The Luby's Cafeteria chain was profiled by Tickermine this month. The company released its third-quarter results this month and said that restaurant sales were down by just over 4% from last year. Our researchers interviewed folk at 20 different locations around the country and asked: Is lunch or dinner busier? Is your location new? What lures your customers to you? What is the average check for a party of two? And is business up or down from last year? 55% of respondents said that dinner was more busy than lunch, and only 45% said that lunch was more hectic. All 20 representatives said that their location was older than one year. 50% of our respondents said that it was the prices that their customers liked. 40% said it was a particular menu item that brought them back and two respondents or 10% said it was the atmosphere. 60% of respondents said that the average check for a party of two is $20-$30 at Luby’s. 35% said that the check for two averages between $35-$45 , and one person or 5% said it was $50. The Chicken Fried Steak platter was the most popular menu item and this was cited by 35% of those polled. 20% said Luby's Fried Fish sold the best and another 20% said that the Texas ribeye steak was a best seller. Blackened Tilapia was cited as best by 15%. The Mushroom Chicken Madeira was cited by one person as the best selling item and another one person cited the Parmesan Chicken Alfredo (5%). None of this has improved business greatly for Luby’s. 60% of those polled said business was exactly the same as this time last year. 30% said business was up and 10% said it was down.
Landry’s Restaurant Inc. the restaurant chain was polled this week. The company operates Landry's Seafood House, Willie G's Seafood & Steak House and The Crab House and its owners insist the restaurant market has room for more players. Its revenues were up to $294.8 million versus $283.6 million a year ago. We polled 23 locations and found that 78% of respondents say dinners are busier than lunches, and only 22% have lunch as their busier shift. All 23 respondents, 100%, said their location was not new. 15 respondents or 65% said it was the atmosphere that their customers liked. Seven respondents or 30% said it was a particular menu item and only one person or 4% said it was the prices. The most popular menu items included The Red Snapper (17%), the Halibut (also 17%), the Shrimp Fresca (13%), the Snow Crab (13%) , the Mahi Mahi, Seafood Platter and the Seared Ahi Tuna (each were cited by 9% of those polled) and the Chilean Sea Bass, Fried Shrimp and Maya's Combo Platter , where each mentioned once. But while 22% of respondents said business was up from last year, 39% said it was slower and another 39% said it was the same.
