All through the 80's, 90's and early 2000's casual dining was the thing. It was the rise of most of those "Legacy Brands" Applebees, Chili's, Outback, TGI Friday's, RL, Olive Garden, O'Charley's, all exploded and grew. when we would travel for work we would always joke about the areas around the hotels and Malls being Anytown USA because they all looked alike and had all the usual suspects around the area. But the recession in 2008-2009, hit those legacy casual brands pretty hard and cheaper fast food and fast-casual (i.e. Chipotle, Panera, Five Guys, etc. came into prominence. (though most would argue they aren't cheaper), Their convenience, speed of product, etc. meant shorter dining times, much more carry-out focused product. It's why the legacies tried hard to adapt with curbside pickups and such. The legacies Dining Rooms were no longer full. Covid was the nail in the coffin for them. You no longer have a wait to get into a Chili's or Applebee's. We have a phrase in the design industry now, that you design for tuesday night traffic, not Friday and Saturday traffic. A brand will always want the perception their restaurant is full and a gargantuan dining room half full on a weeknight is not a good perception, and a small wait to get in on weekends drives the perception it must be worth the wait. Legacy Brands lost that. Texas Roadhouse is one of the few that's mastered that.