[The Rise and Fall of Family Restaurants] Where Did Cocos, Marche, and Bennigans Go?

Prime Era: Late 1990s to Early-Mid 2000s
Major Brands Flooded Market Since 1985 Tomorrow Tiger
Some Foreign Brands Withdraw from Korea Due to Financial Crisis
Second Prime Era in 2000s Led by Delivery Services
Decline in 2010s Due to Junk Food Image and Korean Buffet Trend

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Family restaurants, which dominated the domestic dining industry from the late 1990s to the early and mid-2000s, are disappearing. This is due to the diversification of consumer preferences and the rapid changes in dining trends, which have significantly slowed their growth. Recently, the increase in single-person households and the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dining industry have dealt a direct blow.

According to the dining industry on the 8th, the domestic family restaurant market is currently estimated to be worth about 1.3 trillion KRW.

The domestic family restaurant market was formed starting with Tomorrow Tiger's first store in 1985, followed by the entry of foreign brands such as Cocos (1988), TGIF (1992), Pandarosa (1993), and LA Palms (1994). In 1995, brands like Sizzler, Bennigan's, Tony Roma's, and Planet Hollywood entered the market, followed by Carnestation and Marche in 1996, and Outback Steakhouse and CJ Foodville's VIPS in 1997, leading to rapid market expansion.

The market size, which was around 80 billion KRW in the 1990s, more than doubled to about 170 billion KRW in 2000, then reached 300 billion KRW in 2002 during the World Cup, and surpassed 600 billion KRW in 2005.

At that time, family restaurants were extremely popular. On weekends, people had to make reservations or wait in line for about an hour to dine with their partners or families on special occasions. Family restaurants, boasting large parking lots and spacious stores, were the best date spots for couples who were starting to own cars and the ideal gathering places for families. Until then, Korean dining culture mainly consisted of Western-style restaurants, Chinese restaurants, or garden-style barbecue places, so family restaurants were a cultural shock and innovation.

However, the industry faced a crisis in the late 1990s due to the Asian financial crisis, during which some foreign brands withdrew from the Korean market. Tomorrow Tiger, the first domestic family restaurant, withdrew from Korea in 1994 after its parent company, Cheongwon Express, went bankrupt in 1992. Planet Hollywood closed just seven months after opening in 1995 due to high prices and hygiene controversies. Cocos exited after a workout in 1999 and bankruptcy in 2003, LA Palms opened in 1994 but closed in 1998 due to the financial crisis, and Bonobos also ceased operations the same year.

The industry, which seemed to falter briefly, experienced a second heyday in the 2000s. Pizza delivery services became popular through delivery, and family restaurants gained attention as party venues for college students and company dinner spots due to competitive discount partnerships with telecommunications companies. Bennigan's once recorded annual sales in the 100 billion KRW range, and Outback opened its 100th store in 2008, the first in the family restaurant industry.

However, starting in 2010, the image of family restaurants deteriorated as they became associated with junk food (high-calorie unhealthy food), and Korean buffet restaurants emerged, leading to their decline. The 2009 global financial crisis caused a domestic economic downturn, severely impacting the dining industry. Popular chains like Marche and Bennigan's, which had pursued mass-market appeal, eventually closed in 2013 and 2016, respectively. Currently, TGIF maintains just about ten stores nationwide, barely surviving, while Outback Steakhouse and VIPS are attempting a comeback with strategies such as delivery services and store premiumization.

Professor Lee Eunhee of Inha University's Department of Consumer Studies said, "Even after the endemic phase, expanding delivery services is expected to remain an important business strategy in the dining industry," adding, "It is also anticipated that strategies to decorate offline stores more luxuriously will be pursued concurrently for the time being."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.