Are children responsible for the frustratingly slow recovery of traditional indoor dining?
The “kid factor” is at the heart of a hypothesis developed by Lisa W. Miller, a marketing consultant and author who has extensively researched the lasting impacts the pandemic has had on consumer behavior.
Writing in Nation’s Restaurant News, Miller suggests that the pandemic experience that began in 2020 caused children to develop what she calls a “dining room disconnect.” Five years of confinement, remote schooling and contactless interaction with other people has made a growing generation of young people view the idea of ”going out to dinner” differently than their parents and older siblings. According to Miller’s own research, when asked, 25% of parents describe their children as not liking being in crowded places or going out to eat.
Consequently, this altered view is leading to a “child veto” when it comes to dinner decisions. Not entirely comfortable with a traditional restaurant experience, young people are advocating staying home and having family order takeout or even prepare a meal in their own kitchen.
Miller’s solution to this disconnect with the restaurant experience is for restaurant operators to “elevate the kids’ experience” through special menu selections and kid-focused service. The goal, he says, is to make sure that the children leave the restaurant happy and eager to return.
Miller warns that if young people’s attitudes about eating out don’t change, an entire generation of future restaurant customers could be lost to the industry.
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Garnishes
The Delaney House in Holyoke holds its annual game dinner on January 30th.
The meal, which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., will begin with a welcome snack that will include kangaroo cheese, wild boar chili, and vegetable crudites. The first course will be a winter game salad with sausage croutons and goat cheese.
A hunter’s soup made with venison, sausage, white beans and kale will follow the salad course.
The highlight of the party will be a bison rib medallion paired with pheasant sausage; The wild blueberry rice and broccoli rabe must be the sides. A wild cherry bread pudding is planned for dessert.
Tickets for the event are $75 and include tax, tip and welcome drink. There will also be a cash bar during dinner.
Tickets can be purchased online at Delaney House website.
The Delaney House answers 413-532-1800.
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Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants have added two limited-time options to their menus this winter.
The first is a hot honey chicken bacon pan that incorporates a grilled chicken breast topped with a honey glaze and hot bacon. The presentation includes mushrooms and onions, as well as fries.
For dessert, Applebee’s is whipping up a Sizzlin’ Caramel Apple Pie that’s served with caramel sauce, candied pecans and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
The chain also features three new limited-time cocktail creations.
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Cracker Barrel Old Country Store locations are offering special short-term winter seasonal menus.
These include Crispy Tender Dippers served with a choice of side sauces, a Saucy Signature Chicken Sandwich that can be equally enjoyed with a variety of dips, and Chicken Dumpling Soup made with southern dough, shredded chicken, celery, carrots and onions.
Early dinner deals, which are available Monday through Friday from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM, are back at Cracker Barrel. Five different entrees, priced starting at $8.99, are part of this early dinner promotion.
There are Cracker Barrel locations near the Holyoke Mall in Holyoke and on Route 20 in Sturbridge.
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The Friend of the Month Sundae is a celebratory Conehead Sundae. The ice cream fantasy is assembled from a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with a sugar heart “hat”. The sundae is also decorated with hot fudge, rainbow sprinkles, M&Ms, whipped topping and a cherry.
The Celebration Conehead Sundae will be available through the end of January at participating Friendly’s restaurant locations.
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On Saturday, February 1, Tucker’s Restaurant in Southwick will host tribute artist and vocalist Patrick Tobin in “A Tribute to Sinatra.” Tobin’s performance will cover every segment of Sinatra’s career and will feature many favorites from the American songstress.
The evening will start with dinner at 17:45; the show will start at 7:15 p.m
Tickets, which are $65, can be ordered by calling Tucker’s Restaurant at 413-569-0120 or by stopping by the restaurant.
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Outback Steakhouse is promoting four meat entrees over the next three weeks. These include a Chimichurri Filet finished with Chimichurri Sauce and a Bloomin’ Carrot Crunch topping, as well as a Bone-In Ribeye with Bourbon Onion presentation that is topped with a bourbon-glazed caramelized onion.
Also available at Outback is a Bloomin’ French Onion Tenderloin topped with melted provolone cheese and “Bloomin’ Onion” petals; a Canberra Chopped Steak features a caramelised onion and mushroom topping further enhanced with a splash of demi-glace red wine.
All four items will be available until February 18.
There are Outback Steakhouse locations on Riverdale Street in West Springfield and on Southbridge Street in Auburn.
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Taco Bell has brought back its Nacho Fries, this time in the form of Steak Garlic Nacho Fries. A limited-time-only addition to the menu, the new Nacho Fries are topped with grilled marinated steak, Pico de Gallo, shredded cheddar cheese, nacho cheese dip and a garlic ranch salsa enhanced with jalapeño peppers.
There are also two variations of the chain’s Baja Blast soda available for a limited time, one with a Baja Dream Vanilla Cream Infusion and a second Strawberry Baja Dream with added strawberry flavoring.
Earlier this month, Taco Bell jumped on the value menu bandwagon, introducing three “Deluxe Wish Boxes” priced at $5, $7 and $9. The boxes will be on the menu until early June.
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Tower Square in downtown Springfield has a new lunchtime option this week.
On Jan. 20, Tower Pizza, located in the downtown food court, began serving pizza and sandwiches while ramping up operations with a “soft” opening.
At the beginning of February, Tower Pizza plans to hold a full menu grand opening celebration. Operated by Michael Baez and drawing on his experience working in food trucks and various restaurants in the Springfield area, Tower Pizza will also serve calzones and specialty creations with an island twist when the establishment is fully operational.
During its soft opening phase, Tower Pizza will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Their phone number is 413-333-2880.
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As part of CEO Brian Niccol’s effort to restore a “third place” persona to Starbucks locations, the coffee chain will implement several new policies starting Jan. 27.
First, Starbucks will begin offering free refills on select coffee beverages to all in-store customers, not just members of the chain’s Starbucks Rewards loyalty program.
Starbucks will also introduce a “coffee shop code of conduct” that makes use of a Starbucks location, including Wi-Fi and restrooms, available only to paying customers. This reverses an open-door policy that was put in place after the high-profile 2018 arrest of two black men who were inside a Philadelphia Starbucks location but had not made a purchase.
The new code of conduct also defines other prohibited behavior and warns customers that law enforcement may be involved.
Hugh Robert is a faculty member in the Hospitality and Culinary Arts program at Holyoke Community College and has nearly 50 years of restaurant and education experience. Robert can be reached online at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.