• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 5, 2006

For those marketers dealing with quick service and sit-down restaurant patronage, some markets are better (or, at least different) than others. According to Scarborough Research, the average adult visits a quick service restaurant 5.2 times in a given month, but in Raleigh, NC, it's 6.2 times.

Karla Horton, manager, advertiser marketing services, Scarborough Research, concludes that an intensely local focus is the key to successful marketing in the restaurant industry, and going deep and understanding consumers at the trade area level is absolutely necessary."

In their analysis of quick service and sit- down restaurant patronage in the U.S., Scarborough found that the average adult visits a quick service restaurant such as McDonald's or Subway 5.2 times in a given month, but:

• Birmingham, AL residents visit a quick service restaurant 6.5 times in the average month
• Louisville, KY residents average 6.4 visits to a fast food restaurant per month,
• Austin, TX residents average 6.3 visits
• Memphis, TN residents average 6.3 visits
• Raleigh, NC residents average 6.2 visits to round out the top five local markets for frequent fast food restaurant patronage.

In the sit-down restaurant category, which includes establishments such as Applebees, T.G.I. Friday's, and Boston Market, the average adult visits one of these restaurants 3.4 times a month. Orlando, FL is the top local market for the frequent sit-down restaurant patronage with 4.5 visits monthly. The next four are:

• Cincinnati, OH with 4.2 average visits
• Fort Myers, FL with 4.2 average visits
• Tampa, FL with 4.1 average visits
• Atlanta, GA with 4.1 average visits

For a complete PDF file of the local rankings, please visit here.