The Loop’s lunch and dinner take-out business now accounts for 25 percent to 30 percent of its revenue, up sharply from the 5 percent to 10 percent it constituted 10 years ago.
“Time is a commodity that two working parents and school-age children don’t have enough of,” said Schneider. “We’re talking about home-replacement meals. It elevates fast- food eating to dining. My generation grew up on fast food and grew out of it.”
The National Restaurant Association reports that among restaurants with average checks of $25 or more, 70 percent offer carryout options. At the same time, the amount of time preparing meals at home continues to fall, according to an association survey in 2000. Nearly four in 10 adults said they were cooking fewer meals at home and 74 percent of adults said they found more restaurants to choose from than they had two years earlier.
Outback Steakhouse, a national chain with 18 restaurants in North Florida and South Georgia, is taking advantage of the trend. It offers curbside service that lets customers call in their order and then drive to the restaurant where they park in a designated space to await the delivery of their food.