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The curious surge of productivity in U.S. restaurants

bfi.uchicago.edu

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Re: The curious surge of productivity in U.S. restaurants

#141

Post by lurk2 »

pyuser583 wrote: post #116
deathanatos wrote: post #19

> The restaurants’ productivity growth rates are strongly correlated, however, with reductions in the amount of time their customers spend in the establishments, particularly with a rising share of customers spending 10 minutes or less. The frequency of such ‘take-out’ customers rose considerably during COVID, even at fast food restaurants, and never went back down. The magnitude of the restaurant-level relationship…

On the flip side, many bars and restaurants are throwing lots of attention to entertainment and in-person experiences. It’s a lot easier to find in person entertainment.

Do you mean like Chuck E. Cheese and Dave and Buster’s?

Re: The curious surge of productivity in U.S. restaurants

#142

Post by gonzobonzo »

randerson wrote: post #74
6stringmerc wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because drones are noisy and irritating in reality and nobody wants them flying around their neighborhood and they don’t scale and they can potentially scare animals and and and…

And they can't press buttons in the elevator. I don't think any delivery service will take off in a city if people have to leave their apartments.

Chinese delivery robots have been using elevators for years. I believe they wirelessly communicate with the elevator control system.

Re: The curious surge of productivity in U.S. restaurants

#143

Post by spoonjim »

This uses the economists' definition of "productivity" creating a confusing headline.

In reality, "productivity" as a layperson would understand it hasn't increased at all and the reason isn't very "curious." What's happened (by the economists' own conclusion) is that more people are ordering take-out and fewer people are eating in the restaurant, causing the restaurant to make more money per unit of labor. This is a trend that is probably going to make things like social isolation etc. worse, so not really something to celebrate.

Re: The curious surge of productivity in U.S. restaurants

#144

Post by ivanovb »

xg15 wrote: post #67

I wonder if there are also cultural/regulatory differences here. I'm in the EU, and of course we had the forced shift to takeout as well, during covid. But while homeoffice as a concept stayed, restaurants very quickly went back to in-house dining when it was over. Seeing a takeout-only restaurant with a repurposed dine-in area here in 2025 would be beyond weird and would probably just give everyone covid flashbacks.…

I'm an EU citizen and always saw going to a restaurant as a social event, somewhere to gather with friends, family, etc to have a good time. I never went to a restaurant to eat. Eating something delicious was just a bonus.

Re: The curious surge of productivity in U.S. restaurants

#145

Post by rahimnathwani »

They looked only at fast food, buffet and snack/cafe places:

  The Spend data covers major national brands disproportionately, making it much more representative for limited-service/fast-food restaurants than full-service restaurants. We therefore restrict the sample to POIs reporting NAICS codes corresponding to limited-service eating places (NAICS 722513, 722514, and 722515) and associated with a brand for which there is non-missing visit  and spend data. This encompasses three subcategories: limited-service  restaurants (e.g., Taco Bell, McDonalds); cafeterias, grill buffets, and buffets (e.g., Hartz Chicken Buffet); and snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (e.g., Starbucks). Our final sample contains over 100,000 unique restaurants from  over 600 distinct brands. From January 2019 to December 2022, our sample captures a total of about $24 billion in nominal sales.

Re: The curious surge of productivity in U.S. restaurants

#146

Post by chii »

morsch wrote: post #139
chii wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

those disasters were externalities, which i dont disagree is disheartening, but the personal freedoms and transportation capability given by the personal automobile is worth it. Public transport, even good ones, does not provide this level of comfort and freedom.

Oh god we're going to get a new hellscape of drone noise which we won't be able to get rid of on account of the personal freedom granted by having second rate food delivered five minutes faster.

> hellscape of drone noise

on the other hand, if it removed some traffic noise which is equal or worse than drone noises...

Re: The curious surge of productivity in U.S. restaurants

#147

Post by VectorLock »

gonzobonzo wrote: post #142
randerson wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And they can't press buttons in the elevator. I don't think any delivery service will take off in a city if people have to leave their apartments.

Chinese delivery robots have been using elevators for years. I believe they wirelessly communicate with the elevator control system.

>I believe they wirelessly communicate with the elevator control system.

That sounds hilariously abusable.

Re: The curious surge of productivity in U.S. restaurants

#148

Post by VectorLock »

ekianjo wrote: post #94
6stringmerc wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because drones are noisy and irritating in reality and nobody wants them flying around their neighborhood and they don’t scale and they can potentially scare animals and and and…

I can relate with most of what you said, but "drones don't scale", really? If they can scale in war, I can't see why they would not scale for other uses

They don't have to land safely, not cause liabilities or make return trips in war.

Re: The curious surge of productivity in U.S. restaurants

#149

Post by elcritch »

recursivecaveat wrote: post #132
Scoundreller wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhhhh, balconies? Reach out of an open window like a reverse drive-through?

I think you'd have to have nerves of steel as a company to try either of those maneuvers. The wind can be unpredictable so close to a structure, it is a cramped environment filled with objects and materials you can't predict, even a meal for 2 can be kindof bulky (doubly so bc it has to be packed well enough to be airworthy), the load might shift internally, and if you screw up there's a good chance a drone goes plum…

Alright hear me out, a drone "cannon" that shoots the food onto the balcony. It's perfect for covering that last distance. Works best for food packaged in discrete boxes. ;)

Re: The curious surge of productivity in U.S. restaurants

#150

Post by gonzobonzo »

VectorLock wrote: post #147
gonzobonzo wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chinese delivery robots have been using elevators for years. I believe they wirelessly communicate with the elevator control system.

>I believe they wirelessly communicate with the elevator control system. That sounds hilariously abusable.

The robots are operated by the building, for what it's worth. The delivery drivers drop the deliveries off to the robots in the lobby, and the robots take it from there to the individual rooms.
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