The Rise and Fall of Planet Hollywood
esquire.com
esquire.com
When I was a pre-teen, I used to always ask restaurants/fast food places etc if the soda came with free refills. I didn’t even drink a ton of soda growing up, but it was something I always asked and associated with better experiences while dining out when I was younger. If a restaurant had free refills, it was alright in my book.
The first and only time (I think?) I ate at a Planet Hollywood I asked the server if there were free refills and instead of yes/no, they said, “you get nine refills at no charge.”
I distinctly remember his business-like tone when he said it, so I believed this was part of Planet Hollywood’s model: up to nine free refills of soda.
I don’t know why I’m sharing this other than that it’s late and it’s such a weird thing to remember so vividly from childhood.
Fun memory, thanks for sharing
imo one of the best stupid long reads of all time is Gawker writer Caity Weaver vs TGI Fridays "unlimited" mozzarella sticks: https://gawker.com/my-14-hour-search-for-the-end-of-tgi-frid...
Although it never was actually determined which industry exactly is buying up all the glitter. My personal theory is boat paint. With the "conspiracy" being that the plastic in the glitter is contributing to microplastics in the food chain as it degrades off the boats.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/duw480...
https://www.wbur.org/endlessthread/2019/11/08/the-great-glit...
My Planet Hollywood memory is watching Bruce Willis & the Accelerators [0] perform for Planet Hollywood, out back of the hotel we were staying at. I guess for an opening?
This was Die Hard fame days, and I was probably slightly too young to have seen them. But of course had, and so Bruce Willis was a Big Deal(TM) to me.
My overriding thought was "Bruce Willis is a famous actor. Why does Bruce Willis have a band? ...well, I guess he enjoys it. So why wouldn't he have a band?"
Good life lesson that fame and money are only worth a damn if they help you do the things you actually want.
[0] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WOSucCPT7YY (not the show I saw? Or maybe it was!)
A good faith reason could be that the audience doesn’t want all of the most important or interesting to a geek or corporate/financial aspect, so that’s why they don’t include some details I feel should be included.
I don’t personally believe that though. I’ll try to rewatch a video of his soon and give out specific examples.
They made the mistake of pitching their entire product at a very singular niche and the people in that niche are now getting older and in many cases too old to ride.
Fantastic overview here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOwxxsPaogY
Simply put HD make nothing that appeal to rides my age (41) and younger.
The example I'm thinking of is Nucor Steel. They arose from a company called Nuclear Corporation of America, a 60s era conglomerate that ultimately failed and was broken up. A part that was viable made steel roof elements for industrial buildings. Through a series of risky investments they built a small minimill to remelt scrap to make I beams and such, and this eventually grew into the largest US steel company, with $20B in revenue in 2020.
Interestingly, they also have the old REO Motor Company in their corporate ancestry. The CEO of Nucor in its early days would sometimes get calls from people looking for spare parts for old REO vehicles (including the REO Speed Wagon, a light truck the band was named after.)
I'm assuming SPACs would not count, as this is just using the zombie shell of a dead company to do what is effectively an IPO of a new company.
Sorry
- The two newest consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series) feature all-digital models that effectively neuter Gamestop's primary used-game market.
- Microsoft is pushing Game Pass over individual purchases, which cuts Gamestop out of new game sales.
- Free-to-play games allow Gamestop to sell prepaid currency cards, but there's nothing special about GS doing that versus any other store that sells gift cards.
- Customers generally have preferred digital distribution over in-store pickups, since the former can message discounts more effectively and make for snap impulse purchases.
The problem a lot of chain restaurants are facing is the prevalence of the internet and online reviews. They are setup such that you can either go to a known ok place to eat vs some new experience that may or may not be good. However, finding a good place to eat is now easier than ever. I'll look for the type of food I want, then look at some restaurant reviews and I'm off.
Chains like Olive garden or Applebees struggle because every city probably has an Italian or American restaurant that's better quality and price. At this point their main clientele are the internet illiterate.
This is what has killed a place like Planet Hollywood. The entire appeal of it is to be sold to young people as a hip place to eat some good food... but young people are the most likely to read and leave reviews which doesn't bode well when you are serving terrible food. But also serving terrible food at a huge markup? That's a chain killer.
In the next 10 years, I expect that the only mid->high price chains that survive are the ones that adapt. Even then, the outlook is bleak. You aren't going to eat at Chili's when there's a local steakhouse at a similar price and higher quality.
Think of the Cracker Barrels all across the country. Always right next to a major highway, look exactly the same, food's exactly the same. Always packed pre-pandemic.
If you've just traveled 8 hours and don't want to fight with dueling blog reviews or having to decide "do I want 'the best Thai food in Provo' or 'the best cheesesteak I ever had'", a Cracker Barrel or Applebee's has a "basically fulfills purpose" charm.
They can slide a bit downmarket and survive, but a place like Planet Hollywood can't go truly upmarket without actual work on the food.