Millennials are killing chains like Buffalo Wild Wings and Applebee's

[CloniesForLife]

Holy food-snob central. Are you guys seriously telling me that you couldn't go into an Applebee's and find something that sounds appetizing? LOL. Now, whether or not what you order is as good as you hoped, I guess that's determined by your level of expectations and the quality of the location that you visit.

I love trying new restaurants and finding local establishments, don't get me wrong. But a bunch of you must be living the high-life since you wouldn't be caught dead in a low-life Applebee's or BWW.

I can eat there and it's fine. It's just really not appealing to me to go there when I can find better food for the same price and with (usually) a better atmosphere all while trying something new. Just as an example: burgers at Applebee's are $10.99 while Brick City they range from $9.99-$12.99.

 

[Tre4ISU]

Hey, turns out if your food stinks people eventually figure it out. The only time I ever go to sit down chains is when others I'm with demand it. Otherwise, let's see what else is out there because at least there's some suspense. I mean, I can eat at all of those other places and I will acknowledge I pretty much know what I'll get but it's mediocre food.

 

[ripvdub]

I'm not a millennial, but I haven't gone to either in years. Used to go to BWW in ankeny all the time, one of the few places to take my baby daughter to wo a fuss. Now the food is worse than ever, beer selection is ehh at best and really down hill after they remodeled . Plus so many other options, the wings were never they good, I'd get the strips. Fries were killer tho.
I'm all for blaming stupid kids for ****, but this ain't it. I've only read the first page, I can only assume all the hate from the young douches in the next 5 pages.

 

[Tre4ISU]

Where's the ******* who slammed Pizza Ranch? Has he been jailed? If not, I'm suing him. That's a **** take.

 

[cstrunk]

Any of you tries to take my BDubs Caribbean Jerk, I'll KEEELL YOU DEAD

Absolutely. This is my favorite wing sauce of all time. And why I love BWW.

I'm not a millennial, but I haven't gone to either in years. Used to go to BWW in ankeny all the time, one of the few places to take my baby daughter to wo a fuss. Now the food is worse than ever, beer selection is ehh at best and really down hill after they remodeled . Plus so many other options, the wings were never they good, I'd get the strips. Fries were killer tho.
I'm all for blaming stupid kids for ****, but this ain't it. I've only read the first page, I can only assume all the hate from the young douches in the next 5 pages.

I haven't noticed BWW's wing quality change a whole lot. There are times you can go there and get small or dried out wings, but most of the time they are pretty damn good. And the BWW's around here seem to have 20+ beers on tap, so I don't see an issue there, either.

I'll admit that I don't eat at Applebee's or BWW's as much as I used to, but I also try not to eat out as much as I used to, either. I probably haven't been to Applebee's in at least a couple of years.

 

[alarson]

Holy food-snob central. Are you guys seriously telling me that you couldn't go into an Applebee's and find something that sounds appetizing? LOL. Now, whether or not what you order is as good as you hoped, I guess that's determined by your level of expectations and the quality of the location that you visit.

I love trying new restaurants and finding local establishments, don't get me wrong. But a bunch of you must be living the high-life since you wouldn't be caught dead in a low-life Applebee's or BWW.

I'm sure i'd find something at Applebees, i've gone there within the last year while traveling. That being said, most of the time, i also have options, and applebees is rarely going to be very high on the list. Why should it be. It doesnt offer anything that makes me say 'i want that, so i need to go there. Its very generic.

BWW has a lot of issues facing it. One, the quality of its food has gone downhill. Smaller portions, less quality. And overpriced to boot. Secondly, buffalo wings are no longer that special, and plenty of places offer great wings now, whereas even just 15 years ago there were fewer options. On top of that, their other main offering, having a large venue with dozens of TVs has become a lot more common as well. So ultimately you end up with a question of 'so what is it you're uniquely offering here? '

 

[Rural]

This thread title should be, "Millennials are heroes (in this instance)".

 

[cowgirl836]

I'm sure i'd find something at Applebees, i've gone there within the last year while traveling. That being said, most of the time, i also have options, and applebees is rarely going to be very high on the list. Why should it be. It doesnt offer anything that makes me say 'i want that, so i need to go there. Its very generic.

BWW has a lot of issues facing it. One, the quality of its food has gone downhill. Smaller portions, less quality. And overpriced to boot. Secondly, buffalo wings are no longer that special, and plenty of places offer great wings now, whereas even just 15 years ago there were fewer options. On top of that, their other main offering, having a large venue with dozens of TVs has become a lot more common as well. So ultimately you end up with a question of 'so what is it you're uniquely offering here? '

same for me. I could probably find something, but I have a lot more appealing options available to me so why would I?

 

[Rural]

I can find something at White Castle, too.

 

[Omaha Cy]

We do a Christmas swap where each family (6 total) get a gift card to some place to eat. Caveat is that it cannot be a national chain. We all live in the omaha/lincoln area so it usually works out. It's really made us look for different places to go and helps ID places that are not on our usual radar. There really are some good "local" places to eat.

This is a great idea.

 

[Daserop]

When the wife and I want to eat out at a restaurant, we go to places with unique cuisine, or offer items which we don't normally make at home.

Why would I pay $10-$12 bucks for a burger when I can make one at home that: tastes better, has better quality ingredients, and get faster, and I don't have to deal with other people.

It isn't just Applebee's. Olive Garden falls into this category for me.

 

[srjclone]

Awfully big generalization to be making

 

[cowgirl836]

When the wife and I want to eat out at a restaurant, we go to places with unique cuisine, or offer items which we don't normally make at home.

Why would I pay $10-$12 bucks for a burger when I can make one at home that: tastes better, has better quality ingredients, and get faster, and I don't have to deal with other people.

It isn't just Applebee's. Olive Garden falls into this category for me.

pretty much the same for us. Eating out falls into two categories - we need something really fast that we're likely taking home/on the road (Subway, Culver's) or we want to go out for a nice sit-down meal so we're going to a local place or trying something new. The OG, Applebee's, Texas Roadhouse type places just don't really fill a need for us. I suppose a third category would be if we are going out with other people, but our local friends are also big fans of trying new places.

 

[Cy$]

Bone-in or gtfo

nice pick up line

 

[CY88CE11]

Holy food-snob central. Are you guys seriously telling me that you couldn't go into an Applebee's and find something that sounds appetizing? LOL. Now, whether or not what you order is as good as you hoped, I guess that's determined by your level of expectations and the quality of the location that you visit.

I love trying new restaurants and finding local establishments, don't get me wrong. But a bunch of you must be living the high-life since you wouldn't be caught dead in a low-life Applebee's or BWW.

Absolutely. If I'm forced to go there, I'll probably end up ordering chicken strips or a burger and being disappointed, even with extremely low expectations. A lot of their entrees sound like they spun a wheel and added random ingredients to chicken.

 

[Sighclone Fan]

I know that millennials are trending to living in more urban environments, but I wonder if this is a regional trend. Like are millennials on the east and west coasts more likely to live in urban environments, where the Midwest, Southwest, and Southeast are maintaining traditional purchasing decisions? I am a millennial myself, but on the older side of the spectrum.

But I can agree with eating at non-chain restaurants. I personally will eat at them, but will often look for a local place to eat. If My girlfriend and I go out, it is almost always an independent restaurant. I think my generation is always looking to try something new and explore new experiences as opposed to repeating old ones.

I think that's exactly it. Every time we go out, we seem to be looking for a new or unique place. A chain like TGIFs would never cross our mind.

I've also noticed how my girlfriend and her friends love to instagram/snapchat their food ... and it's not "cool" to post about chain restaurants. So there's that..

 

[Mtowncyclone13]

I'm not a foodie but prefer local places. that being said, when we need to eat out with the kiddo applebees is a great choice. i'm guessing the vast majority of people who don't "like" applebees would gladly go there with a toddler or child. and people are having kids later these days and some not at all. other live in the cities where there aren't chain restaurants. cycle of business.

 

[Mr Janny]

I'm not a foodie but prefer local places. that being said, when we need to eat out with the kiddo applebees is a great choice. i'm guessing the vast majority of people who don't "like" applebees would gladly go there with a toddler or child. and people are having kids later these days and some not at all. other live in the cities where there aren't chain restaurants. cycle of business.

I guess I'm not seeing it. When it comes to kids, I don't really see how Applebees separates itself from the pack. There are lots of family friendly restaurants out there. Plenty of places with kids menus, unless you're in an area that has very few options. And it's not like kids menus vary that much. On a kids menu, a cheeseburger is a cheeseburger is a cheeseburger. Restaurants don't typically do a lot of fancy stuff with them. Consistency is sort of the calling card of kids menus.

 

[SCyclone]

Whoa pal, the broasted chicken is heaven. The pizza sucks however.

FIFY. I agree though, I LOVE their chicken.........

 

[dmclone]

I don't hate BWW. Good wings and a tall Lagunitas are hard to hate.