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Change Your Life! |
Restaurants showcase once-exotic items, flourishing in an eat-out era |
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News |
May 24, 2000
CHICAGO, MAY 23 (AP) - Few products are too upscale these days for the flourishing restaurant business.
Caviar, shrimp burgers and extra virgin olive oil imported from Tuscany are among the hot items being showcased at the association's annual trade show.
It's an indication that foods once considered exotic are thriving as Americans eat more creatively and more expensively. Americans are also dining out in record numbers and spending an astonishing dlrs 1 billion a day in restaurants. The industry is expected to generate dlrs 376 billion in sales this year, up 5 percent from 1999, according to the National Restaurant Association.
What the industry describes as "white tablecloth" restaurants - with average tabs running dlrs 25 per person and up - are the fastest-growing part of the business, with total sales expected to increase 6 percent this year.
Casual dining is sharply on the rise, too, as are takeout orders and purchases of prepared meals from groceries and supermarkets.
"We used to be perceived as the leisure part of the economy. But now, with people having less time, people are ordering carryout" as well as dining out, said Steven Anderson, president and chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association.
"People used to say at the end of the day, 'What do you want to eat?"' he said. "Now they say, 'Where do you want to meet?"'
And with more disposable income than before, they're willing to spend it on pricier foods.
Sid Wainer and Son, an 86-year-old company in New Bedford, Massachusetts, that sells imported and other specialty foods, saw business skyrocket in the roaring 1990s and projects dlrs 100 million in sales this year.
Company president Henry Wainer travels to Europe and elsewhere for top-end produce and foods and finds American restaurants and consumers more than willing to pay a premium for the products.
"When the economy's strong, people want the best for a special occasion," he said.
Marinated long-stemmed artichokes, smoked salmon from the Shetland Islands, roasted yellow tomatoes, caviar - all are big sellers in high-living times.
"Caviar's as hot as it's ever been," enthused Wainer. "It's really catching on."
Americans also are paying more for goat cheese, which costs 30 percent to 40 percent more than cheeses made from cows' milk.
Tony Dutra, founder of Orangeville, Ontario-based Woolwich Dairy, said his company has seen a big leap in sales the last three or four years, including exports to the United States.
"The United States was a huge cheddar market in the past, but now specialty cheeses are growing dramatically," he said. "People have a lot more money to spend on food, and that helps."
When it comes to pricey but booming foods, bison may be literally the next big thing. North American Provisioner Inc., which is producing 4 million pounds to 5 million pounds (1.8 million kilograms to 2.25 million kilograms)of bison products under the Buffalo Nickel brand this year, can barely meet soaring demand even though bison steaks cost two to three times the price of beefsteaks.
"Our business is growing exponentially," said company president and CEO John Bauer, who was handing out bison burgers and bowls of bison chili Tuesday. "Certainly the more affluent economy has to help us."
An estimated 90,000 people from all 50 states and 93 countries are attending the trade show, the single largest annual gathering of restaurant, food service and lodging professionals.
A showcase for new products, the convention gives restaurateurs a taste of everything from the latest in food safety technology to hot new culinary trends to new kinds of cooking equipment.
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