Burger bars and budget stores: Credit crunch winners who are in the money

Telegraph ^ | 10/05/08 | David Harrison

[TigerLikesRooster]

Burger bars and budget stores: Credit crunch winners who are in the money

'I can't remember us ever being this busy,' said the chef as he prepared another Pepperoni Passion at the Domino's Pizza takeaway in southwest London.

By David Harrison
Last Updated: 12:27AM BST 05 Oct 2008

Domino's has seen half-year profits soar by more than a third to £8.3 million compared with last year Photo: PA

"We used to envy the restaurant over the road because it was always packed with people spending lots of money. But now everybody seems to want to order in pizzas or have takeaway because they can't afford to eat out."

The credit crunch has made financial losers out of millions of people but it has also produced some notable winners. As well as pizza delivery firms, Chinese, Indian, and other fast food outlets are thriving as diners cut back on eating in restaurants but still want a break from cooking at home.

While scores of restaurants are closing down and big chains are shelving expansion plans, Domino's has seen half-year profits soar by more than a third to £8.3 million compared with last year.

Sales at McDonald's are up 10 per cent and the burger giant plans to create 4,000 jobs and open 10 new stores in the UK. "It's burger boom time," said a spokesman.

Budget stores such as Aldi, Lidl, and Costcutter are also among the winners, as shoppers look to trim their weekly bills. The typical weekly spend per adult is down from £89.88 in 2007 to £68.33, according to a study by the Co-operative Bank.

The German-owned supermarket Aldi, says it is about 25 per cent cheaper than Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Asda.

[TigerLikesRooster]

One-time junk food is coming bak in vogue, out of necessity. Considering other food laced with all kinds of toxic chemicals, burger and pizza do not look so junky anymore.:-)

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[new cruelty]

Great. Next we will need a bail out for the national-health-fast-food crisis.

[MSF BU]

Pizza is not that bad, depending on how you put it together. As an aside, if these folks were really thrifty they’d cook the stuff at home.

[Dawn531]

Yep, I figure WalMart, Target, etc. are winners on the retail side and fast foods, but those that also serve healthier fare at cheaper prices may be the other winners, i.e. Subway.

People will also buy groceries and cook at home rather than eat out, so grocery stores might do well. But I noticed KFC is trying to counter this in an ad where the family takes the $10 challenge and tries to go into a grocery and buy ingredients to make a KFC meal for under $10. Of course, they forget to mention (as the kid picks up a 5 lb sack of flour) that there will be lots of leftover flour and other ingredients once they’ve prepared their meal.

[foolscap]

Cooking at home is still the cheapest route if you know how to shop correctly. I think there are an awful lots of people out there who honestly do not know how to cook from scratch. I just turned 50 and I remember all the girls I knew had been taught how to cook by their mothers or at home ec. in school. Right after I left high school they started to admit boys into home ec. because guys were staying single longer and needed some basic skills. Now it seems that teaching your kids to cook has become a semi-lost art. I have a feeling home cooking is going to make a resurgence because watching ones nickles and dimes is going to be the new chic. I look for the Food Network to start producing more very basic cooking shows because they will have a larger viewership for that sort of program.

[mplsconservative]

Pizza is not that bad, depending on how you put it together. As an aside, if these folks were really thrifty they’d cook the stuff at home.

It says in the article, these are the places people go when they want a break from cooking at home. As chief cook and bottle washer in my household, I do understand. We've trimmed down to dining out once a week and sometimes it's Subway. I do appreciate the break, even though I love to cook. :)

[MSF BU]

I saw that be we get around it by doing a crock pot thing and eating whatever we experiment with. Actually, another advantage of the internet is the plethora of crockpot recipes...that and the fact I live where fresh seafood of all types is to be had off the boat withing a ten minute drive.

[mplsconservative]

Lucky you! I’d trade my once a week dining out for fresh, off the boat seafood. That sounds wonderful!

[Red Dog #1]

The author must be very proud of himself for rediscovering the economic principle of inferior goods.

[lainie]

There are ironies in this article. #1 that anyone would consider takeout or delivery pizza “economical.” $15 for bread, 2 oz sauce and 3 oz cheese? #2 that we’re talking about London, not a city in the USA. #3 Domino’s in particular is so ....bleaagh. Yucko.

[Travis McGee]

“Mr. Fixits” will be in great demand. Millions of new appliances sit unsold, and the person who can repair a motor etc will be king.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Actually, Domino's tastes better overseas.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Right. Getting the most out of what you already have would become a major trend. Actually it was the way things had been, until they encouraged things to throw away rather than repairing them starting around 70’s.

[lainie]

Does it? hm. Couldn’t taste worse, I spose..

[FreedomPoster]

Agree on all counts. I’ve been making pizzas lately with fresh dough bought from an Italian grocery, nice ragu sauce (lower-case r for sure), various toppings, and fresh mozzarella from Costco. Cost: Around $5-6 for a really nice fresh ingredients pizza. I did invest in a pizza stone and a peel to get going, to get good results.