Thanks for Visiting!

Register for free to get the full story.

Sign Up
Already have a Placer.ai account? Log In
Article

Local Eats on the Rise

Dive into the data to see which local dining chains are growing fast in 2025.

By 
Bracha Arnold
June 12, 2025
Local Eats on the Rise
SHARE
Explore our free tools to get timely insights into key industries
Check out the latest trends for
No items found.
Key Takeaways
  • The overall fast-casual segment saw visits remain on par with last years’ levels in Q1 2025, but three expanding local chains – Pura Vida Miami, Mendocino Farms, and P. Terry’s Burger Stand – have seen both visits and average visits per location grow year-over-year (YoY). 
  • Pura Vida Miami’s Q1 2025 visits and visits per location grew by 58.5% and 11.9%, respectively, YoY – and its share of visitors coming earlier in the day is also growing. 
  • California-based Mendocino Farms, which has been expanding into nearby states, may be deriving some of its success from the relative affluence of its visitor base: The median household income (HHI) for visitors to the chain in both California and Texas was significantly higher than both statewide and nationwide medians.
  • Austin, Texas cult favorite P. Terry’s Burger Stand is also expanding throughout Texas, and becoming a weekend hotspot: the share of weekend visitors grew from 28.1% in Q1 2024 to 30.4% in Q1 2025.

The dining segment has faced no shortage of challenges in recent years. Rising food and labor costs, inflation, and shifting consumer habits have put pressure on many chains – but some are thriving.

We take a look at three dining chains – local favorites that have been expanding in recent years – to see what lies behind their surprising success. 

From Corner Spot to Crowd Favorite

Visits to the overall fast-casual segment remained flat year over year (YoY) in Q1 2025, highlighting the challenging state of the dining category. But three expanding local restaurant chains – Pura Vida Miami, Mendocino Farms, and P. Terry’s Burger Stand – all saw their foot traffic grow significantly in the same period.

Florida-based Pura Vida Miami, a cafe that specializes in health and wellness, saw the biggest jump in foot traffic, with visits growing by 58.5% in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024. The eatery, which opened its first location in 2012, and now boasts 35 locations across South Florida and New York has no plans to slow its rapid expansion. And fittingly, the average number of visits to each location of the chain also increased by 11.9% YoY – highlighting that its new venues are meeting strong demand.

California-based fast-casual restaurant Mendocino Farms also places a strong emphasis on healthy dining. Founded in 2005, the chain has grown to 75 locations – most of them in California – and continues to thrive, with visits up by 23.0% in Q1 2025 and visits per location rising by 12.9%. Austin, Texas favorite P. Terry’s Burger Stand, which opened in 2005, is also thriving. The chain grew its presence over the past year, adding new locations in Houston – and like  the other analyzed brands, saw increases in both overall visits and average visits per location. 

Pure Miami Vibes

Location analytics show that each of the chains is finding success in its own way. Diving into hourly visitation patterns for Pura Vida Miami, for example, reveals a subtle but notable shift in its peak visit times, suggesting that as the chain expands, it is successfully positioning itself as a breakfast and lunchtime destination. Between Q1 2025 and Q1 2024, the share of visitors arriving between 7:00 and 11:00 AM, and 12:00 - 4:00 PM increased slightly, while the proportion of evening visitors declined. 

To capitalize on this trend, Pura Vida could consider further developing its morning menu or, conversely, exploring opportunities to enhance its dinner menu to attract a cohort that seeks health-centric dinner items. 

Beyond California Dreamin’

Mendocino Farms, for its part, appears to be deriving some of its success from the affluence of its customer base. The chain, which boasts over 60 of its 75 locations in California, has also established a presence in Washington, Texas, and Colorado. Mendocino Farms will be opening around 15 new locations throughout 2025, and will begin its eastward march, opening a location in Chicago in the coming months. 

And a look at the chains’ two largest markets, California and Texas, shows that visitors to the Mendocino Farms in Q1 2025 were more likely to come from high-income trade areas, likely insulating them from the overall challenges facing the wider dining segment. For example, the median HHI of visitors to Mendocino Farms in California was $123.8K, compared to the California average of $96.7K. And in Texas, its second-largest market, visitors originated from trade areas with a median HHI of $105.8K – significantly higher than both the Texas ($76.5K) and nationwide ($78.9K) medians.

Burger Business Booms

P. Terry’s Burger Stand is a Texas cult favorite. The chain, which has grown from a family-owned burger stand in 2005 to 34 locations in the Austin area is thriving, and recently began expanding into other cities in Texas.

Over the years, the chain has become something of a weekend destination, with 30.4% of its visitors coming on the weekends in Q1 2025 – up from 28.1% in Q1 2024. This suggests that, as the chain grows, more customers are incorporating P. Terry's into their weekend routines, likely drawn by its blend of quality and accessible price point. This increasing weekend popularity, coupled with its strategic expansion into new markets like Houston, bodes well for P. Terry's continued growth across Texas.

Growing and Thriving

The three dining chains are proving that, even in challenging times, there’s plenty of space for local favorites to flourish. 

Will these chains continue to thrive in the second half of 2025?

Visit Placer.ai/anchor to stay up-to-date with the latest data driving dining stores. 

Learn how downtown regions across US cities are measuring up with our free tools.
Check out the latest trends for
No items found.

Related Topics

Stay Anchored: Subscribe to Insider & Unlock more  Insights
Subscribe
SHARE
Get 3 brand & industry
breakdowns every week
Subscribe to the newsletter
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Get a Demo

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please provide a valid email
Please enter your email
Please enter company name

Thanks for reaching out!

One of our experts will be in touch soon

Try Placer.ai Free
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
INSIDER
Stay Anchored: Subscribe to Insider & Unlock more Foot Traffic Insights
Gain insider insights with our in-depth analytics crafted by industry experts
— giving you the knowledge and edge to stay ahead.
Subscribe
Placer.ai June 2025 Mall Index 
Where Is Domestic Traffic to Airports On the Rise? 
FSR Roundup: Casual and Upscale Dining Thrive
Beyond the Discount: Can Protein and a "Back to Basics" Approach Re-energize Starbucks?
Bahama Breeze’s Bet
June Industrial Manufacturing Update: A Tale of Two Economies in Mid-2025
How Limited Service Is Succeeding in 2025
Big Lots: Back in the Bargain Game
Do Exclusive Offers and Product Scarcity Still Move the Needle for Retail?
Stanford Stadium: The Coldplay Effect
Target's Back to School Comeback Window 
What Lies Behind Nike's Return to a Multi-Channel Strategy?
Capturing Diners With Creative Offers: LTO Home Runs in 2025
How Did the "Yes, JCPenney" Campaign Impact In-Store Traffic? 
Luxury Apparel’s Recent Strength
What's In Store For Back to School 2025? 
Placer.ai May 2025 Office Index 
Local Eats on the Rise
Living Inside America’s Oldest Enclosed Mall: Arcade Providence and the Promise of Mixed-Use
Burger King’s Fire-Breathing LTO Drives Visits
Placer.ai Mall Index: May 2025 & Memorial Day Strength
Coach Keeps Visits Up
DICK’s Sporting Goods Expands Its Audience Reach with Foot Locker Acquisition
Darden Restaurants: Raising the Steaks in 2025
Much Ado About Store Size
Discount & Dollar Stores Emerge as a Front Runner in 2025 
What Can Pharmacy Chains Gain From Rite Aid’s Closures?
Jagalchi Food Hall Opens at Serramonte Center and Crowds Follow
Memorial Day 2025 Consumer Traffic Recap 
Five Below and Ollie’s Continued Foot Traffic Success
Kohl’s: Bright Spots to Build On?
Gauging the Tariff Impact on Manufacturing – May 2025 Update 
Wayfair at Year One – A Go-To Furniture Destination Spot
Who Attended the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Lululemon and DICK’s: Scoring Big With Celebs and Events
Gap & Ulta Traffic Rebound After Tough Start to 2025
Can Chili’s Repeat its 2024 Success in 2025? 
Dollar Stores: Stability in The New Year
How Did Consumers Celebrate Mother's Day 2025?
Off-Price And On Point
Department Stores in 2025: A Mid-Year Recap
Boot Barn Still Growing in 2025
Wholesale Clubs Find Success in Q1 2025 
Lowe’s and The Home Depot: Weathering Q1 Storms and Looking to the Horizon
QSR Q1 2025 Final Thoughts
Placer.ai April 2025 Office Index: Recovery Apace
How Are Coachella Crowds Evolving? 
Broad Pickins’ for Big Chicken
Placer.ai Mall Index: Traffic Up Across All Mall Formats 
The Untapped Potential of Class-B Malls 
First Watch Traffic Continues to Climb 
Warby Parker and Allbirds: Stabilization Trends Into 2025
Resilience 5 Years Post-Covid:  Spotlight on Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Self-Storage: Resilience in 2025
Aldi & Lidl's Winning Formula
Dutch Bros Gains, But Starbucks Holds Top Spot
Love in the Time of Bookstores
CAVA and sweetgreen Take to the Suburbs
The Impact of QSR Promotions in Q1 2025
Sinners Fuels Movie Theater Momentum
Health-Centric Grocers Lead the Way 
Crafting a Goodbye: What Location Analytics Reveals About JOANN’s Departure
All The Things I Think I Think About Retail Over The Last Quarter
What Visitation Data Reveals About Industrial Manufacturing Demand Ahead of Tariffs
McDonald’s & Chipotle Q1 2025 Recap
Location Intelligence On Display: A Look at Los Angeles's Top Museums
3 Insights Into the Shopping Habits of Older Consumers 
Placer 100 Index, March 2025 Recap – Which Chains Weathered the Storm? 
The Post-Pandemic Retail Evolution: A look back on the last five years
Orlando Theme Park Wars Heat Up 
Albertsons Analysis: Stable Start to 2025
What Visitation Data Reveals About Consumer Behavior Ahead of Tariff Implementation
Block-Buster Alert: A Minecraft Movie Placer Byte
Placer.ai March 2025 Office Index: Back to Recovery
Q1 2025 Quick-Service and Fast-Casual Recap
Retail & Dining Q1 2025 Recap: Budget-Friendly Segments Shine 
Placer.ai March 2025 Mall Index: Visits Rebound 
Meal Prep Madness: Wild Fork Foods and Clean Eatz
Dave & Buster’s Ups Its Game
Coffee Visits: Perks in The Segment 
The Dining Habits of College Students
Old Navy's Foray Into Occasionwear
JonasCon Brings Even More Experiential to American Dream 
What Happened to Family Dollar? 
The Impending Transformation of Bev-Alc Retail
CVS and Walgreens in 2025
Target’s Bet on Babies 
The Changing Apparel Landscape in 2025
Trader Joe’s and Aldi’s Continued Success
Retailers Betting on High Income Households
Brooks Brothers Rightsizing Success
The Rise of Smaller-Format Home Improvement Retailers: How Ace Hardware and Harbor Freight Are Outpacing Big-Box Chains
Walmart’s Mall Purchase: Towards a More Diversified Portfolio 
Placer.ai Named One of America’s Best Startup Employers 2025 by Forbes
Darden Weathers the Storm
Diving Into Breakfast Chains: What “Eggs”actly is Going On With Eggs Right Now? 
Placer 100 Index, February 2025 Recap 
Why Chipotle’s 2025 Outlook Looks Conservative
Sportswear in the New Year
Placer.ai February 2025 Office Index: Is The Recovery Stalling?