Raw Data Report: Restaurants

Each day, Wall Street is flooded with stock research offering a multitude of conflicting investment opinions. As such, TickerMine is not in the business of providing more opinions. We believe that accurate raw data points can be used to gain insight in to the stock selection and valuation process.

On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina (EAT) Reports Business as Steady,  Same as Last Year, Survey Says

Within a tough restaurant market, shares of Brinker International Inc. fell in mid-May. Analysts said the restaurant operator is facing a tough environment and downgraded the stock. Tickermine surveyed the On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina restaurant this week, one within the Brinker International Inc., chain. Our surveyors asked respondents whether lunch or dinner was busiest, what were the most popular menu items, what kind of competition they had nearby, was business up or down from a year ago and how old was their location? 27 locations were consulted across the nation. Twenty six respondents or 93% reported dinner as their busier shift and only two respondents or 7% reported it to be lunch. And in spite of poor rankings, most respondents reported that business was the same compared with this time last year (46% or 13 respondents.) Eight people or 29% reported business was busier and only 7 respondents or 25% said that business had dropped. Only one respondent, 4%, claimed their location was new, i.e. less than a year old and 27 respondents or 96% said the location was older than a year. Most respondents, specifically, 11 or 39% of those interviewed felt that their customers returned to their location because of the atmosphere. 10 respondents or 36% thought it was the menu luring people back and 7 or 25% thought, moreso, it was the prices. The average check for a party of two, according to our respondents was, $36.92 and while 15 respondents or 54% of those interviewed reported having competing restaurants nearby, 13 or 46% reported having none. Several competitors were cited including Chevy's, Atlantic Seafood Company and Chili's. The most popular menu item at On the Border locations this month was hands down, the fajitas, which were mentioned by 16 respondents or 57% of those polled. Other menu items mentioned included the Build your own Burrito (5 respondents or 18%), Grande Fajita Nachos (2 respondents or 7%) and the following each were mentioned once or by 4% of those interviewed: Chicken Flautas, Chicken tortillas, Jalapeno BBQ Salmon, Mesquite Grilled Steak and Southwest Chicken Tacos.

Business Holding Strong at Pizza Inn (PZZI); Customers Drawn to Menu Options

In a recent survey of Pizza Inn restaurants across the U.S., Tickermine found that business is the same as last year at 48% of locations and busier than last year at 35% of locations. Only 17% of participating restaurants said that business is down. Dinnertime is busier than lunch at 65% of the restaurants, almost all of which have been in operation longer than a year (91% of the 24 restaurants surveyed). According to respondents, the menu options are the biggest draw to customers at 65% of locations, while the prices are the main draw at 22% of locations, and the atmosphere brings in the crowds at 13%. A wide variety of pizzas are popular, particularly some of the less traditional offerings: the Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza is tops at 17% of restaurants, the Everything Monster Pizza at 13%, and the Chicken Fajita Pizza, Taco Pizza, and Pepperoni Max were each cited as most popular by 9% of restaurants. The average bill for a party of is between $25 and $35 at 48% of locations and less than $20 at 43%, while 9% of locations said that the average bill was $40.

Average Birthday Party at Chuck E. Cheese (CEC) Costs Over $150

In a recent poll of Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, 80% of respondents reported that over half of their customers visited Chuck E. Cheese to attend birthday parties. Saturday was unanimously the busiest day for birthday parties, at which the average bill was between $200 and $250 for 42% of restaurants. Twenty-seven percent reported an average bill of $150, and 31% reported an average of $50 to $100. Pepperoni was the most popular pizza (54%), followed by the all-meat combo (15%) and the roasted chicken ciabatta and cheese pizza (12% each). Ninety-two percent of Chuck E. Cheeses surveyed had been open for more than one year, and 65% are located near other pizza restaurants. Of those that are near other restaurants, 77% said they are as busy as their neighbors.

59% of Burger King (BKC) Outlets Say  Whopper is Most Popular Menu Item

Tickermine surveyed Burger King Holdings, Inc., the world's second largest hamburger chain, this week. Our surveyors asked which meal time was busiest, which breakfast menu item sold best, which was their best selling menu item, how long had their store been open, was it close to competition and had customer traffic increased this month? 29 locations were consulted. 25 respondents or 86% reported lunch as their busiest shift. Four or 14% reported dinner. The Croissanwich was the most popular breakfast item, (52%) followed by the Enormous Omelet Sandwich (17%), Sausage Egg & Cheese Biscuit (14%), Cini Minis (7%) and the Breakfast Burrito, Cheesy Tots and French Toast Sticks each got one mention or were cited by 3% of those polled. The Whopper was cited as the most popular menu item by 17 respondents (59%) and the Double Whopper was the most popular according to 12 respondents or 41% of those polled. 97% of respondents said their restaurant had been open for longer than a year and only 1 (3%) said theirs was old. Four respondents or 14% reported having no nearby competing restaurants. 19 respondents or 66% said they had competition and these stores were about as busy as theirs while 6 respondents or 21% reported having nearby restaurants but that Burger King's was busier. Five respondents or 17% said they had seen customers increase in the last few weeks but 24 respondents or 83% of those interviewed reported no increase in foot traffic at all.

Comments

[billddrummer:]

As this survey looks at only the tiniest sliver of outlets for these companies, I put almost no credence in the statistics, or try to infer anything other than it's interesting to see how many percentage signs you can get in one paragraph.

2008 May 30 12:48 PM

[TickerMine:]

Your comments assume that there is anyone putting out real data on these companies. While our surveys are not exhaustive, they are superior to all other research since frankly no one else does any primary research on these companies. 99% of all "reports" are simple editorial opinions based on author opinions with little to no factual research data in them. TickerMine attempts to bring some level of real data into the market. It is fine to criticize the work but you are comparing our work to hypothetical surveys that do not exist in the market.

I hope you will find value from the unique and valuable data supplied at TickerMine.com and those reports which we file on SeekingAlpha as well.

Thank you.

Casey Ryan
CEO
TickerMine
[e-mail]

2008 May 30 01:40 PM

[Swingline:]

worst. research. ever.

I agree with first comment. notice author left out the number of CEC waitresses interviewed. I bet it was less than the .003% burger kings visited.

2008 May 30 04:12 PM

[Bachelor of...:]

You are misleading people. Surf the internet for "Chili's Closings Oregon and Washington"

Franchise or not Corp/Management must make sure employees are taken care off. And not putting up signs saying "Closed for Repairs" which is not true at all. Chili's sign were taken down and furniture and fixtures were hauled away as well. Employees, some had worked there for 10 years. Not caring about EAT's "REPUTATION" indicates BAD NUMBERS. With the economy and Oil, why go out and eat? Unless you are blind or in denial or you are rich and could care less about the truth. You are taking a lot of lessons from Dennis the BS of CNBC. Tell the truth.

2008 Jun 02 05:20 PM

[Bachelor of...:]

Your article is misleading.
Try this link kptv.com/news/16401442...

You don't treat employees like this unless it is so bad, that the management either the Franchise owner or Corp.Management could care less about their "REPUTATION".

Middle class to upper middle class are being squeezed by the economy and the oil. You have to be blind unless you are above middle class and don't give a hoot.

2008 Jun 02 05:21 PM

[TickerMine:]

Note to Swingline.
Not sure why you believe that TickerMine's research is the worst ever. Your calculation on the number of Burger King's we spoke with is about right - 0.03% of all U.S. outlets. We are the only persistent and mass available primary research service. Our thoughts include using our data in conjunction with other sources that you use to drive your investment process.

2008 Jun 11 01:59 AM

[TickerMine:]

Note to Bachelor or Science:
The points you make on Chili's may be correct. Our coverage of EAT in this article speaks to the On the Border Mexican Cantina and Grill and not Chili's. We did post a report on Chili's separately that raise issues about how well that brand is doing.

2008 Jun 11 02:01 AM