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In what sense is The Habit effectively still more than a CA, let alone a western (also Seattle and Las Vegas) chain?
In-and-Out, mentioned by the OP, is much more a national chain.
I doubt there are many restaurant chains in the US that the majority of Americans have stepped in. Unlike Habit, In-N-Out actually is in only 2 regions, four contiguous States in the West (all part of the Mexican Cession) and nearby Texas.
I believe West Virginia and North Carolina are the only two states (as far as I know) with restaurant chains devoted to biscuits- Tudor's Biscuit World in WV and Biscuitville in NC.
In what sense is The Habit effectively still more than a CA, let alone a western (also Seattle and Las Vegas) chain?
In-and-Out, mentioned by the OP, is much more a national chain.
Not really. In-N-Out doesn't spread all over the country like Habit does. Number of locations doesn't matter. A regional chain doesn't have locations nationwide. I know plenty of people who have never even heard of In-N-Out...same with Habit.
I doubt there are many restaurant chains in the US that the majority of Americans have stepped in. Unlike Habit, In-N-Out actually is in only 2 regions, four contiguous States in the West (all part of the Mexican Cession) and nearby Texas.
Much depends upon the definition of regions. E.g., census regions, standard federal regions, or some other regional definition.
E.g., Utah is in the standard federal Mountain region and Texas in the East South Central standard region, and In-and-Out has twice as many restaurants as the Habit. By my count, In-and-Out is in four standard federal regions. In-and-Out is in 3 time zones, which may be the most relevant definition of regional vs. national.
In-N-Out doesn't spread all over the country like Habit does. Number of locations doesn't matter. A regional chain doesn't have locations nationwide.
Who says number of restaurants doesn't matter? When The Habit has 122 restaurants in CA, 15 more in AZ and Utah, one each in Idaho, Washington and Nevada, and then 7 restaurants in FL, NJ and VA, that does not sound like a national chain to me. Substance counts, especially as many small chains franchise their operations and can have a few restaurants away from their dominant region.
I don't understand this fixation of arguing that the relatively unknown The Habit, except among perhaps Consumer Reports readers, is a national chain.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PDF
I know plenty of people who have never even heard of In-N-Out...same with Habit.
In-and-Out is a major national aspirational brand, much like Coors in my youth. The Habit is not.
Who says number of restaurants doesn't matter? When The Habit has 122 restaurants in CA, 15 more in AZ and Utah, one each in Idaho, Washington and Nevada, and then 7 restaurants in FL, NJ and VA, that does not sound like a national chain to me. Substance counts, especially as many small chains franchise their operations and can have a few restaurants away from their dominant region.
I don't understand this fixation of arguing that the relatively unknown The Habit, except among perhaps Consumer Reports readers, is a national chain.
In-and-Out is a major national aspirational brand, much like Coors in my youth. The Habit is not.
To equate the brand recognition of In-and-Out and The Habit simply is very wrong.
I wasn't debating about which is a national chain or more recognized, because neither are. But trust me, most people on the East coast have never even heard of In-N-Out. I don't think the Habit is a national chain, but it's not a regional one either either. I guess you could put it in the category of Trader Joe's back when they were still growing.
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