A Side of Decor

Choice in Chains

Between 1994 and 2004, total sales at U.S. restaurants rose from about $194 billion to almost $314 billion annually. Almost 150,000 of the more than 500,000 restaurants in this country belong to the top 100 chains, and they generate slightly more than half of all sales, according to Technomic, a leading industry consultant.

In a survey this year by the trade magazine Restaurants and Institutions, customers ranked "atmosphere" (including the presence of whatsits, knickknacks and other decor) the sixth most important factor to their "casual dining," the subgenre to which chains like T.G.I. Friday's, Ruby Tuesday and Applebee's belong. (Convenience and reputation finished behind atmosphere.)

This, said Pete Cholewinski, research director for Restaurants and Institutions, is a testament to the ubiquity of chain restaurants: They are so everywhere that convenience is less of a concern.

For Ruby Tuesday, everywhere includes shipping American bric-a-brac to its restaurants in places such as Iceland, Mexico, Honduras, South Korea.

"They're given a generic American theme," Schershel said. "We try to shy away from military- or war-related images to make sure we don't step on any toes."

Conrad, Schershel's colleague, can think of only two examples where the company was forced to remove items that she had picked for decor. One was a vintage advertisement in a restaurant in Albany, N.Y., featuring a monkey drinking from a bottle of liqueur that one family saw as derogatory to blacks. Another item that drew concern was a crate label that featured the word "squaw," which a customer pointed out is a word from the Massachusett language meaning "woman," which some read as a reference to female genitalia.

Schershel lamented Ruby Tuesday's decision a few years back to create a prototype model for the layout of decor in every restaurant, stipulating how and where certain things should be placed.

"Up until two years ago, there was a very eclectic and free look," Schershel said. "You'd see between restaurants a big variation. Certainly, initially, there was a lot of a creative element. It was rewarding to see your work displayed. It's still a good job, but from a creative standpoint, it isn't as much fun."

Ruby Tuesday and Friday's have their eyes on the same, hulking target: Applebee's.

Applebee's is the revenue leader among casual-dining chains, with $3.88 billion in sales in 2004, compared with $2.4 billion for Friday's and $1.47 billion for Ruby Tuesday, according to estimates from Technomic. But its restaurant design is calculated to make a local connection.

The chain hired 13 small companies to install decor in company-owned restaurants, says Applebee's spokeswoman Laurie Ellison. It also conducts local research, determining a "hometown hero" in each area to highlight. This person can be anyone from a teacher to a firefighter, or someone the company considers to be a great role model.

And don't even suggest to her than an Applebee's isn't part of the basic fabric of a neighborhood or town.

"The people that work in these places live in these communities, so they're as entrenched as the mom-and-pop restaurants that operate there," she said.

Crowded on a Friday

It's a Saturday afternoon at the T.G.I. Friday's on Rockville Pike. The restaurant converted to the new look a few years ago, but the reaction is mixed.

"I'm not in favor of the remodel at all," said Andrea Katz, a bartender who has worked there for seven years. "The bar used to be wood, like a lot of the restaurant. It was warm and cozy, and now it's this cold black granite. We've gotten a lot of complaints."

Sebastian Amar, 22, gives a more positive assessment as he finishes off the last few bites of his lunch. "I think the atmosphere helps a lot. It's contemporary without being contemporary, if that makes sense. They preserved the good things about Friday's, but they kept intact what sets Friday's apart.

"You can get a lot of the same food at Ruby Tuesday or Bennigan's and those other places, but there's a more upbeat atmosphere here."

On a weekday at the Ruby Tuesday just off Branch Avenue in southern Prince George's County, Charles Ross, 23, of Fort Washington sits at a small table near the bar watching "SportsCenter." Asked whether he has a preference among chains, he replies, "I go to different ones on different days." In the same breath, he acknowledges, "They're both restaurants with a bar. They serve the same type of food." If the T.G.I. Friday's in Greenbelt, his chain of choice despite a considerable commute, is crowded, he'll come to this Ruby Tuesday, which is closer to his home. This usually happens on nights that he expects Friday's is going to be crowded.

Like, for instance, on a Friday.