ANALYSIS | Chain restaurants are out. Restaurant groups are in | CBC News

"'It's very difficult for an independent restaurateur. Unlike at a restaurant chain, where every location is emblazoned with the same name, menu and decor, customers at a restaurant group business may never know the spot where they're dining is part of a broader company. But some say that past a certain scale, the trend can still involve a certain amount of homogenization, where even seemingly standalone restaurants start to look and taste a little bit the same."

"The extent of the growth of the restaurant group model is difficult to pin down. Restaurants Canada doesn't track it; neither does Statistics Canada. But Sgabellone said Circana data shows that between 2020 and 2024, smaller chains and independent restaurants (restaurant groups are tracked as part of both categories) grew at more than twice the pace of large restaurant chains in Canada."

"Picture this: you walk into a new, buzzy, chef-driven restaurant. It's the only one of its kind, and by all appearances, it looks like an independent spot. But dig a little deeper and it turns out the independent restaurant is actually one of more than a dozen owned by the same company. The business model of a restaurant group has, of course, been around for years. But experts say these groups are becoming bigger players as the industry struggles post-pandemic amid declining alcohol sales."

Restaurant groups are expanding as larger organizations gain buying power and reduce risk amid post-pandemic struggles, declining alcohol sales, and lower customer spending. Smaller chains and independent restaurants have grown faster than large chains between 2020 and 2024 according to Circana data. Some customers may not realize that seemingly independent restaurants belong to larger companies because menus, decor, and names can differ across concepts. At scale, multi-concept groups can drive homogenization, with standalone-feeling restaurants beginning to look and taste similar. The distinction between traditional chains and multi-concept groups is narrowing as a generational shift changes perceptions of chain dining.

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