Affordable, familiar and reassuring are the features that make American chain restaurants a near-ubiquitous presence throughout the country; it is almost as if they are baked into our roadside culture.
There's something about them – they're familiar, generally affordable, and comfortable. Despite well-documented financial struggles, a tough economy and shifting diet trends, these restaurants withstand time.
But they also face unique challenges.
This series tries to explore why these places have such strong staying power and how they stay afloat at a time of rapid change.
For the purposes of this project, we are exploring those full-service, sit-down establishments like Red Lobster, Denny's, and Chili's.
Drive through any American town or pull off any highway across the country and you'll see them: the glowing neon signs of chain restaurants. Think Chili's, Applebee's, Olive Garden, Red Lobster.
There's something about these places: They're familiar, nearly ubiquitous and, somehow — despite rising food prices — offer a full sit-down, restaurant service experience at an affordable price, according to many readers who dine at these places and who spoke to us for this project.
But they also stir something deep for many Americans. These restaurants are personal landmarks dotted with memories of nights spent with friends before a movie, awkward first dates, or family birthday dinners.
They are also a place where you can reliably get the exact same chicken alfredo from Olive Garden, no matter if you are eating at a location in Ohio or Arizona.
"People are obsessed with chain restaurants, especially if they have a favorite one that's just this cherished piece of their personal histories," says Adam Chandler, a journalist who has written about Americans' love of food chains.
And yet there's something "dystopian" about the whole thing, says Chandler — seeking out a middle-of-the-road restaurant that looks the same, tastes the same, and feels the same as it did 30 years ago.
The sameness is the point, experts in the restaurant industry say. A familiar meal can provide a needed jolt of nostalgia, and that is what keeps these chains in business — even decades after they first opened.
"Eating out is an emotional experience. We feel not just the food. We feel the whole experience," says Stephen Zagor, a restaurant consultant and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School.
"We love familiarity," he says. "And chain restaurants make money because we're comfortable. They're like old friends."
Zagor points to the heated — and costly — debate that began when Cracker Barrel announced it was changing its decor, menu and logo in an attempt to modernize the space. After public outcry that extended all the way to the White House, the company announced it would keep its original logo.
While there is a constant drive to remain relevant in the restaurant business, you also run the risk of facing that kind of consumer whiplash that landed Cracker Barrel in the middle of a culture war.
"People want things to be the same," Chandler, the journalist, says. And going to a restaurant where the decor and most of the menu are a decade old, people "feel like they're experiencing the same thing every single time they go, from when they're a kid to when they're an adult," he adds.
Leaning into nostalgia
NPR's curiosity to explore chain restaurants and how these brands have weathered decades of change comes from our reporters' own memories of time spent bonding with loved ones around these community tables.
And restaurants know it and are investing in ways to pull on those strings of the past and get customers — particularly millennials entering middle age — through their doors.
Part of this success has come from turning to social media, particularly TikTok, in order to use nostalgia to bring guests in the door and food trends like stretchy cheese (more on that later in the series).
"Nostalgia has always been an effective lever to pull when it comes to messaging and connecting on a really emotional level with the audience," says Michael Lindquist, senior vice president of social for the media company, BarkleyOKRP. He works in the company's social content studio, which works with brands like Red Lobster, Marco's Pizza and others.
This gets customers "to think back to a time when they were really happy experiencing your brand," he adds. "And I think a lot of people are reaching back for that right now, which is maybe why it's hitting a little different."
In 2023, Chili's announced it was partnering with 90's band Boyz II Men to record a new version of the chain's ode to ribs: The "I Want My Baby Back" jingle. Ads playing that song hit streaming services, online and social media.
And earlier this summer, Saved By the Bell star Tiffani Thiessen was part of a margarita of the month ad campaign (for what else? Their Radical Rita) that leaned deep into 90s pop culture.
Chili's says in its announcement, "The eye-catching margarita takes '90s nostalgia to the max this May with TV it girl Tiffani Thiessen raising a glass (and a themed swizzle stick) to Chili's newest margarita."
Nostalgia can mean big business
The full-service restaurant industry has struggled, thanks to a host of circumstances — including tariffs, changing consumer desires and rising food costs.
The National Restaurant Association reports that a majority of food operators say business conditions have "deteriorated" this year, attributed in part to a steep drop in the number of tourists the country is seeing as a result of a heated political climate and economic concerns.
Despite this, there have been some bright spots, with Red Lobster staging an attempted comeback after filing for bankruptcy and closing many stores, according to a profile by the New York Times (which also notes the seafood restaurant is betting on nostalgia to help).
But Texas Roadhouse and Chili's Grill & Bar continue to buck the general downward trends in the industry with continued strong sales and traffic, both companies report in recent financial filings.
Texas Roadhouse reported $1.4 billion in total sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, about a 12.8% increase compared to the same period last year. Chili's parent company, Brinker, reported company sales hit $1.45 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, which is an increase of just over 21% from the previous year.
Kevin Hochman, president & CEO of Brinker International (the parent company of Chili's), said of the continued growth during an earnings call: "With that sustained momentum along with a strong pipeline of initiatives, we are confident in our ability to grow sales and traffic throughout fiscal 2026. Chili's is officially back, baby back!"
Chelsea Reid, an associate professor of psychology at the College of Charleston, says there is some research that shows when foods are marketed as nostalgic, "individuals tend to express that they are more appealing to them and that they'd be more likely to purchase and consume them."
Reid describes nostalgia as "a sentimental longing for a treasured moment in your own personal past." And researchers have found that food and smells are especially potent triggers for nostalgia.
"I think about foods as particularly powerful because we know that nostalgia is frequently revolving around these momentous occasions … and foods are important guests at these events," Reid says.
More than that, she says, food can act as a type of "social surrogate." Even when our close friends or family aren't present to enjoy a meal with us, the foods associated with those people evoke the same feelings and memories.
"When we feel nostalgia, we feel that we have a greater sense of belonging," Reid says. And those feelings are there, even if we are completely alone.
Copyright 2025 NPR
