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North American and European economy
were rocked by a global recession and people
scaled back their restaurant spending. While
there has been some recovery in the global
economy, he says Canadian consumers
remain cautious.
TD Economics forecasts disposable-income
growth will slow from 3.4 per cent in 2016 to
3.1 per cent in 2017 and three per cent in 2018.
In the third quarter of 2016, household debt
as a share of disposable income jumped to a
record 168 per cent. Canadians will have to
bring down that debt, which likely means less
spending at restaurants.
“[Full service] has just not recovered,”
Carter says. “They’re way off the numbers
that they saw in customer visits in 2008 and
our expectation is that it’s going to be many
years before that segment gets close — if it
ever reaches those levels — to what it had
in 2008.”
Foodservice Facts 2017 shows sales growth
in the FSR segment forecasted at only 4.1
per cent for 2016/17 — a decrease from last
year’s sales growth of six per cent.
That means those operating in the premium-causal
and fine-dining segment have to
find ways to not only attract consumers to
their establishments, but to keep them coming
back. Steve Pelton, CEO of the Torontobased
The Landing Restaurant Group and
SVP of Milestones, says offering more than
just a high-quality menu is key to keeping
people coming back. For his brand, he says,
that means using quality, local ingredients,
keeping abreast of new food trends and adding
unique experiences, such as beer and
wine parings. “At The Landing Restaurants,
we try to source only local items, those that
are fresh, sustainable and seasonal,” Pelton
says. “While we certainly can’t pull shrimp
from Lake Ontario, we do make sure our
shrimp come from sustainable sources. We
believe our customer base really appreciates
this. There is still growth in the segment —
our Landings brand has grown from three
restaurants to nine in two years, and our
Milestones brand has seen excellent yearover-year
growth, with this year better than
in the last five.”
Andrew Oliver, CEO and president of
Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants agrees that
while overall growth in the fine-dining segment
is down, his restaurants have been
doing well, with solid year-over-year growth.
He says what consumers want from a finedining
experience is just that — an experience.
“When people go out, they want to
have a good experience, something of value.
When it comes to fine dining, the expectation
is that people want that ‘wow’ factor.
So, whether you’re going to Canoe once a
year or once a week, you want to be sure it’s
a phenomenal experience,” he explains. “You
have to make sure, each time a person comes
to your restaurant, that meal is better than
the one they had before — because there are
25 other restaurants they may want to try,
and you want to make sure they come back
to yours.”
Steve Salm, president of Toronto-based
Chase Hospitality Group, says in his restaurants
there is also a decided emphasis on
food quality and health. In fact, approximately
25 per cent of all its menu offerings
are plant-based, and there’s a strong emphasis
on local and sustainable products —
something he says customer are demanding.
Because experience is such as key component
for guests, Salm says his restaurants
now offer customized menus or plates. For
example, Kasa Moto offers customized sushi
platters and The Chase boasts a customized
raw-bar platter. Planta can even create a customized
menu for birthday parties.
Fisher predicts premium-causal and
fine-dining establishments will look for new
ways to reach customers going into 2018. He
sees fine-dining and mid-range fine-dining
restaurants eyeing the fast-causal or quickservice
marketspace, but with a unique twist.
For example, Chase Hospitality Group
recently introduced Palm Lane, located in
Toronto’s new Yorkville Village. The restaurant
focuses on whole-meal salads and grainand
legumes-based bowls. The 2,000-sq.-ft.
restaurant will seat 65 diners, but will also
place an equal emphasis on take-out and
catering. Diners will have a chance to select
from 80 ingredients to build their own meals,
or select featured salads and bowls.
MEAL KITS
With people’s lifestyles getting increasingly
busy, eating out and shopping are becoming
something of a luxury. Enter the meal kit.
According to The Nielsen Company (US),
LLC, meal kits are making inroads with
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