21% of diners willing to pay more at eatertainment than traditional night venue

Dive Brief:

A quarter of Americans want more venues that offer both an activity and food and drink, and 21% said they are willing to pay more at an eatertainment venue versus a traditional nighttime venue, according to a SevenRooms report emailed to Restaurant Dive.
Activities that are preferred in eatertainment venues are live performances (30%), movies (15%), arcade games (9%) and bowling (7%) among the activities that appeal to consumers the most.
While activities are a top consideration for where to go for a night out, quality food (28%) was also a top consideration, followed by proximity to home (27%), activities other than drinking (14%), craft beer or cocktails (12%).

Dive Insight:

With the rising popularity of entertainment venues, traditional bars and clubs have more competition over the night crowd. And more people are finding reasons to leave a bar or club.

Sixty-four percent said they would leave if it was too crowded, while 54% would choose a different venue if there was a line outside the door, according to SevenRooms. Half said they would leave if the music was too loud while 39% said they would leave if it took 10 minutes or more to wait for a drink. Over a third said they wouldn’t stay if there was no food on the menu.

Games and entertainment help bring in customers to eatertainment venues, but these establishments tend to garner 75% to 80% of their revenue from food and beverage, according to Food Newsfeed. That means people are going for the entertainment and staying for the food, which is also a top consideration for where to go for a night out. TopGolf, PunchBowl Social and Pinstripes have menus focused on high quality food, while Dave & Busters has been revamping its menu of late to add more premium items.

This model has been a top growth driver in the industry. Punch Bowl Social grew sales 34% in 2018 while Pinstripes grew sales by 21.4%, according to Technomic data. TopGolf has also been quickly growing as well. Punch Bowl Social attracted the attention of casual dining chain Cracker Barrel, which invested $140 million in the concept in July.

"In today's increasingly competitive, experience-driven hospitality landscape, consumers are no longer thinking about the before and after dinner plans," SevenRooms CEO and co-founder Joel Montaniel said in a statement. "They want great food, entertainment and drinks all at one destination, and venues that continue to deliver on these experiences will thrive in the years ahead."