What Great Falls craves (Part 1, Chains)

Last Friday we asked our local Facebook community what restaurants they would love to see in Great Falls. Four days later we received over 200 responses, and so far Olive Garden (OG) is the overwhelming winner (36 votes and counting). Red Lobster (RL), currently holding 22 votes as the close second.

The striking popularity (in absence) caused us to look a little closer: Darden Restaurants, the parent of both chains describes the Red Lobster brand as "the promise of a refreshing seaside dining experience", and Olive Garden, as "an idealized Italian family meal".  The strategy seems to pay off. While the dining sector as a whole was struggling in recent years, Darden Restaurant stock keeps growing.

http://investor.darden.com/investors/stock-information/default.aspx

The bad news for fans of both brands is that they generally require trade areas between 100,000 (OG) and  125,000 (RL) people, so it may be worth considering a local seafood and Italian dining alternative. Consider that a much larger portion of local business profits stays in the community. But before we look at the local food wishlist, check out the remaining Top-Ten of chains:

3. Famous Dave's	15
4. Texas Road House	12
5. Chipotle	10
6. Buffalo Wild Wings	10
7. Chick-fil-A	9
8. Dave'n'Busters	8
9. Hooters	8
10. Chuckecheese	8

Brittany B. commented that Famous Dave's (#3) and Five Guys (#16) will be here soon.

Other chains in order of popularity included:

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Cracker Barrel	7
Red Robin	6
Burger Master	6
Outback	5
Johnny Carino's	5
5 Guys Burgers and Fries	4
Pf Changs	4
Joe's Crab Shack	3
Ihop	3
Cheesecake Factory	3
Zandy	3
Jack Box	3
White Castles	3
Panera Bread	3
Outback	3
Waffle House	2
Bubba Gump's	2
Dicks Hamburgers	2
Pizza Ranch	2
Souplantation	2

 Make sure to check out our next post on local food requests, and share your comments on https://www.facebook.com/SparkArchitecture


 Spark Architecture

Is Great Falls a good place to open a restaurant?

You may not be interested in running a restaurant, but found yourself saying "I wish we had a (fill in the blank) restaurant". Both individually owned local restaurants and chain restaurants have to feel confident about profitability within a local market. In 2012 Great Falls ranked #246 nationally, 12.44 points above average.

Source: http://www.monkeydish.com/towns-with-potential/home; captured 1/25/2013

In other words, if you wondered why national chain X isn't here yet, they have 245 other cities to go first. Amongst them are Missoula, Bozeman, Billings (which just saw a series of restaurants open), and Kalispell. Of course those chains have additional criteria such as special markets, available sites, traffic counts, and available liquor licenses.

The good news for local restaurants is that we still have 12.44 points of "untapped" potential. If our economy grows, we will see our ranking improve. If more restaurants come onto the market, it may drop, unless we start tapping into the Glacier-Yellowstone tourist flow, and increase local demand dramatically.

How do they come up with those ratings? The Journal "Restaurant Business" explains it in their April 2012 edition. In a few words, our local average income, existing number of restaurants, and population are compared to US averages. One-hundred is average, and the higher above 100 the more promising the market is to new restaurants.

Curious about the best towns to open up shop? Corbin, KY (the origin of KFC), and Key West, FL are top contenders! Go to http://www.monkeydish.com/ for more information.

"Restaurant Business" Journal, April 2012, p.22

Provided by Spark Architecture