5 Restaurant Stocks to Sink Your Teeth Into

Diners are Trading Down in Order to Continue Dining Out

It is well known that running a restaurant is a tough road to hoe, but that is even more so on the fine dining side of the market during this economic
crisis. Customers tend to be fickle and interested in the next great thing. If you can’t keep a regular base of customers coming in week after week,
you can forget about having longevity.

During the last bull market, there was a trend to go large in the fine dining space. Upscale restaurants that worked in one location were quickly
duplicated in other cities. Once large enough, many of these chains became publicly-traded companies.

Now in the midst of a deep recession, the upscale space is experiencing a huge unwind. In one middle-market city that I visit periodically, there
have been several upscale restaurants that have closed over the last month alone.

Those with ties to public companies are seeing their stocks devalue accordingly. But within that carnage, though, there is a category of restaurants
that is actually doing very well in this environment: The casual dining space. It seems that high-end diners are trading down in order to continue
dining out.

Eating at home has the same drawbacks it has always had for dual-income families — not enough time to shop and prepare dinner. So for them,
and for those that spend time on the road, like me, a casual restaurant is a good option, which is why these stocks are doing well even in the economic
downturn.

Here are five casual dining restaurant stocks that are right in the sweet spot of this soft economy…

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