What do people have against chain restaurants and suburbs? (Arlington: rent, neighborhood)

[TitaniumSquirrel]

The more and more posts I read here, it cracks me up how people constantly point to an area's population of chain restaurants as such a negative. By definition, a chain of restaurants typically starts off as a local, neighborhood establishment but has become so successful (due to food quality, service, abiance, etc.) that they're able to keep expanding. Many mom and pop establishments are plenty underwhelming and aside from a few local places that simply choose not to expand, most of them can't even if they wanted to because their food doesn't warrant it. I can think of only a handful of mom-and-pop places that I ever bother giving repeat business to.

At least with a chain, I know what kind of food I'm going to get and can be reasonably certain of the quality of food I'll be served no matter which location I visit. Most larger chains only add something to their menu because they've thoroughly tested it in test kitchens BEFORE it hits their menus whereas a lot of local joints just throw things on their menu and pray that people will like them.

Which brings me to my next point: I'm sorry we don't all live in Arlington. Some of us would much rather buy or rent places for half the price with twice the space to forgo your definition of great "nightlife" which basically consists of bar-hopping. I'm sorry you can't entertain yourself or meet people in "fake" areas like Reston or Ashburn.

-Squirrel

[CaliTerp07]

Wow. Okay. To each and all their own--no one is forcing you to live in Arlington. If you're happy where you are, and enjoying suburbia, more power to you.

[arielmina]

I hate chain restaurants but love the suburbs. My beef with chains is that there's no originality and the quality is not as good, it's mass produced. Up in CT where we lived prior to moving here, it was all mom and pop with the occasional chain like Olive Garden, Bertuccis, Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, Applebees. But there were at least double the amount of mom and pop family owned restaurants - and let me tell you the food was a million times better than it is down here.


I very much lament the loss of diners (ok well there are some but they are not good), bagel shops, mamma's Italian places, German restaurants, authentic Mexican, local delis...I could go on...

[bmwguydc]

Some chains are acceptable, but establishments where a truck delivers the pre-programmed menu just isn't the same as dining at a restaurant where the food is prepared from start to finish onsite. Both types of establishment sell food, but the contrived ambiance, to the point where the same decor is throughout the chain, and the same food, just gets a little monotonous.

If I walk into a Red Robin in Fairfax, or Dulles, and walk into another one later in the week in California, or anywhere else in the country, it's a similar experience. That's not to say that it's inherently awful, since there are times when one can count on a chain for consistent service, especially when pressed for time. Chipotle is another place that is very similar, and not bad for what it offers, but there's little room for creativity and originality in the dining experience.

Contrast chains to restaurants where the chefs are passionate about their cuisine, and the differences are easily noted, at all price points. There are some great inexpensive smaller restaurants, too, so it's not solely at the higher end of the dining experience where one finds the zest for cuisine.

[FLgirl367]

i have to eat at chains, because i count calories and have a food allergy. there are very few options for me....i love suburbs and chain stores. as long as i have target and kohl's i'm good to go....i love the woods, too which is why we chose stafford. we feel off the beaten path but are not.

[weezycom]

Chipotle is another place that is very similar, and not bad for what it offers,

But the difference there is that all the components, except for the tortillas, cheese and sour cream, are made from scratch on site daily to several times a day.

I prefer a locally owned and operated establishment because I prefer freshly-made food prepared from scratch, not a sauce that's delivered on a truck in 5-gallon vacuum-pack plastic bags that was made and sealed up a week before. Now, many local spots do rely on pre-packaged and frozen foods and I choose not to go to them because their food tastes pre-packaged. If I want frozen food, I'll go to the grocery and buy some Stouffer's.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by TitaniumSquirrel

The more and more posts I read here, it cracks me up how people constantly point to an area's population of chain restaurants as such a negative. By definition, a chain of restaurants typically starts off as a local, neighborhood establishment but has become so successful (due to food quality, service, abiance, etc.) that they're able to keep expanding. Many mom and pop establishments are plenty underwhelming and aside from a few local places that simply choose not to expand, most of them can't even if they wanted to because their food doesn't warrant it. I can think of only a handful of mom-and-pop places that I ever bother giving repeat business to.

At least with a chain, I know what kind of food I'm going to get and can be reasonably certain of the quality of food I'll be served no matter which location I visit. Most larger chains only add something to their menu because they've thoroughly tested it in test kitchens BEFORE it hits their menus whereas a lot of local joints just throw things on their menu and pray that people will like them.

Which brings me to my next point: I'm sorry we don't all live in Arlington. Some of us would much rather buy or rent places for half the price with twice the space to forgo your definition of great "nightlife" which basically consists of bar-hopping. I'm sorry you can't entertain yourself or meet people in "fake" areas like Reston or Ashburn.

-Squirrel

My beef with NoVA's chain resturants was that they weren't any of the good ones. In KY, I have Sonic, Hardee's, Steak and Shake, Zaxby's among most of the other chains that were in NoVA. If you are gonna have chain resturants at least have GOOD ones.

The beef others may have with chains is that they may want to bring in friends from out of town to have some local cuisine. If one is living somewhere like Reston, they would be PO'd to have to drive to DC to taste some actual local cuisine because if one wanted to eat at a chain why should the visitor even come to eat there.

Another issue is supporting local business. I hate to support some fat cat on top at McDonald's while I could help someone here in Hardin County, KY send their kid to college by patronizing their business.

[cathy J.]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

My beef with NoVA's chain resturants was that they weren't any of the good ones. In KY, I have Sonic, Hardee's, Steak and Shake, Zaxby's among most of the other chains that were in NoVA. If you are gonna have chain resturants at least have GOOD ones.

The thing to remember is that many of those "great" chains,it could very well be that they may NOT want to do business in Virginia. Sure the money and people to support them may be here but there could be other reasons. Take California's In-N-Out Burger for example. Some cities like Denver and Indianapolis will be willing to sell their soul just to have one location to open up within their city limits but In-N-Out also knows that if they would decide to open up there, that would make some of their biggest fans highly upset because In-N-Out is a "west coast tradition...they don't belong in Indiana". Check out some of the posts about that chain on this site and you can see that attitude first hand. Perhpas many will feel that something would be lost if In-N-Out would expand to places way way beyond the west.

Another example is Good Times which is a hambuger chain based out of Colorado. They are quite good and while they are expanding to places outside of Denver many of their followers over the years had make it quite clear...stay away from the east and west coasts.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by TitaniumSquirrel

The more and more posts I read here, it cracks me up how people constantly point to an area's population of chain restaurants as such a negative. By definition, a chain of restaurants typically starts off as a local, neighborhood establishment but has become so successful (due to food quality, service, abiance, etc.) that they're able to keep expanding. Many mom and pop establishments are plenty underwhelming and aside from a few local places that simply choose not to expand, most of them can't even if they wanted to because their food doesn't warrant it. I can think of only a handful of mom-and-pop places that I ever bother giving repeat business to.

At least with a chain, I know what kind of food I'm going to get and can be reasonably certain of the quality of food I'll be served no matter which location I visit. Most larger chains only add something to their menu because they've thoroughly tested it in test kitchens BEFORE it hits their menus whereas a lot of local joints just throw things on their menu and pray that people will like them.

Which brings me to my next point: I'm sorry we don't all live in Arlington. Some of us would much rather buy or rent places for half the price with twice the space to forgo your definition of great "nightlife" which basically consists of bar-hopping. I'm sorry you can't entertain yourself or meet people in "fake" areas like Reston or Ashburn.

-Squirrel

Wow. I wonder who this post was directed at?

[SteelCityRising]

Since you broached the topic as a likely affront against my disdain for short-sighted sprawl I'm not going to hold back. When I'm investigating relocation to an area one thing I really hope for is some sense of individual identity---uniquities that set the place apart from any other generic suburb in the country. When I travel I look to patronize mom-and-pop eateries whenever possible so I can get to experience something new and exciting. Variety is the spice of life.

When your community's "fake" downtown (yes, it does feel "fake") is comprised of mostly over-priced chain restaurants that you could find in Tysons Corner, Fairfax, Leesburg, (or Naperville, King of Prussia, Bloomington, or Fort Lauderdale for that matter), then it's hard to really form a strong "connection" towards it. Downtown Reston doesn't feel "cozy" to me. It doesn't feel like a place that has developed soul. To me it feels like a bunch of high-rises plopped in the middle of four busy roadways with chain restaurants below offices. Reston (and much of NoVA for that matter) feels like the Sunbelt, and I personally don't see that as being a good thing.

Have I eaten at chain restaurants? Yes. Do I currently eat at chain restaurants? Yes. However, if given a choice I'd patronize a smaller venture ANYDAY over a corporate goliath. For example, tomorrow night I will be at Jimmy's Old Town Tavern in Herndon while I'm sure many others will be packing Macaroni Grill or Cosi. There was once a time when people sought out unique places to eat when they visited new places. Now? People go places and eat at the same chain restaurant they could find in their own backyards. Why?