MenuMine Trend Grilled Sandwiches
Grilled sandwiches are on the move on chain menus. About 17% of all sandwiches have the word "grill" or "melt" in the menu item name. Comparing MenuBook chain restaurant data collected in 2002 with 1997 data, menu incidence of grilled/melt sandwiches is up two percentage points, which translates into a 13% gain.
One out of three chain restaurants (35%) serves a grilled or melt sandwich. Grilled / melt sandwiches refers to sandwiches where the bread is cooked / lightly toasted on a griddle plate or a clamshell grill or in a small frying pan.
Grilled meat and grilled veggie sandwiches in which the meat or veggie is grilled are a slightly different item. They comprise 40% of all grilled/melt sandwiches. The remainder, 60%, goes to sandwiches where the bread or wrap is grilled (or toasted). Philly or cheese steak sandwiches are not classified as grilled or melt sandwiches since the bread is not usually grilled and the meat is griddle fried. Philly or cheese steak sandwiches make up 3% of all sandwiches.
About half the chains (51%) serving a grilled/melt sandwich, list one item on the menu and the balance (49%) list two or more. There are about fifteen major types of grilled / melted cheese sandwiches. (see chart below, left)
Most Popular Grilled Sandwiches
Sandwich Type |
Menu Share % |
| Grilled |
24% |
| Tuna Melt |
12% |
| Reuben |
12% |
| Ham & Grilled Cheese |
10% |
| Chicken Melt |
6% |
| Turkey Melt |
4% |
| Turkey Bacon Melt |
4% |
| Beef & Cheddar Melt |
3% |
| Veggie Melt |
3% |
| Turkey Reuben |
3% |
| Monte Cristo |
2% |
| Reuben Melt |
2% |
| BLT Cheese Melt | 1% |
| Chicken & Avocado Mel | 1% |
| Others | 2% |
| Total: | 100% |
Grilled/ melt sandwiches generally use cheese as a component.
Most Frequently Used Cheeses
Cheese Type |
Menu Share % |
| American | 43% |
| Swiss | 37% |
| Cheddar |
13% |
| Monterey Jack |
7% |
Menu designers at chains seem to prefer the term "melt" (60%) over the term "grill" (40%). The use of the term "melt" is up 10 percentage points when comparing menu trends for 2002 versus 1997.
Grilled vs. Melt
Menu Prices of Grilled / Melt Sandwiches |
Menu Price Trend Since 1997 |
| 2002 Average (median) price of $5.99 | was $4.99---plus 20% |
| $6.99 at Casual Chains | was $6.29---plus 11% |
| $5.99 at Midscale/ Family Chains | was $4.99---plus 20% |
| $4.59 at QSR Chains | was $3.85---plus 19% |
Protein Preferences, Grilled Sandwiches
Protein Type/Cut |
Menu Share % |
| Ham |
17% |
| Bacon |
16% |
| Turkey | 15% |
| Tuna | 13% |
| Corned Beef |
13% |
| Beef Patties |
12% |
| Chicken |
10% |
| Roast Beef, Sliced | 3% |
| Pastrami |
1% |
| Total: | 100% |
Most frequently Used Condiments
Condiment |
Menu Share % |
| Mayonnaise | 36% |
| Thousand Island | 21% |
| Mustard | 24% |
| Ketchup | 10% |
| Russian Dressing |
3% |
| Reuben Dressing |
3% |
| Sour Cream |
3% |
Chains Menuing Grilled Sandwiches
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches: Bob Evans, Cracker Barrel, Sonic Drive-In, Waffle House, Target, K-Mart, Johnny Rockets, IHOP, Champps, Huddle House, Hooters, Roadhouse Grill, Eat 'n Park, Newport Creamery, Outback Steakhouse, Culvers Ice Cream, others.
Chains Menuing Melt Sandwiches
Melt Sandwiches: Copeland's, Hoss's, Lyon's, Vie de France, Hof's Hut, Big Boy, Steak 'n Shake, Elmer's, Wall Street Deli, Tin Alley Grill, Le Peep, Max & Erma’s, J.B.’s, Friendly’s, Denny’s, Coco’s, Chuck E. Cheese, others.
Newsletter Signup
Menu Intelligence
Gain perspective into your product categories' performance on the menu with Menu Intelligence Reports
MenuMine Trend
-
Protein Positioning on the Menu by Entree and Item Type Chicken and Beef are the largest volume proteins, as well as the most frequently menued on American restaurant menus. Individually, Beef and Chicken are each listed on approximately one of every four entrees, whether Center of the Plate (COP) or Prepared Entrees (PE).
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8