the number of customers dining in chain restaurants like Applebee’s and Outback Steakhouse in the metropolitan area dropped by 3.4 percent in February.”
April 16th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
I’ve noticed the same thing in Chicago. There’s always been a strong international presence, but lately everywhere I go – and especially to cultural and shopping parts of town – I’m hearing European languages spoken. I assume it’s the weak dollar, making the city a tourism bargain. I don’t know if that supports the city’s claim of ‘global city’ status or weakens it…
As for the chain restaurant trend – in a study a few years ago I counted relatively few places like Applebee’s and Outback in the NYC metro. So, I’m not sure what a 3.4% decline really means in that context. But, I wonder if the downturn is also visible in metros where these sorts of places are more common – places where land is more available like Phoenix and Dallas.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Applebees? Outback Steakhouse? Who ,in their right mind, would eat at places like that in NYC?
April 17th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
The Applebee’s and Outback statistic referred to the entire NYC *metropolitan* area, which can be anywhere from Basking Ridge to White Plains to Stamford. That includes a lot of working class and middle class areas, both urban and suburban. There are a lot of places where Applebees, etc. can plausibly be located in the NYC metro area. As the recession squeezes these folks more, their dining out will diminish, especially at mid-range sit-down chains. I agree that if you visit or live in an area like Manhattan or the outer boroughs, I wouldn’t want to eat at such places, but that is a personal taste thing. As an otherwise suburban dad in the Southeast, I am somewhat sympathetic to the folks that patronize these chains, but I can also see how these chains will be squeezed economically as their customers are.