Planning to Retire

The 20 Most Popular Restaurants for Baby Boomers and Seniors

April 27, 2009 RSS Feed Print

It is common to cut back on eating out when you retire. Frugal retirees trying to stretch their fixed income are also famous for utilizing early bird specials and senior discounts. But most baby boomers and seniors haven't yet given up eating out altogether.

The typical American age 55 and older dines in a restaurant 51 times a year, or about once a week, according to a survey by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research released this month. The top restaurant choices are casual dining (27 visits) and fast food chains (15 visits), but baby boomers and seniors also visit cafés and kiosks (6 visits) and fine dining restaurants (3 visits) occasionally. The most popular food choices include American, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, and Seafood. Here's a look at where baby boomers and seniors are dining out.

The 20 Most Popular Brand-Name Restaurants Among Those Age 55 and Older

Olive Garden
Wendy's
Outback
Red Lobster
Chili's
IHOP
Applebees
KFC
Burger King
Denny's
Baskin Robbins
Taco Bell
Dairy Queen
Macaroni Grill
Panda Express
TGI Friday
McDonald's
Boston Market
Lone Star
Fuddruckers

Source: Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research, 2009.

The older customers in the survey were also more likely than younger patrons to say they need to call and cancel a reservation if they are not going to be able to make it to the restaurant.

Tell us, are these among your favorite places to eat or do you prefer local restaurants or eating at home?

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Fast food!!! Just what I want to be eating when I'm retired. No thanks, I hope I can at least afford better meals than that in my retirement years.

Barb of IL 12:41PM April 11, 2011

I'm sorry to say that I've eaten at 18 of the 20 restaurants, but that's because those are the choices when I'm on the road for work. Whenever possible, I eat at a locally owned place. They are more likely to have local fresh foods at good prices. I hope that I'm not eating at KFC and the like in my retirement years. It would be better to eat at home. A few places in the list have a fun atmosphere and that makes it worth a visit when with friends. If you eat at Olive Garden and think that you are eating authentic Italian food you are mistaken. If you eat there because you know better but just like the food, then that's fine. Eat up and have fun!

Rose of FL 8:36PM May 29, 2009

Of course the list is full of national chains. They are the only ones that are, well, national. So local diners, pizza joints and yes, even hot dog stands, don't stand a chance against those with hundreds, and even thousands of locations.
The results would be far more informative if they listed percentage of meals taken at each location. Betcha local eateries would fare far better when they are grouped together the same way the national chains were.

bob of IL 9:44PM May 06, 2009

The 20 Most Popular Restaurants for Baby Boomers and Seniors

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