Is Brunch Still Hot. Or Not?

With chain restaurants like Maggiano’s, Bonefish Grill, and True Food Kitchen holding strong with their brunch menus, and with at least two other large restaurant brands currently testing brunch menu options (that we know of), some might think brunch continues to be a lucrative daypart for large brands. However, Mintel recently reported that restaurant brunch orders are on the decline.

Which is it? Are consumers still inspired by brunch menus or is the trend fading?

It’s The Local Restaurants That Draw

In Mintel’s September report they say that gourmet retail options are luring brunch seekers away from restaurants and that it’s the trendy local spots that really entice 20- and 30-somethings with their Instagrammable cocktails and innovative dishes. (Who wouldn’t want cereal french toast or sausages & oysters?)

This makes sense and follows the dining trends of Millenials that we’ve known for a while. It also makes sense to consider that the brunch trend has peaked and that it’s time for chefs and restaurant brands to reinvent what they know about brunch.

What The Food & Drink Resources Team Predicts: Brunch Is The New Lunch

Breakfast food is comfort food and with so many chefs exhausting brunch menus in the last decade, we see this as a ripe time to evolve into more savory flavors suitable for a noontime meal–LUNCH.

Sure, there will always be a contingent of young professionals without kids who brunch their hangovers away, but the future of brunch is about more than that. Think of a savory center of the plate knife-and-fork item like chicken in pancake batter served alongside a potato-veggie hash or a braised short rib benedict with jalapeno hollandaise.