There's multiple reasons why people visit a restaurant and with different needs.
I think the rise of fast casual is coincident with the rise in people visiting a restaurant when it isn't a treat. When someone is looking to just grab a quick bowl, they don't care as much about atmosphere or service, their priority is something quick, easy, and good value.
But then when these same people go out to dinner when it is a special occasion, they're looking for something measurably better quality and better experience than the fast casual they had three times for lunch that week.
It's the mediocre sit-down places that are caught in the middle. In the 90s these types of places were good enough to be considered a friday night treat. Because people weren't eating out during the middle of the week as much.
And for many, especially perhaps people out of their twenties, they want something at a level above the traditional fast food chains.
But I basically agree. If I have to I'll go to a standard dinner chain either because there aren't other options where I am or I'm dragged there by friends. But I'd never do it around home and would try to do my best to find other options when traveling--although, on the road, some brand recognition of this isn't awful may be a trigger.
I think the rise of fast casual is coincident with the rise in people visiting a restaurant when it isn't a treat. When someone is looking to just grab a quick bowl, they don't care as much about atmosphere or service, their priority is something quick, easy, and good value.
But then when these same people go out to dinner when it is a special occasion, they're looking for something measurably better quality and better experience than the fast casual they had three times for lunch that week.
It's the mediocre sit-down places that are caught in the middle. In the 90s these types of places were good enough to be considered a friday night treat. Because people weren't eating out during the middle of the week as much.