Dennis Serpone, New
England Restaurant Brokers

There’s a basic axiom in urban development that states that people will only commute a max of one hour from where they live or work. Obviously, this has been proven to be not-cast-in-cement. But, that said, you have two major concentric highways looping Boston. The first ring-road is Rte. 128 with a second one, Rte. 495, a half-hour drive beyond. Within those circles (ok, actually arcs) are millions of people who live in houses, have cars, shop, and dine out. It’s like living in a cocoon where most of your time is spent within its confines.  

I found it enlightening to focus on the health of the restaurant and hospitality market in this region of the state. To describe its health in one word, most in the know would agree that it is ‘GREAT’.

New chain restaurants are popping up everywhere...either in places of previously failed operations or in new shopping centers. New unit development and improved unit-level performance drove the largest brands in food service to another year of Total Sales Growth up 4.6% from a year earlier according to Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) Top 100 research. As you drive around, as you exit from these ring-roads, you’ll find a plethora of national chains.

Among the fastest growing chains, the Latin/Mexican operations are experiencing sales growth of 11.4%, The next three food sectors have grown respectively chicken up by 9.5%, the beverage and snack segment by 8.3%, and surprisingly convenience store sales also up by 8.3%.

Good news for the construction and supply sectors that service the hospitality industry. It seems everyone is trying to upgrade their facilities to better compete. Having a more modern style and pleasing ambience is really ‘big’...very visible are the changes to the Wendy units.

Understandably, people tend to favor newer, more comfortable places and are getting away from the hardwood feel of New England’s colonial style. NRN states that people are generally not loyal to specific chain units as opposed to the local independents that dot the landscape within the two road systems.

In another NRN survey, interestingly, they found five reasons why customers don’t repeat visitation to newer restaurants. 43% don’t go back due to the perception of being ‘too expensive’, 26% are interested in different food or beverage, 24% have gotten bored with the same place, 23% like to try new places, and 23% looks for better deals or promotions.

With the accessibility that comes with these ring-roads and the present lower cost of fuel, the suburbs are enjoying significant benefits. People can easily decide to have dinner on the water in Rockport or Newburyport, enjoy a fabulous steak at The Capital Grille in Burlington, or simply drive up to Kimball’s in Westford for some homemade ice cream.

Some of the other reasons for the success of hospitality along these highways are that it’s an easy drive, most restaurants offer plenty of parking and good food. For many it makes more sense to frequent restaurants outside of Boston than, for example, trying to justify driving into the North End, paying exorbitant parking fees, eating over-priced pasta, and dealing with tight seating with strangers on either side of you overhearing your conversation. I’m exaggerating a bit, but note the traffic flow out of Boston on Rtes. 1, 2, 3, 93. These highways feed hundreds of thousands of people onto 128 and 495 every day.

Rte. 128 is littered with several high-profile lifestyle centers with almost every major retail and hospitality brand represented. Starting at the somewhat mundane North Shore Mall in Peabody to the vibrant Market St. in Lynnfield, the new Third St. in Burlington, the huge Burlington Mall, to Legacy Place in Dedham...busy, busy, busy.

Rte. 495  is a slightly different story with several newer, more compact lifestyle centers in Westford and Littleton. This highway is the lifeblood of numerous smaller, bedroom communities that thrive because of it.

Professionally employed people are earning good money-the less skilled have seen their income rise as a result of social activism. What do they do with their money? They eat out.

Eating out has become the national past time whether going to a local fast food joint for lunch or a full service restaurant for dinner...they’re all busy (whatever happened to lunch bags). These wonderful ring-roads have made our lives easier and those businesses that are fed by them tend to be successful.

Dennis Serpone is president of New England Restaurant Brokers, Wakefield, Mass.