Legacy or Liability? How Casual Dining Icons Are Fighting to Stay Relevant

Are Legacy Casual Dining Brands Declining with Age?

A common refrain within the restaurant industry is that “legacy” brands are struggling.

Without identifying any specific concepts, the past several years have seen:

However, there have also been huge success stories among old-guard chains.

So, which is true? Are legacy brands leading or lagging behind their Casual Dining peers? Black Box Intelligence, unsatisfied with anecdotal evidence, checked the data.

What is a Legacy Brand?

Most of us intrinsically know what a “legacy brand” is. If you can recite a slogan or jingle because of a TV ad that ran during your childhood, that’s a legacy brand.

But that definition is not scientific. To be more precise, we classified all Casual Dining restaurants that were founded in 1980 or earlier and have at least 50 units as “legacy brands.” Additionally, we only compared them to other Casual Dining brands with at least 50 units.

That way this wasn’t simply an analysis of “big chains” vs “small chains.”

The Results Are in And Convincing

According to our Financial Intelligence dataset, the common wisdom has been proven correct.

The past several years have been tough for legacy brands.

The median legacy brand had over three percentage points worse 5-year same-store sales growth than their peers.

Traffic showed an even starker contrast.

The median legacy brand had a massive 11 percentage points lower 5-year same-store traffic growth.

Some Signs of Hope

Although a longer view shows legacy brands having a difficult time, recently, there have been some positive indicators.

When looking at 1-year growth rates, the median legacy brand outperformed its peers in sales and was neck-and-neck in traffic.

When looking at the Guest Intelligence scores of these same brands (when available), we see a lower average star rating for legacy bands than their counterparts.

However, over the past two years, the legacy brand’s average star rating has risen an impressive .3 stars while its peers have remained mostly flat.

Appealing to the Younger Generations

Like a human mid-life crisis, restaurant brands must realize that some things they once took for granted no longer work.

Thus, some styles that were once fashionable now look passé.

And recklessly throwing lots of money at easy solutions probably won’t solve underlying problems.

Some brands have successfully pivoted and now have a younger feel (a “vibe-shift”, to put it in the parlance of 2025).

Others have taken advantage of the benefits of brand recognition, embracing their older image and having fun with it.

Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.

Getting younger people to patronize (in the positive sense) and stop patronizing (in the negative sense) is difficult.

There is a fine line between nostalgic… and tired, tongue-in-cheek, and cringe.

And, unfortunately, not all brands end up on the right side of it.

However, if the 1-year sales growth and positive momentum in star ratings are any indication— more and more brands are finding the right formula, and we can all go back to loving the restaurant chains of our youth.

How Legacy Brands Can Combat Declines

Legacy casual dining brands don’t have to be stuck in decline.

By capturing and analyzing guest sentiment at scale, these icons can uncover exactly what resonates with their customers and identify areas that need improvement.

With insights into what customers love—and what’s driving them away—legacy brands can craft strategies to enhance guest experiences, and attract and retain customers.

Don’t leave your brand’s future to chance—use data to ensure it thrives for decades.