Red Robin is getting wrecked by the fast fresh model. Places like 5 Guys are going to totally destroy them.

They'll be bankrupt and history in the next 10 years.

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It’s been a long time since I had a Fuddruckers close. Sure wish we had one.

Not me.

Bastards fed me a spoiled burger about eight years ago which put me in the hospital for a couple of days.

Fortunately, Fuddruckers in Tucson closed a few years ago.

RR at Tucson Mall closed nearly 10 years ago.

Smashburger, IN & Out and Five Guys have taken up the slack.

It is not just RR. The younger folks just don't want to eat at a traditional restaurant. 20 years ago, you would rarely see a restaurant offer to-go service. NONE of them had curb-side to go. Now, curb-side and meal delivery (grub hub, uber eats, etc) are what's keeping half of them afloat.

Eating (for the younger ones) has transformed into an Amazon.com-like experience. Whip out the app, place your order, wait for the food to show. It all ties into streaming movies/shows and so forth. They don't bother going to movie theaters except for the biggest block-buster films (Marvel Universe type stuff). They would rather stream it at home (legitimately, or otherwise). The outdoor industry is bitching cuz sales of outdoor stuff is falling cuz the young 'uns don't wanna camp. They can visit the Grand Canyon via their Occulus VR headset.

This is not a rant, just a reflection of the reality that is. Most young guys aren't even into cars. Go figure.

I ate at a RR for the first time about 6 months ago. I was really disappointed after having heard good things for years. I even went back the next night figuring that I must have just had a rare poor experience. I ordered a different burger and was still very underwhelmed.

It wasn’t disgusting or anything, just bland. I gave them two tries and don’t plan on giving them a third.

Went to the old RR lastnight. It was packed so service was a bit slow.
Fortunately we have not been hit by the issues you all have food was still pretty good.
I get the bottomless salad and got 3 quickly when asked. The salads were very good. Lots of green lettuce and veggies. The cucumbers were a touch slimey but I am not a huge cucumber fan anyway so they usually come off, and the tomatoes were very flavorful.

I will say I do prefer a 5 guys burger.

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It is not just RR. The younger folks just don't want to eat at a traditional restaurant. 20 years ago, you would rarely see a restaurant offer to-go service. NONE of them had curb-side to go. Now, curb-side and meal delivery (grub hub, uber eats, etc) are what's keeping half of them afloat.

You are possibly correct. I hate carry out food and absolutely despise delivered food. I personally have had food delivered exactly once. Pizza, I had a crew at my house doing a 2 day job if workers are at my house for more than a couple hours I ALWAYS provide lunch (amazing how much better a job that gets done and if you have issues down the road they remember).

I am intrigued by this door dash Uber eats stuff. I hate delivery food and can’t imagine paying extra for it.
I eat at Chick Fil A for breakfast once a week. A quick in and out sitting at the table is generally a 10 minutes for me.
Granted this is right around 7:30a so the super morning rush. There will generally be 5-10 of the delivery service people at the counter while I am there and equal if not more than that of folks who ordered with the mobile app and grab their own.

Was a Five Guys a few weeks back and a couple of folks came in for the grub hub or whatever they used. I asked the manager about it and he said they officially use one company don’t remember which. But he said since they started their PROFITS went up at least $10K a month. Profits!

According to folks I know in the restaurant business there are many forces working against them, not the least of which is a roaring job market. It is a struggle to get and keep good people in those entry level jobs when there are so many other opportunities out there. Your business model doesn't work without people. Everything good in the restaurant business flows from the quality of employees. Chick Fil A is the model that works and their foundation is talent.

I’m surprised RR lasted this long. Even when the burgers were good I found it ridiculously overpriced. My family would spend the same for a burger meal that we spent at regular sit down restaurants with full menus. I never had much luck getting fries refilled. It wasn’t horrible but it never made the regular rotation.

I've only eaten at Red Robin once. While I'm in no way a fan of McDonalds, I vividly remember eating the $10 cheeseburger while looking out the window at the McDonalds arches across the road, where I could get 10 cheeseburgers for that price.

A couple of years ago the wife and I enjoyed going there and enjoyed the trivia game while eating there.
We went back to the same one last year and man oh man, what a difference. It went downhill fast and we will not be going back.

Last time I went was about a year or so ago. Haven't been back.

The burger was super thin and small. I think I got maybe 8 fries, seriously. There is a restaurant every three feet in my town now, no reason to return to a shitty one.

Had one close by in NoVa, family and I have ate there a time or two and I have never been impressed.

My wife and I have had the same experiences I'm hearing here. Haven't been back in awhile. Our Fuddruckers closed, which we loved. Now it's Five Guys.

Last time I was there was in the late 90's. Hamburger I ordered had bone ground up with the meat. Nasty

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Originally posted by mo4040:
It is not just RR. The younger folks just don't want to eat at a traditional restaurant. 20 years ago, you would rarely see a restaurant offer to-go service. NONE of them had curb-side to go. Now, curb-side and meal delivery (grub hub, uber eats, etc) are what's keeping half of them afloat.

Eating (for the younger ones) has transformed into an Amazon.com-like experience. Whip out the app, place your order, wait for the food to show. It all ties into streaming movies/shows and so forth. They don't bother going to movie theaters except for the biggest block-buster films (Marvel Universe type stuff). They would rather stream it at home (legitimately, or otherwise). The outdoor industry is bitching cuz sales of outdoor stuff is falling cuz the young 'uns don't wanna camp. They can visit the Grand Canyon via their Occulus VR headset.

This is not a rant, just a reflection of the reality that is. Most young guys aren't even into cars. Go figure.

Wait until you can do Victoria's Secret models on virtual reality. Nobody is going to leave the house.

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just a reflection of the reality that is

One of these days the power will go out, and 75% of our population will die because they can't shop or eat.

I've been looking at reviews of RR online and up to about 2017 they were generally pretty good but started to nosedive after that.

Look them up from the past 6 months and it's horrendous, almost 100% terrible reviews.

I agree with the poster that said they won't be around in 10 years but it will be more like 3-4 at this rate.

I just wonder how their corp. people can't figure this out. Everyone knows RR is going downhill, and new gourmet burger joints are popping up everywhere like weeds. RR still has enough goodwill in the bank to bring back their fans who have recently become disappointed. Who's minding the store over there at their HQ?

I had a bad experience at a Five Guys when I first moved to AZ. I came from the DC area, where Five Guys originated. I emailed the owner of the local store about what they were doing wrong and how far off from the east coast Five Guys they were and why. He wrote back a nice note and told me to print it out and use it as a coupon for a free meal for my wife and myself. And that store has improved a lot since then.

Surely, RR has the brains and resources to see what's wrong and fix it.

Corporate was the problem with Out Back, probably no different with Red Robin. How many in corporate have ever run a restaurant?

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Originally posted by Rick Lee:
I just wonder how their corp. people can't figure this out.

Someone may be paying attention, this was posted on Motley Fool on 11/6:

Red Robin’s New CEO: Hired to Stop the Dive/The struggling burger restaurant is looking for a rebound.

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In September, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ:RRGB) announced the appointment of industry veteran Paul Murphy as its new CEO. Murphy will replace interim CEO Pattye Moore, who held her position since April 2019. Murphy was previously the executive chair of Noodles & Co. Prior to his time at Noodles, Murphy was the CEO for Del Taco Restaurants, Inc.

Struggling Red Robin is looking to Murphy to execute its rebound, who has a proven record of reviving distressed restaurant companies.

Family insisted on eating at RR recently.
At the end of placing our ordered, the waiter asked, "Is there anything else you'd like?".
I said, "Yes, please bring out an extra order of the fries along with our meal. The side of fries is never enough".

To my surprise, they brought out a basket full as an appetizer a few minutes before the burgers arrived.

Got to admit that was mighty nice of them.
Otherwise, I totally agree with other comments. Too high price for burgers.