Eight Trends Shaping the Food & Beverage Industry and the Real Estate It Occupies

Chicago – Nov. 21, 2019 – The U.S. restaurant industry and the real estate it occupies are being reshaped by fundamental industry shifts including the rapid growth of third-party, meal-delivery services, increasing adoption of in-store automation, and the ongoing proliferation of fast-casual concepts, according to a new report from CBRE.

CBRE’s report highlights eight trends, also including the spread of small-format, “eatertainment” concepts, to examine their impact on the food-and-beverage sector and its real estate. Restaurants now account for 17 percent of U.S. retail sales, more than any other retail sector, and restaurant sales growth has outpaced overall U.S. retail sales gains in recent years.

Here is a look at a few of the eight trends examined in the report, as well as their impact on retail real estate.

Delivery: The New Drive-Thru
Third-party delivery services are claiming a growing share of the meal-delivery market, to an anticipated 70 percent in 2022 from 58 percent last year, according to one measure. The restaurant industry, in turn, is experimenting with strategies to mitigate the cost of these services, which sometimes are high enough to make certain meal deliveries unprofitable for restaurants. A possible solution: enticing more customers to use restaurants’ in-house delivery apps, platforms and services. Another: Sharing more data about orders with third-party delivery services in exchange for revising the price of delivery more in the restaurant’s favor.

With delivery service growing rapidly, restauranteurs and chains are designing their locations with separate areas – and sometimes separate entrances – for meal pickup so as not to inconvenience dine-in customers.

Tech Resets The Table
More food-and-beverage establishments are embracing technology to streamline their front-of-house services and better manage their back-of-house operations, like inventory. A recent National Restaurant Association survey found that more than half of restaurants responding planned to invest in more front-of-house tech, and many plan the same for their back-end work.

Many national chains have installed hardware such as kiosks, tablets and tableside ordering systems to automate their meal-ordering process for customers. It is anticipated that this technology will help restaurants rein in their labor costs and perhaps reduce space dedicated to queueing customers waiting to make their orders.

The Fast-Casual Frenzy
The fast-casual format – better quality fare than fast food, relatively quick service, and lower prices than full-service restaurants – has dominated restaurant expansion in recent years. Nearly four in five restaurants opened by top-500 chains last year were fast-casual eateries. The challenge for retail-center owners will be to select the right fast-casual operators for their center and avoid loading up on too many.

“In Chicago, we have several new developments in good trade areas that are very appealing to fast-casual users,” said Kim McGuire, senior vice president with CBRE. “In many cases, these users are willing to pay a premium to open in a new market for brand-building opportunities. Many interesting new concepts are taking a look at the Chicago area, but one of the challenges has been existing exclusivity rights that certain retail centers have in place. If landlords want to capture more of this market, they will have to revisit their exclusivity strategy and allow more of these concepts to enter the market, as the demand is there. It can be a benefit to have multiple fast-causal concepts at a retail center, especially if it is a new concept that can drive traffic.”

Eatertainment Goes Smaller
Eatertainment concepts that combine food & beverage service with live and virtual sports already have populated many suburban malls and freestanding locations. Now several operators are testing smaller-footprint concepts to crack urban markets to capitalize on the constant customer traffic generated by densely packed populations of residents and office workers. Topgolf, Dave & Buster’s and Punch Bowl Social are among those experimenting with smaller formats.

“These concepts continue to expand and grow in popularity as they create an exciting social atmosphere that appeals to a broad mix of users, including singles, families and the corporate guest,” said Phil Golding, Vice President with CBRE. “To become even more competitive, many of these operators are improving their food offerings. From a real estate perspective, they have been a bonus to landlords given that they do not necessarily need ground floor locations; some concepts can take upper floors, giving them an easier entrance into top neighborhoods and helping landlords fill secondary spaces. I think we will continue to see these concepts evolve – whether it is updating classic games like darts and miniature golf, or, developing new content through virtual reality and high-end simulators that can always use the latest characters and stars. They are not lacking content and show no signs of growing stale, especially in cold-weather markets like Chicago, where indoor entertainment is always sought after in winter months.”

To read the full report, click here.