Do Americans prefer to dine-in or take-out? Increasingly, it’s neither. Outside of Chili’sEAT

unprecedented comeback, fueled by bang-for-your-buck deals and menu items, 2024 has seen Americans doing the unexpected — cooking at home. This has been tough on fast-casual brands and sit-down chains.

Order up down: Already hammered by higher labor and food costs, franchisers and restaurateurs are facing pushback on their prices and selection, leaving them with few sustainable options to attract increasingly cost-conscious consumers. To win back scarce diners, some establishments and chains are going into the red — efforts that have already pushed some to the edge.

• This year, chains like Red Lobster, Buca di Beppo, and TGI Fridays have filed for bankruptcy, looking to emerge stronger and more capable on the other end of restructuring.
• To avert a similar fate, brands like Hooters, Denny’sDENN
  , and Dine Brands’DIN
  Applebee’s have been shuttering locations and paling back on costs to afford better deals.

Table Stakes

Reports from Pizza Hut parent Yum BrandsYUM

, Burger King parent Restaurant BrandsQSR

, and McDonald’sMCD

show that these challenges aren’t just a sit-down matter but have also spread into fast food, where brands have been introducing deals and discounts to counter a slowdown. It hasn’t been completely successful.

• McDonald’s launched its “limited-time $5 Meal Deal” in June and extended it through December — but despite an initial boost in traffic, customers are still disappointed with prices.
• Restaurant Brands’ Popeyes saw a 4% decline in same-store sales, significantly below expectations, despite new value meals — something that CEO Josh Kobza said was supposed to drive “traffic and sales improvements.”

Comeback sauce: Despite warnings from some companies about the economic environment and consumer behavior, Kobza says things have been improving — crediting lower gas prices, falling interest rates, and moderating inflation for a modest rebound in Q3. And even though brands like Yum and McDonald’s saw global same-store sales decline, their sales rose by 7% and 3%, respectively, showing that foot traffic doesn’t always mean success. We’ll have to wait and see if hungry Americans will return to eating out — or if they’re happy with what they’ve got at home.