Friday, December 08, 2006

The Rainforest Cafe

The Sugar Daddies took me to some mall/outlet mall in Ontario yesterday, where we ate at a joint called The Rainforest Cafe. Apparently there are about 30 of these restaurants in various cities around the country, so you may have been to one before.

Anyway, what a ripoff. Subpar food at very high prices. Basically it is snack bar food ranging from about $12 to $20 per entree. There are no extras in this restaurant to justify its outrageous prices, either. Just a stupid, expensive, fake jungle with annoying animatronic apes making a bunch of noise every 10 or 15 minutes. I have a feeling this company's shareholders are going to realize in about five or ten years that they've made a completely stupid investment. There just is nothing in this overpriced concept that would make the average customer return after their initial curiosity visit.

I certainly won't be back. But I'd love to be the guy to help them fix their doomed operation when it starts collapsing. So if there are any Rainforest Cafe execs out there reading this, puzzled about why your company's profits are declining (which may not be happening yet, but will), give me a call. I'll fix it for you. I'll fix it before it starts happening. What do you have to lose?

Aimless

3 comments:

docrivs said...

Ryan, You're missing the point that the Rainforest Cafe is marketed to children. Kids LOVE that place. They love the jungle, the apes, the noises... It's like a fun place for them. Besides, they don't care about the cost or the food, so long as they have chicken fingers, hamburgers, fries... For adults, though, that place sucks. You're right about that. I went to one in Michigan.

Ryan M. Powell said...

I'm not missing the point. I understand it's marketed to children, and maybe they love it. But the prices are fucking ridiculous and the food is mostly crap. And I really don't think I'd like it if I was a kid, either. I'd rather go to Chuck E. Cheese's or a hundred other places.

Even if kids do love the place, their parents can't take them there if they can't afford it. I stand by my original assessment: Their bubble will burst within ten years because their overpriced, boring experience will only attract first-time customers instead of repeat customers.

docrivs said...

Well, as I said, I think the food is overpriced and overrated, just as you do. However, the kids loved it. Not all kids are like you were. If you're really interested in the financial future of the Rainforest Cafe, then you should know that it was purchased by Landry's Restaurants (Nasdaq: LNY). You can search news on it, if you want. I think that their stock is down right now, but they seem to be coming up with new concepts.