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[ChemicalCutthroat]

BWW is some of the worst food. I would expect a place with WINGS in the goddamned name to either have good wings, or at least cheap wings. But they have expensive shitty wings, and they are a travesty.

 

[Phoenix RISING]

Millennials make less than previous generations and eating out is expensive.

Millennials are less likely to be in a traditional relationship/nuclear family structure, so family-friendly casual dining is incongruent with our demographic. Quick casual like Chipolte, where the menu is ideal for one or two people instead of say, five, is ideal.

 

[MsKrisp]

Millenials don't want to overpay for shitty food, atmosphere, and service?

Color me surprised!

Good riddance, I've always felt like these chain restaurants took up valuable real estate in my area that could be occupied by 4 smaller places that serve better eats.

 

[jwk94]

The only place in that list that's decent is tgi Friday's and that's because of their flat breads. Otherwise, I'd rather just go to olive garden or cook my own food.

 

[Chuckie]

Those damn Millennials... cooking their own food?

I was cooking my own food before Millennials were even allowed near the stove!

Hipster Gen X!

 

[constantstatic]

BWW is some of the worst food. I would expect a place with WINGS in the goddamned name to either have good wings, or at least cheap wings. But they have expensive shitty wings, and they are a travesty.

Bw3 has the bomb spicy garlic wing sauce though. My problem with bdubs is when they decided to add waitreses and then raised all the prices.

You use to just go get your wings from the counter right when they are ready and drinks at the bar.

 

[Hickbilly Deluxe]

I'd rather not eat microwaved food thank you. Applebees been shitty for 10 years now.

Why do people keep saying this? My local Applebees installed a wood fire grill a few years ago to cook most of their stuff, and the quality improved by a mile. Is that not a national thing?

 

[Makai]

Haha. Cooking your own food. Millenials more conscious

although I know this probably is rooted in less disposable income.

 

[BotoxAgent]

Why do CEOs hate capitalism and competition so much all of a sudden? Lol

 

[Skoen]

Millenials eat less trashy food from chain "restaurants"? Good!

 

[DonShula]

Why do people keep saying this? My local Applebees installed a wood fire grill a few years ago to cook most of their stuff, and the quality improved by a mile. Is that not a national thing?

Nope. Never seen one of these in an Applebee's, not that I go there often.

Applebee's deserves what they get. One of the last places to offer nutrition and allergy info (their line used to be "if you have an allergy, better not eat here"). Their "steak" is an abomination. Their prices have slowly crept up while quality remained stagnant. And now rather than adapt, they're going to keep doing the same thing until they don't exist anymore, dying a slow and painful death while leaving husks of real estate in their wake.

They're kind of everything wrong with chains in America.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

Let's see, BWW for overpriced wings that are average quality at best or the local place right down the street that gives me a huge philly and wings for less than $10?

Sorry for logic I guess?

 

[Steejee]

My nephews like BWW, but only because there's not really another wings/beer/sports option nearby.

Applebee's is microwaved, salt-laden garbage and deserves to die.

 

[Vanillalite]

Bw3 has the bomb spicy garlic wing sauce though. My problem with bdubs is when they decided to add waitreses and then raised all the prices.

You use to just go get your wings from the counter right when they are ready and drinks at the bar.

They moved towards casual dinning away from fast casual.

The takeaway here is millennials like fast casual as it cuts out the middle man ie needed to sit down and have a waiter/waitress.

 

[Nordicus]

Why do people keep saying this? My local Applebees installed a wood fire grill a few years ago to cook most of their stuff, and the quality improved by a mile. Is that not a national thing?

That was only mid-2016, and they brought up the microwaving themselves with their marketing for the addition of grills.

You try to pull some self-deprecating humor with "Does this look like a microwave to you?", but people who were indifferent before will just respond with "wait, that was an issue before?"

 

[Raptomex]

TGI Friday's fucked up their food recently, at least around here. I never eat at Applebees. I would be disappointed about Wild Wings if I didn't visit an excellent local joint serving far superior wings.

 

[shiftplusone]

Applebees did half priced apps and 5 dollar pitchers like 8 years ago, was great for me and friends when we would get off work at 11 PM and want to hang out

I don't think we've ever gone back since we all stopped working nights though

 

[Ever]

Tbh I'd rather just cook at home or get takeout.

Unless I'm with family/friends, sitting at a restaurant takes forever. Why sit there for an hour when I can just take my food to go and eat in the comfort of my own home?

 

[nicoga3000]

BWW is expensive as fuck. Most of these chains are. So...Not surprised?

 

[LifEndz]

That food is mostly microwaved crap that's loaded with sodium. Incredibly unhealthy for you. America has an obesity epidemic and millennials are aware of this and trying to eat better.

 

[DonShula]

Applebees did half priced apps and 5 dollar pitchers like 8 years ago, was great for me and friends when we would get off work at 11 PM and want to hang out

I don't think we've ever gone back since we all stopped working nights though

They did this when I was in college. The only time I ever had a use for them, basically.

 

[ChemicalCutthroat]

Bw3 has the bomb spicy garlic wing sauce though. My problem with bdubs is when they decided to add waitreses and then raised all the prices.

You use to just go get your wings from the counter right when they are ready and drinks at the bar.

I think you can buy the sauces to take home. I do enjoy spicy garlic things, but there's a local join that does Spicy Garlic Wings that are vastly superior to BWW's. Every wing I've had at the place has been fried till all the moisture is gone. Just dry, nasty, teeth breaking wings.

 

[Voidwolf]

Applebee's has terrible food and Buffalo Wild Wings has, in my experience, terrible service. I do love me some TGI Friday's, Chili's, and many other casual restaurants though. Can't believe some people actually cook their own food at home smh.

 

[TheLetdown]

There's a local joint for everything here that is not only better than these chains at what they do, but they're also local business.

You know, the thing that these same people say they support but will then talk shit about the millennials that are actually supporting it.

 

[see5harp]

Buffalo Wild Wings is so damn overpriced. They legit serve those tiny wings and soggy ass fries in paper trays and then have the gall to charge like $20

 

[mhayes86]

This just in, people hate shitty food.

Also, prices and wages differ from the baby boomer generation, so some people like to keep it cheap by cooking their own food (and avoid tipping), and the convenience of not having to sit in a restaurant.

 

[Maligna]

I love a nice sit down restaurant. Especially breakfast at a diner. I kind of have a romantic view of it thanks to movies.

Eating breakfast at the diner in episode 2 of Life is Strange was great.

 

[blame space]

Guess what, sometimes something good happens to you and you want to celebrate with a family dinner at Olive Garden.

 

[Ripenen]

Are folks actually using Blue Apron? I hear their adverts all the time but I figured that was just them squandering VC money rather than a sign of a healthy business.

 

[DonShula]

There's a local joint for everything here that is not only better than these chains at what they do, but they're also local business.

You know, the thing that these same people say they support but will then talk shit about the millennials that are actually supporting it.

I honestly feel bad for the people who have limited or no access to decent local restaurants, though. I live in a large city and have tons of options, but suburban/rural folks might have one or two, and odds are one of those is a greasy diner microwaving the same stuff as Applebee's.

I've seen a lot of suburban areas and small towns where the chains just dominate because that's what's there, and you get an entire generation of people growing up thinking Applebee's is fine dining.

 

[LosDaddie]

Fine by me.

This is the free market at work. Adapt, or go under.

 

[nicoga3000]

Are folks actually using Blue Apron? I hear their adverts all the time but I figured that was just them squandering VC money rather than a sign of a healthy business.

I looked into it, but at $10 per person per meal, I didn't see the value. My wife and I can spend a little more at the grocery store and have enough for multiple nice quality meals. But living in the suburbs with access to multiple grocery stores paired with the fact that I love cooking and have been doing it for years, I'm probably not the target demographic.

 

[linkboy]

Why do people keep saying this? My local Applebees installed a wood fire grill a few years ago to cook most of their stuff, and the quality improved by a mile. Is that not a national thing?

Even with the wood fire grill, the food still sucks. I went to one nearby a few months ago and ordered a steak, and it was one of the worst steaks I've ever had. Cooked medium rare and it was still tough to chew (ended up talking to the manager about it). I've yet to go back to an Applebees.

If you're starting with sub-par food, it's going to be crap no matter which way you cook it. That's the biggest issue I have with places like Applebee's and Chili's. They're not using fresh ingredients, so the quality of the food is going to suffer right out of the gate. Do they cut and peel potatoes for fries (no, they're frozen from a bag), do they cut their own vegetables (again, no, frozen from a bag).

 

[M-PG71C]

I live in a mid-sized college town in a heavy rural surrounding area and there are plenty of options for local eats that do not involve Applebees. I ate there a few years ago for the good beer specials and cheap appetizers late night. But I also worked night shift too lol. Nowadays I'm day shift so if I'm headed out to eat, I'm heading towards downtown or some hole-in-a-wall that has awesome food.

 

[BattleMonkey]

I've never see a BWW that isn't jammed packed with people *shrug*. Sounds more like they are just doing a shitty job running their company

 

[quickwhips]

Millennials make less than previous generations and eating out is expensive.

Millennials are less likely to be in a traditional relationship/nuclear family structure, so family-friendly casual dining is incongruent with our demographic. Quick casual like Chipolte, where the menu is ideal for one or two people instead of say, five, is ideal.

It cost me the same to eat at either place. I think Chipolte is more expensive than BWW.

 

[AColdDay]

Applebee's was okay until I learned almost everything there is microwaved. I'm not going to pay that much for you to microwave me a meal. Ridiculous.

 

[Ewo]

Don't really get the appeal of Applebee's, Chili's and the like. If I'm at home, I have a long list of better places to go to. If I'm on vacation, I'd rather go somewhere new rather than a place that's almost the same in any state it's in. Although really, I guess it comes down to consistently bad food and often bad service.

 

[Khaos Kontrol]

Say what you want about Applebees, but I won't stand for this disparaging of B Dubs.

 

[TetraGenesis]

I know this article is days old and I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said before, but I just read the title again and had this thought:

It's amazing that "Millennials killing [thing]" is such a popular subgenre that this article wasn't more accurately titled "Chains like Buffalo Wild Wings and Applebee's fail to attract young customers" or something like that.

It's smart, I guess. The immediately combative tone of the headline attracts both bitter baby boomers and defensive millennials in one fell swoop. Very clickable for a number of reasons.

Fuck it, I embrace it. I used to serve at an Applebee's when I was younger. It deserves to go down. They all do.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Applebees has always been the worst of he casual chains. Chiles, TGIF, all had them beat for a long time, Applebees food is just awful and always has been, and really it just gets worse as they keep fighting to lower prices and bring people in. Shitty cheap food market is already cornered by places like Denny's and shiz, while for not much more you can get better food at their competition. It's also funny that entire Applebees menu has been nothing but them copying menu items from Chiles and TGIF's for years.

Course TGIF and Chiles have also gone down in quality as well, not saying they were ever anything amazing, but again price wars and having to stay cheap, it just makes the food worse over time.

 

[Omegasquash]

Say what you want about Applebees, but I won't stand for this disparaging of B Dubs.

That's my word. Crapplebees is just that, but B Dubs is my jam. Almost always packed in my neck of the woods. I like to go there with my son, and will probably start taking my daughter here soon too, since she's taken bites of spicy-ish stuff and liked it.

 

[Eppy Thatcher]

WingStop has the best chicken round here full stop. Bufallo wild wings is white in comparison and expensive as fuck for lowest quality.

Applebees and Fridays and all those type of places were never really great but I feel like way back in the day when i was I high school they were at least decent. Now they are all hot garbage. I've been dissapointed too many times to waste money on a joint like that again.

 

[Kalamari]

If these establishments want more millenials, they should begin offering their own equivalent of Happy Meals. Complete with colorful packaging and toys to satisfy their short attention spans.

 

[TheFuzz]

Applebees is food for people who turn into Pumpkins if they get more than 25 miles away from the hospital they were born in or don't reminisce about the "big game" at least once a day.

Lol. So good.

 

[Bulzeeb]

"Millennial consumers are more attracted than their elders to cooking at home, ordering delivery from restaurants and eating quickly, in fast-casual or quick-serve restaurants," Smith wrote.

yup, thats me and most of my friends, also, in the case of buffalo wings, in my country that place is more expensive that it should be, there are better and cheaper places here

 

[Deleted member 752119]

I honestly feel bad for the people who have limited or no access to decent local restaurants, though. I live in a large city and have tons of options, but suburban/rural folks might have one or two, and odds are one of those is a greasy diner microwaving the same stuff as Applebee's.

I've seen a lot of suburban areas and small towns where the chains just dominate because that's what's there, and you get an entire generation of people growing up thinking Applebee's is fine dining.

Definitely. I grew up outside a small town in rural WV and food sucked. Hell it still does at the only sit down chain restarurant that's been added to my parents town is ironically a BWW. Otherwise just a bunch of fast food places and a some crappy local sit down joints (one is decent). The other towns 20-30 minutes away have more--but mostly just Applebees, Outback etc.

I haven't lived there since 2002, spent 7 years in the DC area and then in Atlanta since then and I'll never stop loving eating at great, local sit down joints for great food and craft beer or wine after growing up in a food wasteland.

I don't know that I agree with the article or others saying that millennials don't have the money, time or interest in casual dining. I think they just dislike chains. All the local joints I go to that have great food, craft beer etc. are packed with millineals. Mostly ones old enough to be out of college and making money of course as the places aren't cheap, but still the average age tends to be way below my 38 at most of these places. The economy is pretty good here for the college-educated crowd though so that probably helps vs. some other cities.

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

The BW3 nearest me is fucking weird. The employees there are all young girls. I mean, they look 16, and they don't work like they care about the job or want to be there. Service is bad when it even exists. Food isn't even that good.

There's probably something to the millenials preferring to go elsewhere, but these places don't need the benefit of any cultural shift to find an explanation why their businesses are down.

 

[halfbeast]

World War II?

I would say they didn't kill the dinosaurs, but they added feathers to them, so it's a tie.

 

[gaiages]

My boyfriend's parents love Applebee's for whatever reason, so whenever we go out to celebrate something we always HAVE to go there. It sucks. The food is okay enough I guess, but it's super expensive for what it is. I hate when I have to pay for my meal there lolol

I like BWW, but I only go on the days where the bone-in wings are half off... it's way too expensive otherwise lol

I mean Millennials don't have money to throw around at crappy food, why eat at a subpar sit down restaurant when they can go to a local place for far better food for the same price (or less!)?