Theme chains ‘offer amateurish service'

By Christina Golding

Themed restaurants may have imported their ideas from America but the service in Britain is frequently "sloppy and amateurish", says a new report.

About 500 themed restaurants have sprung up in the UK, with more than half located in London. But further growth is unlikely, claims the report from market consultancy Marketpower.

Research revealed that the service offered in a sample of 25 restaurants visited was unprofessional.

This, coupled with a predicted 20% decline in the number of 25- to 34-year-olds within the next few years, suggests that restaurants will have to diversify and put more effort into training staff to keep existing customers happy.

The menus of many of the restaurants are similar, but some are already expanding into other areas such as ethnic food.

The market for themed restaurants is worth about £240m, with the average customer spending £5-£10 for lunch and £20-£30 for dinner.

Fatty Arbuckles is the biggest and fastest-growing chain, with a turnover of about £15m. It has built up a network of 42 outlets in five years.

But the highest turnover comes from TGI Friday's, which has 23 restaurants and sales of £52m.

The Exchanges chain also has 23 outlets, but its turnover is less than half Friday's at £22m.

The Themed Restaurants Market report is published by Marketpower and costs £495 plus VAT. Tel: 0181-840 5252.