Breaking Down Breakfast

Over the last few years, fast food retailers have been playing catchup (or ketchup?) with breakfast regulars like Starbucks, McDonald's, and Dunkin'. While Starbucks is great for a quick coffee and McDonald's is even better for a breakfast sandwich, there's certainly more room to compete for the affection of America's tired commuters and fast food fanatics alike.

It seems like every QSR has been announcing new breakfast menus over the last few years. Wendy's, Chick-Fil-A, and McDonald's regularly sit at the top of the “Best Fast Food Breakfast” lists, followed by breakfast newbie, Taco Bell. Taco Bell's breakfast menu has the usual suspects, like breakfast burritos and crunch wraps, and has quickly gained popularity with both die-hard fans and Taco Bell nay-sayers. With other innovations from Taco Bell headquarters - like the new Defy concept - it's no wonder the chain is picking up speed and taking on new challenges.

Carrollton Commons Visitor Numbers

Taco Bell is well-represented in every state, so we decided to take a look at the Atlanta market. Atlanta has a population of just over 500,000, with more people located in the surrounding MSA suburbs. Carrollton, for example, is just west of Atlanta, with a population of just over 25,000. One of the Taco Bells in the area - located just off the highway - is the most visited Taco Bell in the Atlanta MSA, with over 210,000 visitors a year.

Using mobile data in REGIS Online, we discovered the visitor numbers in the area were sky-high! The shopping center across the street from Taco Bell - named Carrollton Commons - brings in 1.8 Million visitors a year. Most of those visitors are going to Walmart, which brings in 1.1 Million visitors a year, alone. Similarly, the center Taco Bell is in (Carrollton Pointe) brings in a total of 350,000 visitors. These are astounding numbers for shopping centers in the area, especially when the population is so small.

Traffic Numbers

Carrollton, Georgia is west of Atlanta, near the Alabama/Georgia border. While Carrollton might not have the same population numbers as its metropolitan counterpart, it clearly can pull visitors to its main centers. So the question then becomes: When? Using the Traffic Counts tool in REGIS Online, we can see just that.

Monday through Thursday mornings, this area gets a little over 2,000 cars driving through it, with much of the traffic coming from the highway directly down the middle of the two shopping centers. This indicates a lot of commuters, like those going to work or school.

Monday through Thursday evenings, this area starts to pick up. Traffic Counts on that same stretch doubled to about 4,000 cars and even the local streets see about 200 more cars than in the morning counts.

Final Thoughts

Taco Bell has definitely put itself ahead when it comes to the fast food breakfast game. With a foolproof game plan, it's only a matter of time before Taco Bell is both the evening treat and the morning hangover cure. While they might still be some ways away from that, Taco Bell has set itself up for success in certain areas, where we can see huge traffic numbers in the morning and even bigger ones in the evening. Now, let's see if they can beat McDonald's and start serving breakfast all day!•

Last Modified Mar 17, 2023