What restaurant chain fell off the hardest?

[u/Zenon9]

[u/CivilBridge7792]

Panera

[u/juanzy → u/CivilBridge7792]

I don’t think a lot of Redditors are old enough to remember when it was good. Initially it was a fast food option that wasn’t a greasy burger.

Even when I was in college and it started to go downhill quality-wise, they did a “starving student” special of sandwich, soup, and drink for $8 iirc.

[u/photo1kjb → u/juanzy]

I worked at one in the mid-2000s. The bread was literally baked on-site overnight (there was a 3rd shift that came in and baked bread through the night), and we fresh-chopped ingredients every morning (I still have PTSD from how much basil I had to cut half-asleep at 6am). Hot sandwiches were pre-prepped in the morning simply because of volume, but the trick was if you wanted something different from the base recipe (i.e. no onions, no mustard, etc etc), then we obviously had to whip one up fresh on the spot.

I was there when breakfast was a new thing, and eggs were cracked fresh (no boxed eggs etc) and put on sandwiches with also-fresh-baked rolls.

Yes, the soup was bagged and essentially sat in a sous-vide machine, but never microwaved or any garbage like that.

EDIT: Also, any unsold breads and bagels were picked up after close and delivered to soup kitchens/food banks/etc.

[u/MandoFett117 → u/photo1kjb]

I can't be mad when I see soup in a sous vide machine or warmer. Can it go bad after long enough? Yeah, sure.

But the types who insist on only freshly prepared soup are insane, the level of difference between 1 hour and 12 when using the same quality ingredients is so minimal.

[u/photo1kjb → u/MandoFett117]

The Broc Cheddar would only last about 20-30 mins max during the lunch rush, so it was always fresh. Even then, I think we had something like a 90 min (don't quote me) cap on the less-popular bags (minestrone etc), and often wouldn't even break it out until the first order for one came then, then just told them they'd have to wait ~10 mins so we could get a fresh batch out.

[u/modix → u/MandoFett117]

The reason I make soup at home is a food that is eaten over days. Most days it tastes better like day 3 or 4. Fresh and soup is a weird desire.

[u/ProdigyLightshow → u/modix]

100% on it tasting better after a few days.

My “signature” dish among friends and family is a gumbo that I do a pretty good job at making. And it consistently tastes the best after one or two days in the fridge

[u/ShrimpHeavenAngel → u/photo1kjb]

Panera was also my college job around the same time. It didn't pay well and I worked a TON, but because I was friends with the bakers, they'd often bake an "extra" something special for me, and if I closed, the food kitchen guy let us everyone take some of the bagels. Plus, we got a free pick-2 meal and drinks if you worked at least 6 hours. It went a long way for a broke college kid to have some good food pretty regularly, so I always had a soft spot for Panera. Nowadays, yeesh.

[u/Scary_Interview_526 → u/juanzy]

I grew up in St Louis where it first began. They used to make their bread fresh every day along with their soups. What it is today is not even the same place. It is complete garbage. Also some of the highest levels of glyphosate in their food, FYI.

[u/NotSure2505 → u/CivilBridge7792]

R/panera is one of the saddest places on Reddit with half the group complaining about how bad it is and the other half actively trying to kill the company by exploiting Sip Club as hard as they can.

[u/abzlute → u/NotSure2505]

Sips club is the only worthwhile thing about the place now though. I definitely abused it when I went back to school. I'd rather have the old panera back though.

[u/jjflash78 → u/CivilBridge7792]

Doomed once they took St Louis Breadco off the sign.

[u/IronIrma93 → u/jjflash78]

They still have Breadco branding in the city and county

[u/bcardin221 → u/CivilBridge7792]

Another victom of private equity buying them and ruining all the reasons people went there. (Jersey Mikes is next)

[u/CivilBridge7792 → u/bcardin221]

Please no! Not Jersey Mike's!!

[u/Taxg8r00 → u/bcardin221]

100% Private Equity is the “shitification” of everything from restaurants to skiing in the US. Panera is now inedible trash. Used to love getting a Greek Salad with chicken. I honestly wonder if the chicken is actual chicken. Horrific, plus it is so expensive. My son and I went recently while on a trip and 2 salads and a couple drinks were over $50.

[u/bitemytail → u/CivilBridge7792]

You don't like refinancing your house to pay for a sandwich?

[u/aj0457 → u/bitemytail]

A sandwich with no fillings.

[u/UncrossedCarter → u/aj0457]

Hard af bread

[u/Bmc00 → u/CivilBridge7792]

It's even worse if you were a fan of St. Louis Bread Co. before they merged.

[u/Ejmct → u/CivilBridge7792]

Yeah this one hits hard because Panera used to be good and definitely many steps ahead of the fast food places. Then PE bought them and they went downhill fast.

[u/cmcsed9]

Wendy’s. Their new CEO admitted he was taking shortcuts with the food quality to save money and you can tell.

[u/LongRoofFan → u/cmcsed9]

Wendy's was the GOAT in the late 90s

[u/SMO_Burner → u/LongRoofFan]

Yellow Wendy’s with the salad bar and sunroom was goated. Now it sucks.

[u/Megaclone18 → u/SMO_Burner]

They’re bragging about bringing the yellow packaging back as if that’s the reason everyone stopped going. I’m pretty forgiving of fast food but Wendy’s has dropped off harder than most over the last few years.

[u/come-on-now-please → u/SMO_Burner]

Dude, I wish more places had sunrooms. Instant architectural elevation

[u/_borT → u/SMO_Burner]

Yellow Wendy’s with Dave Thomas on TV was a great era. Everything was so good and also affordable. 99c nuggets with real meat…

[u/MrKrinkle151 → u/_borT]

He really was the driving force of their success. They fell off after he stepped down for a bit in the 80’s, and they fell off again not long after he died.

[u/Bornandraisedbama → u/_borT]

I do also miss the Fo Fo Fo

[u/riotoustripod → u/SMO_Burner]

And now they're bringing back the yellow packaging to capitalize on that nostalgia. The color change is not the reason we all stopped going to Wendy's, it's the fact that the price skyrocketed while the quality took a nosedive.

[u/williamfbuckwheat → u/LongRoofFan]

Yeah which coincides with Dave Thomas still being around. 

[u/catch10110 → u/cmcsed9]

I used to go there ALL the time. Now, i go occasionally because it's open late and near my house. I'm disappointed every time. They switched to "AI" ordering which, i'm just not going to do. Everything is way more expensive. It's easiest to do a mobile order on the app, but they are always out of whatever i want to order...which you don't find out about until you have already paid and are at the window.

"We're out of potatos, do you want fries instead?"

No i don't want fucking fries, that's why i got a potato. Just refund it.

"Oh sorry, we can't do that, you'll have to open a ticket."

I'm trying to get a god damned baked potato here, i don't want to have to contact someone in india about my $3.50 i overpaid and hope for the best.

[u/Fragrant_Turnip_9946 → u/cmcsed9]

Wendy's took a very noticeable down turn in the last 2-3 years.

[u/refsnyderisgood69 → u/cmcsed9]

Yup the spicy chicken sandwich specifically went to shit

[u/tessslaaa21 → u/refsnyderisgood69]

First they changed the chicken patty from a whole white breast in that orange spicy crispy coating to the flat processed chicken patty, then they changed the grade and thickness of the tomato, and now the lettuce….. it was such a good sandwich.
I don’t eat fast food often but when I had a bad day I’d get a spicy chicken, a jr bacon, a loaded baked potato, and a frosty to put me into a food coma for the rest of the day

[u/csmccarty → u/tessslaaa21]

Yep. People always mention just the lettuce, but the biggest thing I noticed was the chicken going to shit.

[u/OkSecretary1231 → u/refsnyderisgood69]

And that was what I used to go there for. LOL

[u/Wthermans → u/refsnyderisgood69]

Yep. They switched from whole leaf lettuce to shredded lettuce and it sucks so bad. It was my only reason to go there and once that changed, I no longer have a desire to buy anything from them.

[u/lava172 → u/cmcsed9]

He admitted they’re taking shortcuts but not doing anything about it, just hoping changing to yellow packaging will make people forget

[u/Old_Competition3094 → u/cmcsed9]

Yeah they went from my go to fast food to avoid at all costs.

[u/bala_means_bullet → u/cmcsed9]

Hey, they went back to the foil wrappers in my area. The paper ones didn't steam the bread and the bread would be all crumbly.

And fuck that new CEO.

[u/mtn_bikes → u/cmcsed9]

Wendy’s was sooo good up until like 2010 or so. Then they fell of hard.

[u/Edit0rz1]

If we are talking about quality and value: Panera

[u/LiquidDreamtime → u/Edit0rz1]

Best answer.

Panera in 2006 was a bakery and coffee shop. I used to hang out there for hours drinking coffee and doing emails. It was a nice place for casual work lunches. The turkey bacon bravo sandwich was great.

Now it’s hospital food.

[u/treehumper83 → u/LiquidDreamtime]

I’d rather have hospital food, tbh

[u/Zelnar → u/LiquidDreamtime]

I used to work in a doctor's office, and reps would sometimes cater lunch and Panera was one of the more common ones. When they got in the office it was usually a race to who would get the turkey bacon bravo. I never liked anything else they had.

Also their red onions smelled up the entire office. I despise onions generally, but even people who like them would usually throw them out because they were ridiculously potent.

[u/kingoflint282 → u/Edit0rz1]

In similar vein but smaller scale- Atlanta Bread Company. They were positioning themselves as a Panera competitor with 170 locations in 25 states. When they were good, I honestly think they were better than Panera at their best. Then their management got arrested in South Africa and I’m not sure what else happened but seemed like it was a slow death spiral for them.

Food was still good for a while, but the quality deteriorated and now they only have 9 locations in 2 states.

[u/SilkyFirelight_]

Pizza Hut. It went from being a whole childhood event to a place where you pay $25 to feel nostalgic and disappointed

[u/comineeyeaha → u/SilkyFirelight_]

Last night I ordered delivery at like 10:45 through their app. I get a text 5 minutes later that the delivery is being handled through DoorDash. 15 minutes later DoorDash says the order was cancelled. Called the store and they said the driver just left. Just got off the phone with DoorDash support and they're creating a ticket with Pizza Hut to give me a refund, and they couldn't tell me why my order was cancelled. Every single part of this interaction sucked ass. I'm not ordering from them again.

[u/Judge_Bredd3 → u/comineeyeaha]

I recently had to travel for work. The hotel I was staying in was about a block away from a pizza hut. So, I call in a pickup order with the local number listed online, person on the phone tells me 20 minutes and that's perfect for me. I can unpack, sit a little bit and decompress, then walk over and pick up my pizza.

So, I get there about 20 minutes later and pizza isn't ready. Wait another 20 minutes then ask again. They say they're really busy and don't know how long it'll be. I tell them the person on the phone didn't mention that and they tell me they don't answer the phones anymore. All phone orders are taken by a call center who simply puts it in like an online order. They have no idea what the conditions in the store are like, 20 minutes was probably a default answer. It ended up taking about an hour.

[u/DisastroImminente → u/SilkyFirelight_]

Yes. My wife and I recently said "Fuck it, we haven't had an old school stuffed crust from Pizza Hut in years, lets be bad and get it". It was gross. Tasted like chemicals and plastic.

[u/SafetyRepair]

Boston Market

[u/Not_The_Real_Jake → u/SafetyRepair]

Their mac and cheese was one of my favorite things growing up, no clue why. Shame they fell off so hard and are all but gone completely.

[u/Asfastas33 → u/Not_The_Real_Jake]

As a kid, my dad and I would go fairly often, there and Friendlys, in my head I can hear him say “why don’t you try a side that isn’t mashed potatoes and mac n cheese?” Seal Team 6 couldn’t even pull me away from those sides

[u/13kat13 → u/Not_The_Real_Jake]

Same, along with their cornbread! There was a Boston Market two blocks from my house growing up and it was one of my favorite places to go just for the mac and cheese and cornbread. It got torn down and replaced with a coffee shop like 10 years ago and I still miss it.

[u/AhJeezNotThisAgain → u/SafetyRepair]

Boston Chicken

[u/beachluvr13 → u/SafetyRepair]

I dream of their mash potatoes and chicken noodle soup.

[u/SafetyRepair → u/beachluvr13]

always remember my dad coming home with the smell of those things and the chicken every Thanksgiving when I was a wee lad

[u/omegamun → u/SafetyRepair]

OMG they used to serve almost 100% homemade meals that were damned tasty! Another restaurant that private equity absolutely obliterated. Damned shame.

[u/Popular_Course3885 → u/omegamun]

Private equity didn't obliterate them. McDonald's did.

I used to work there back in the 90's before and after McDonald's took over. It went from awesome to just another quick-service place that was looking to cut costs and/or come up with gimmicks to get people in the door.

[u/Captain_Aware4503 → u/Popular_Course3885]

The problem was they became a Ponzi Scheme. They were taking new franchise money and using it to pay bills while creating more and more debt. They tried to grow too fast.

Then McDs bought them and totally f-cked over everyone cutting costs like you said.

[u/SweetSexiestJesus → u/SafetyRepair]

I still think about those chicken pot pies and cornbread muffins

[u/subtropicsapien]

TGI Fridays was once at the very top with the best food, service, and atmosphere. People used to wait hours to get in on the weekend. Now they just suck.

[u/DisastroImminente → u/subtropicsapien]

The one near us was a pillar of the community. EVERYONE went there. It was hopping. One of the GM's told me it was in the top 5 of sales for the entire franchise and it was used as a training location for new managers.

It closed last year. How you do that...

[u/mannthunder → u/DisastroImminente]

Private equity, gutting the future for temporary portfolio growth

[u/LeaveMyMonkeyAlone → u/mannthunder]

I worked many service positions at TGIF in the mid 70s. There were only a handful of individual owners who told all of the employees that they would never go public or corporate. At that time there were maybe 10 or so national stores. It wasn't a real restaurant (the kind it changed to be)....it was a meat market. Alcohol sales dwarfed the food sales.

[u/Kiyohara → u/subtropicsapien]

They used to actually cook stuff. Sauces came in premade containers, but burgers were fresh meat, salads and veggies were all cut in house, and sides dishes were made on site.

But then everything came in pre made portions and they just reheat it all in steamers or microwaves or whatever. The only things that really get cooked are stuff in the freezer and it's still all frozen and in bags.

At this point might as well just contact their supplier and order a few bags of the same meals and toss them in a steam tray or nuke them. It'd be cheaper.

[u/Sam_the_beagle1 → u/Kiyohara]

Former TGIF line cook in the early 80s. All the sauces, dressings, fries, onion rings and desserts were made from scratch.

[u/BMisterGenX → u/subtropicsapien]

When they first started, they were considered revolutionary. They were the one everyone else wanted to copy.

[u/Dillweed999 → u/BMisterGenX]

The first singles bar. I guess for NYC in the early 60s your two choices for bars were "more or less fancy hotel bar" and "dank watering hole." Clean, but not stuffy, place to meet someone to bang was one of those ideas that seem obvious in retrospect

[u/Anitapoop]

Quiznos

[u/DandySamberg → u/Anitapoop]

Loved Quiznos. Truly thought they would take over the sub world back long ago.

Here is a great video about their decline:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3QK-32bxgw

[u/Consistent_Group3175 → u/Anitapoop]

Exactly what I came here to say. They were expanding like crazy for a few years and then suddenly disappeared

[u/tjspeed → u/Consistent_Group3175]

Lmao reminds me of the one time I went to go smoke weed with my friends and then went home and my dad asked where I was. I lied of course and said went to grab some food with my friends. He asked where and I said “oh the Quiznos over on East Ave.”. He just laughs and says “TJ that’s been closed for almost a year. Come up with another lie.” Lol. It really did seem like they all closed very quickly.

[u/Consistent_Group3175 → u/tjspeed]

Hahahaha!!!!! That story reminded me of a friend of mine from high school. She was going to go smoke weed with her bf at his house cause his parents weren’t home. He picked her up and told her parents they were going to Jack In The Box. Thanks to that lie her dad and brothers gave her money and placed orders so now she had to go get Jack In The Box to keep up with the lie.

[u/SkiG13 → u/Consistent_Group3175]

There are a few holdout locations left. It’s a shame because their franchise model destroyed them and it had nothing to do with the food quality. It was legit better than subway.

[u/dope_star → u/Anitapoop]

Was my favorite sandwich shop in the 2000s. 

[u/Alternative-Score-35 → u/Anitapoop]

I almost forgot that Quiznos existed, LOL. They were a much, MUCH better alternative to Subway about 20 years ago.

[u/coldboy0104]

For me, it's Pizza Hut. It was a staple for me and the family as a kid. A whole ass event where I was more excited to go to play Rampage on the little arcade machine than the pizza itself. First time I saw a salad bar. Pizza was actually edible. The vibes felt homey. Now, it's utter garbage. PIzza bad, vibes bad, weirdly just expensive enough to not be worth paying.

Fuck I miss those Pizza Hut nights after a football game. The smell, the sound of families actually having a good time, the ambient lighting, the wood interior and hard ass booth seating. And if you were lucky maybe your crush was there eating with their family. idk, maybe I just miss being a kid, but the hut has definitely changed

[u/Richheartv → u/coldboy0104]

My elementary school would have reading events where you could win personal pan pizzas and we’d go crazy for it

[u/snugglelove → u/Richheartv]

Still a thing!

Pizza Hut BOOK IT!® Program

[u/Senor-Cockblock → u/coldboy0104]

Those red cups.

[u/pinniped90]

Chi Chis.

I loved that shit in the 90s.

[u/ultra_jackass → u/pinniped90]

And that fried ice cream.

[u/Eccohawk]

Panera if we're talking about general quality.

Quiznos if we're looking at just how quickly a rocketship can slam into the earth.

[u/ABpro90]

A common thread among all these is any restaurant chain that was acquired by private equity; the private equity firm comes in, reduces costs by lowering quality and service, and then strips all the value out.

[u/TokenPanduh → u/ABpro90]

Private equity is the absolute fucking worst. Everything they touch turns to shit, they run it into the ground with unmanageable debt, bankrupt the company, and move on. They've ruined so many good restaurants and all in the name of endless profits. It's such a shame.

[u/SlimDevilWarlock → u/TokenPanduh]

Still not sure why private equity is legal but regular grifting isn't.  

The romance scam where the grifter finds some lonely old person, pretends to like them and steals their money/takes out loans in the victim's name and then disappears is indistinguishable from what PE does.

[u/Button-Down-Shoes]

Marie Calendar’s. Considered upper mid-tier dining. Always packed. Great salad bar and good food. My first love with shrimp Alfredo. Capitalism dictated that it was more profitable to package every dinner in a frozen bag from a central distribution and make even more profit by boxing those bags and selling them in grocery stores. Not a lot of profit any more, is there.

[u/amp106 → u/Button-Down-Shoes]

Marie Calendars has a restaurant?!

[u/MTA_54539 → u/amp106]

Marie Callendar’s was bomb as hell once upon a time 😔 we had a bunch of them in SoCal

[u/Esleeezy → u/Button-Down-Shoes]

I had a guy that I was working with training with me in SoCal. He came in one day and was like “DUDE! MARIE CALLENDARS HAS A WHOLE RESTAURANT RIGHT NEAR HERE!!” I was confused but remembered that not every state has every thing. He was so excited. Then we ate there. Kind of bummed him out.

[u/dont_remember_eatin]

Shoney's

I can't remember the last time I saw one, but according to their website they still exist!

[u/capnfatpants → u/dont_remember_eatin]

Breakfast at Shoney’s at 2.99. Saved me some money and eased up my mind.

[u/strawberrycreamdrpep → u/dont_remember_eatin]

When the Rick and Morty episode where Rick’s in a Shoney’s came out, I genuinely thought it was a fictitious place made-up for the show.

[u/SirTroah]

Haven’t seen a Roy Rogers since I was a kid

[u/rfg217phs → u/SirTroah]

Now that they're a family-owned chain almost exclusively in MD, they're actually still pretty good. No private equity substandard nonsense. A little bit pricey but their staff is always super friendly and their food is definitely above average.

[u/somthing53 → u/rfg217phs]

Have them in NJ. I assumed they were exclusive to NJ.

[u/ViceS96 → u/SirTroah]

we should’ve stopped at roy rogers!

[u/DaOleRazzleDazzle → u/SirTroah]

They recently opened a new one in South Jersey. The drive thru line wrapped around the block for weeks from the nostalgia crew.

[u/Tacoshortage]

Bennigans. Man I miss that Monte Cristo.

[u/smarttrashbrain → u/Tacoshortage]

There's, like, six still operating in the US. I went to one earlier this summer. The Monte Cristo was awesome.

[u/EarhornJones → u/Tacoshortage]

I have one sown the street from me. I get a Monte Cristo and my wife gets a Turkey O'Toole about once a month.

Honestly, it's one of the few restaurants in my area that I still go to without complaint.

[u/ptrussell3 → u/Tacoshortage]

In all fairness, it's probably good that we can't easily get a 7000 calorie sandwich very often.

[u/phenom37]

I'm not saying it was ever like great or something, but steak and shake. In high school it was opened 24 hours or extremely late, the food was pretty good, the spicy chicken was one of the better ones out there, spiciness wise, The side by side shakes, etc. Went a year or so ago and it was awful. There were like a handful of menu options, it was all kiosk ordering, it took forever, the food was bad, plus there are their political activities lately that are annoying.

[u/pumpkin123 → u/phenom37]

I remember when they were more of a dinner. It was amazing food and shakes and the sides were really good then one day it changed to more of a fast food and the sides weren’t sides anymore and then every visit was just more sad until I stopped :(

[u/MJR_Poltergeist → u/phenom37]

Going to a Steak and Shake right after the movie theater was peak in the early 2000's

[u/_windfish_]

Starbucks.

Say what you will about the actual coffee/drink quality, Starbucks used to be a chill hangout. When I worked there in the mid 2000's, they placed such a strong emphasis on being the "third place" that it was part of their day 1 training and constantly reiterated in their employee communication. They had comfy chairs, good music, a laid back atmosphere. We had regular customers that we knew very well and looked forward to taking to. The pace was relaxed and welcoming.

I left in 2011. Some time in the last 15 years they completely changed their approach. Many stores now have a drive-through. Mobile-order pickup with zero human interaction seems to be the most popular way to get your coffee. Everything is so fast, impersonal, and uniform. They've redesigned most of their stores to feel sterile and bland. Metal surfaces everywhere, no fun wall decor and comfy couches anymore. A minimalist, overly simple menu design with like 5 items on it. No encouragement to come and hang out - they just want to churn through customers and get them out of the store.

Very uncomfortable place to be nowadays and it's pretty sad to see.

[u/Rickk38 → u/_windfish_]

The Starbucks redesign makes me feel like I'm ordering a drink in a restroom in an office building.

[u/sakkaly → u/_windfish_]

I was working for a Starbucks kiosk up to a couple months ago, and they keep pushing “back to basics/third place” narrative, but wouldn’t put any of the actual work in. They didn’t redesign any locations to be more comfy, they keep churning out novelty drinks and emphasizing mobile orders. All they did was punish the baristas for, like, not having long enough eye contact or perfect drizzle technique.

[u/Carameldelighting → u/_windfish_]

They have had a string of CEOs doing everything they can to gut the Customer experiance. Current CEO is the same guy that ruined Chipotle, and Pizza Hut. Brian Niccol

[u/sunsetlighthouse → u/_windfish_]

I miss old Starbucks. The lounge chairs they used to have were ridiculously comfortable. It was such a great place to get stuff done, and the prices weren’t insane yet.

[u/Roll_SK]

Fuddruckers. Fell off the face of the planet.

[u/DeliciousPangolin → u/Roll_SK]

One of the last two in Canada is still open near my parents' house. It's pretty big, and practically unchanged since my childhood. Stepping in there is like being transported back to the early '90s. The next-door arcade, batting cages, and mini-putt are somehow still in business too.

[u/Patient_AE123]

Kenny Rogers's chicken

[u/Nigel_featherbottom → u/Patient_AE123]

Stay away from the chicken! Bad chicken! Mess you up!

[u/sanchower → u/Nigel_featherbottom]

It’s a rat hat.

[u/ermghoti → u/sanchower]

And of poor quality, even by rat hat standards.

[u/JosephMadeCrosses → u/ermghoti]

That's not gonna be good for business...

[u/alredxiii → u/Nigel_featherbottom]

He is The Gambler

[u/Bulky-Syrup7960 → u/Nigel_featherbottom]

It’s the wood that makes it good

[u/jscummy → u/Nigel_featherbottom]

Nah they roast a strong bird over there

[u/scotsman3288 → u/Nigel_featherbottom]

"No Jerry! I need that chicken, I gotta have that chicken, you leave those roasters alone, Kenny never hurt anybody!"

[u/Short_Razzmatazz352 → u/Patient_AE123]

My apartment unfortunately is right beside a Kenny rogers chicken neon sign. It keeps me up at night…

[u/Sarge1387]

In Canada, just about any fast food place has taken a nosedive off a cliff in terms of quality and bang for the buck.

You can literally make the same kinda things at home for the same if not less money for a family, or just spend the same money and go to an actual restaurant.

[u/Adventurous-Tea-876]

Tim Hortons

[u/dansdansy]

ITT: Everything I loved as a kid was ruined by private equity

[u/uhs23]

McDonald’s. Maybe not from an economic perspective, but as far as I am concerned they jumped the shark when the abounded using actual colors in their interior and exterior design.

Now they are just Starbucks with shitty burgers and better coffee.

[u/oww_my_liver → u/uhs23]

Their coffee is legit not terrible. In fact breakfast is about the only thing I’d get from McDonalds at this point.

[u/Scrilla_Gorilla_ → u/oww_my_liver]

I know inflation has hit a lot of stuff, but nowhere do I feel it more than a McDonalds hash brown. Twenty years ago it was two for $1. Now it's one for $2. The cost of potatoes didn't go up 400%. Shit's wack.

[u/kidFunkadelic]

Red Robin use to have really good food for a chain restaurant. They went way down hill during covid and never seemed to recover. Or maybe they just think they can get away with it now.

[u/jenorama_CA → u/kidFunkadelic]

I took my dad out to Red Robin a couple of weekends ago for his birthday. He had a burger and I had a crispy chicken salad and it was pretty good. Shared onion rings were nice, too. I hadn’t been there in ages but no regrets about that meal.

[u/GopherNutz]

I don’t care how many variations of protein they do, Chipotle has fallen way off

[u/yoursummerworld → u/GopherNutz]

Chipotle is still okay sometimes, but nothing like before their E Coli controversy when they stopped adding fresh cilantro to their rice and stuff started coming in bags vs prepared fresh in store

[u/come-on-now-please → u/yoursummerworld]

I think the lifecycle of a Chipotle is that it opens, it great for a while. Then the quality crashes and its not worth it

[u/ImportantQuestions10 → u/GopherNutz]

Maybe it's because I only go like once a year now, but it really doesn't seem that bad compared to a decade ago.

People complain about the price going up, but it still costs like 13 bucks for a fully loaded burrito. It's a good, solid log of tasty, healthyish food.

[u/EstradaMoses → u/ImportantQuestions10]

Yeah I disagree too. Maybe it varies by location but mine is still way higher quality than “fast food” quality. Price wise it isn’t as good a deal as it used to be, but nothing really is anymore.

[u/neutronicus → u/EstradaMoses]

I live in the city (Baltimore) and the locations in the city are just terrible. Like they are regularly out of half the ingredients.

Every time I go to a suburban Chipotle and it’s decent I’m like wait what!?

[u/Existing-Job-3050]

Whataburger became whatabagofcrap

[u/xbieberhole69x]

Here's an opposite example... Burger King used to suck ass. But last couple of times I've had it, it has been solid. Give em a try again if you feel so inclined.

[u/poopyheadthrowaway → u/xbieberhole69x]

I get the sense that Burger King goes through regular cycles of shitty food to maximize profits and decent food to bring back customers.

[u/CxOrillion → u/poopyheadthrowaway]

It's like an abusive relationship.

[u/2112xanadu → u/xbieberhole69x]

I get a free Whopper each quarter with my Walmart+ subscription. Never once used it. Might should change that

Edit: I’m also embarrassed bc this is the most Wayne’s World commercial sellout-y post I think I’ve ever made

[u/BarcaOfCarthago → u/xbieberhole69x]

Eh, after seeing a ton of comments on reddit I went to try some things from BK

Not bad but still WAY overpriced

[u/sandiegodak]

Buffalo Wild Wings is godawful these days. It was never great but it was solid.

[u/jjmcquade]

Souplantation

[u/joyfulbee43]

I still bemoan the loss of Bennigans. I miss Ruby Tuesday and their salad bar. There's still one not too far from me, but reviews are not great so I don't go.

[u/No_Station_535]

Subway dropped off. It used to be bulk healthy food. 5 dollar foot longs got me thru MS and HS even more when they started rotating days.
Chipotle fell hard bc prices have gone up, food portions of gotten down, quality has suffered, and tbh customers service was always on the top end and now it feels like I bug the staff when ordering food.

All the fast food pizza except little Cesar’s . PH fell off and is so overpriced. Dominos is still kinda relevant and but overrated and priced. Papa John’s who? I’m sure I’m missing a ton more but yeah they fell off.

Starbucks was the go to spot for coffee and drinks but dude $7.5 base drinks is nuts. I make it at home for 10% of the price and is more enjoyable and faster now.

The only chains I’d say are relatively safe are Panda Express since the quality has stayed about the same. You used be able to get a lot more food but still more than enough for a meal. Little Cesar’s has definitely been top dog for pizza they have the basic cheap pizza but lowkey their premium cheese stuffed pizza are better and still cheaper than the other pizza chains. I live on the west coast so in n out is the go to spot for burgers. They’ve changed up slightly but I think it’s more for efficiency than for cost cutting.

[u/AWhiteRanger813]

KFC

[u/bflaminio → u/AWhiteRanger813]

This. I used to enjoy an occasional bucket, but the last time it was just gross, with yucky sides. I couldn't even eat it. And no more cornbread. Never again, KFC.

[u/Kilorn]

All of them. I rarely ever eat out anymore and think "wow, that was really worth the cost."

Olive Garden for 2 people and a 14 month old without ordering any wine was 89.44 last week... wtf??

[u/cerareece → u/Kilorn]

honestly the only places that feel worth it nowadays are the Mexican places where you can get a packed burrito or tostadas with sides for like 10-12$. everything else just leaves me feeling broker and like crap

[u/Kiyohara → u/cerareece]

Yeah, my local Taqueria I can get a plate of five fully loaded tacos (like it's just heaping the meat) for $25 and that includes tip and drink and I always get the upcharged Lengua or Cabesa. If I stuck with the normal meat, it'd be like $20 with tip and drink.

And five of those babies leaves me stuffed.

They serve a nine dollar burrito that would make Chipotle hand it's head in shame.

[u/xSuperZer0x → u/Kilorn]

I still stand by Texas Roadhouse. I've never had a bad meal there, I've had just fine meals but generally on the side of good meal. The prices don't feel too outrageous for what you're getting.

[u/Aquaman258]

Subway. It, at one time, was fresh and delicious. I hear private equity made it cheap and disgusting.

[u/mypersonalinfoxn → u/Aquaman258]

Subway is not owned by private equity. It enshitified itself.

[u/Enough-Remote6731 → u/Aquaman258]

I worked at a Subway 25 years ago. I certainly did not make anything fresh and delicious. We talking further back?

[u/food-dood → u/Enough-Remote6731]

Yeah I'm 40 and to me it's always been the bottom tier sandwich place. Literally any other sandwich shop is better.

[u/The_Amazing_Emu → u/food-dood]

I think people forget that pre-pedophile days, they weren’t even pretending to be healthy and had pepperoni sandwiches and the like. It’s only after Jared Fogle lost weight that they tried to promote healthy fresh ingredients.

If it ever tasted better, that was the window. Plus, it still had competition with Quiznos.

[u/SubmergedSublime → u/Aquaman258]

Cheap and disgusting.

[u/Sir_holy_bears]

The decline of chipotle feels personal

[u/flatblackvw]

I worked at a noodles and company back in HS, around 06/07. Food was really excellent for fast casual. Over the years the sauces had less and less flavor, and the dishes just got so bland. Very glad I learned how to make most of the good stuff on my own, but some of the things just can’t easily be replicated.

[u/Oriellien]

Pizza Hut

Used to have this awesome diner-but-pizza aesthetic in the 90’s and early 00’s. Then they leaned into giving up what made them unique and became a generic cookie (pizza?) cutter fast food chain. And the quality went downhill.

[u/TheArchitect_7]

Fuck Panera

[u/IBTFlurrie]

Sonic's. The food quality is terrible and the place lacks modernization. Literally looks like a nuclear fallout shelter whenever I go to one.

[u/smurf_diggler → u/IBTFlurrie]

Dude how to you fuck up mozzarella sticks? Anytime I've gone there now everything tastes old and stale.

[u/FlanOk2476]

Sizzler

[u/Cozy90]

Long John Silvers. They fell so hard theyre pretty much gone.

[u/interstellar304]

Panera or subway. Both used to be decent and are now overpriced garbage

[u/Getdabozak]

Chili's in the late 90's, early 2000's was on another level

[u/IshyMoose → u/Getdabozak]

I think they are finding a new niche.

The menu is smaller and it’s just a smidge above fast food. The prices aren’t bad for what you pay. $10 for a burger, fries, soda, and an appetizer is actually cheaper then most fast food places n

[u/Archer1407 → u/Getdabozak]

I know it's just reheated frozen food but the Chili's near me is so much better, and faster, than any of the fast food chains near it. My girlfriend and I can roll to get the 3 for me meal and split the burger for u der $23 with tip. It's cheaper than we can eat at the McDonald's across the street. I'm back in on Chili's these days.

[u/Salty_Objective4002 → u/Getdabozak]

I think it's the opposite for Chili's. They're killing it.

[u/jojodaclown]

Around me, Hardee's. They've all closed, which is kind of a shame since from a fast food burger perspective, it was better than the other options. It's all gross now it seems. Too many cost cuts and greed.

[u/p-sherman_]

wendy's

[u/Adam_zkt_Eva]

Frisch's Big Boy (Cincinnati area) fell pretty hard. Dumb-as-rocks management sold the real estate, then leased it back. When they couldn't pay the lease payments, the new landlord foreclosed and evicted dozens of Frisch's locations.

[u/shichiaikan]

Let's be honest... basically all of them.

I'll give a little credit to Wendy's, at least where I'm at, they may not be the most consistent, but the quality is surprisingly still a lot better than almost every other fast food. Also, Taco Bell - it's always been garbage, but it really hasn't changed at all even after Covid. Only difference is they are a bit slower, in my experience.

As far as the worst of the worst... it's gotta be McDonalds. I didn't like them anyway, but the fact that their prices have doubled/tripled on most stuff in the last ~6 years combined with the overall quality tanking, reduction in labor causing everything to be slower and even less fresh (amazingly somehow possible), and so on... that place is a fucking travesty. I still enjoyed their fries occasionally up until Covid, now even those are shit.

[u/BrayKerrOneNine → u/shichiaikan]

Oh, the duality of man. I was going to comment that Wendy’s has fallen off the hardest. The two closest ones to me both closed this year and the other ones all suck. The service was so bad the last time I tried going, that I walked out before I even got a chance to order my meal. Sucks, too. I love me a junior bacon cheeseburger.

[u/CloudWhich179 → u/BrayKerrOneNine]

#6 combo (Spicy Chicken Sandwich + Chili + Sprite) got me through college. It's so sad what's become of them.

[u/funkychuck → u/shichiaikan]

Counterpoint: what Wendy's has done to their spicy chicken sandwich should be considered a war crime

[u/SolitaireRose]

Pizza Hut.

[u/almost60inLa]

red lobster!!

[u/Vealophile → u/almost60inLa]

Agreed. This was such a special place to go if you didn't have much money back in the 90s.

[u/TrueBlue84]

TGIFridays

[u/Even-Aardvark4523]

Chi-chi’s.

[u/Think-Championship42]

Subway

[u/bagb8709]

It's pretty regional, but damn, Taco Bueno broke my heart. They stomped Taco Bell in quality, the salsa bar was great, and you can't beat a good combo number 5 Muchaco combo (unless you wanted mexidips & chips), I was thrilled when they opened a Colorado location a hour away after moving here 16 years ago but then they sold and they nosedived and started closing places.

My allegiance now falls to Torchy's.

[u/ComprehensivePut7485]

Red Lobster and its bankruptcy with endless shrimp

[u/boxing_coffee → u/ComprehensivePut7485]

It was not the endless shrimp that did them in. The shrimp was just their scapegoat.

[u/Kiyohara → u/boxing_coffee]

Right. The holding company that bought them, sold a massive number of their primary real estate assets (they had previously owned the building and property they were housed in) to a company under the "agreement" that rent would not exceed current mortgages and/or land taxes. It was a way to generate massive capital for reinvestment.

However the buyer promptly raised rent and mortgages to the industry standard (which was way higher than most locations were paying) and that cut deeply into their profit margins.

[u/Voting101 → u/ComprehensivePut7485]

Red Lobster used to own all the property for their establishments. Private Equity company Golden Gate Capital bought red lobster and immediately sold all the land they owned to a Vanguard and Blackrock funded company. The restaurants were then forced to sign 25 year leases from the new owners which forced Red Lobster to go bankrupt and was the primary reason for their bankruptcy in 2024.

Private Equity companies are the cancer of society.

[u/CootiQueenLintLicker]

Don Pablo’s

[u/Alternative-Score-35]

Panera used to be pretty good. Now I'd rank it below hospital food.

[u/fluffHead_0919]

BW3

[u/njeXshn → u/fluffHead_0919]

We refer to it as BDubz

[u/Iskaban → u/fluffHead_0919]

Buffalo Wild West Wings?

[u/oldguy1964]

Wendy’s

[u/Crockett5240]

McDonald’s
The customer service is atrocious
You can’t even go through the drive thru anymore without having to pull off to the side and wait ten minutes for a cheeseburger

[u/Okaynow_THIS_is_epic → u/Crockett5240]

That's definitely a staff/regional issue for you. I have the exact same issue in 1 town over, but the one in my town is incredible.

[u/Silent-Gear4609]

Burger Chef / Boston Market / Bonanza / Howard Johnsons / Sambo's / Sandy's / Red Barn