Shop Talk: Eating out part of social lives of most SA consumers
THE food service market has a new sweet spot: sit-down casual dining. It’s a happy medium between, say, Steers and Luke Dale-Roberts at The Saxon. Dress code: a jean pant rather than tracksuit bottoms.Over the past decade, it’s been the fastest-growing category in the restaurant industry, with players like Famous Brands making room in its portfolio for the addition of fancy-but-not-too fancy restaurants like Turn ’n Tender, Mythos and, this week, Salsa Mexican Grill.Quick-service restaurants, or fast-food joints to you and me, are highly susceptible to shifts in spending because of the very nature of the diners they target.That is why SA, in the chasm of its economic impotence, is seeing a mad scramble for footfall with aggressive campaigns like “buy one burger, get one free” and bottomless everything: chips, ribs, coffee — you name it.Late last year McDonald’s sold Big Mac Medium Meals for R19.95. What ensued were queues to rival Apple launch-mania, as burger devotees lined up to g...
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