1. Access COCA: Register or log in to the COCA website to start your research.
2. Research Question: Consider how the prominence of “Pizza Hut” and “Chipotle” has changed over time and what this might suggest about their impact on American culture. You may alternatively compare other restaurants or stores.
The prominance of “Pizza Hut” has noticeably decreased over time, with the frequency dropping from 162 in 1990-1994 to 46 in 2015-2019. The prominance of “Chipotle,” on the other hand, has dramatically increased over time, with the frequency increasing from 12 in 1990-1994 to 203 in 2015-2019. This suggests that Pizza Hut’s impact on American culture has been decreasing, while Chipotle’s impact significantly increased.
3. Data Collection:
- Perform separate searches for “Pizza Hut” and “Chipotle.”
- Record their frequency of mention by decade (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s).
- Note any significant trends or patterns, especially in relation to each other.
Analysis:
- Analyze the data to identify trends in the usage of “Pizza Hut” vs. “Chipotle.”
- Consider factors like changes in dining habits, brand expansion, or cultural shifts.
Report:
- Write a concise paragraph (and post) that included.
- Introduction of your research question.
- Summary of your methodology and data collection process. In other words, how did you search.
- Presentation of your findings with supporting data. Provide some specific numbers and/or visuals.
- Discussion of the implications of your findings.
- Conclusion reflecting on the cultural significance of these trends.
Research Question
Going out and getting something to eat has evolved and expanded over the past thirty-five (35) years. From the 1960’s through the 1980’s, going out and getting something to eat usually occurred after an event (high school sporting event or a knothole baseball game). It was a “treat.” The family would go out to a restaurant, sit down, and have a meal. Picking up or carry-out a meal was secondary choice. During this time, Pizza Hut was the standard. But in the 1990’s, going out to eat transitioned to sit down and eat to carry-out and go. Just like video store rental evolved into the CD, which evolved into the internet, eating out changed. Fast food choices like Chipotle, which offered a faster and unique eating choice emerged. Suddenly, the pizza was being challenged by the burrito. Information researched from COCA reinforces the fact that consumer preferences, family composition, and the emergence of the internet has changed how Americans go out to eat has evolved over the past three decades.
Research Process: COCA frequency information. Google searches for Pizza Hut and Chipotle. These searches consisted of timeline, significant capital events, number of stores, and average annual sales per store. Google searches related to the evolution of fast-food consumption.
Data Collection
Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 by brothers Dan and Frank Carney in Wichita, Kansas, when they were both students at Wichita State University. They borrowed $600 from their mother to open their first restaurant in 1971. Pizza Hut became the world’s largest pizza chain. In 1977, the Carney brothers sold Pizza Hut to PepsiCo for $300 million. Yahoo Finance estimates that Pizza Hut has 6,739 stores in the United States and each store averages $964,911 in gross revenue. Information from COCA reinforces the fact that in 1990-1994, Pizza Hut had a frequency of 162, and the frequency declined to forty-six from 2015-2019.
Chipotle was founded in 1993 by Steve Ells. Like the Carney brothers and Pizza Hut, Ells borrowed money from his family—dad, and $85,000. The Chipotle fast food business model was able to expand because of a $360 million capital investment by McDonalds in 1998. According to Yahoo Finance, in 2024, Chipotle has 3,700 stores in the Unites States and each store averages $3.2 million in gross sales. Information from COCA reinforces the fact that in 1990-1994, Chipotle had a frequency of twelve, and the frequency increased to 203 from 2015-2019.
Analysis
Fast food has evolved and grown over the past thirty-five (35) years. This has negatively impacted Pizza Hut because customers are more likely to order carry-out rather than having a sit-down meal. The growth of mobile fast food also brought a number of national competitors: Little Caesars, Papa Johns, and Dominos. These pizza franchises emphasized speed and home delivery. This also negatively impacted Pizza Hut. In contrast, Chipotle’s business model was designed for carry-out, with sit-down as a secondary option. Chipotle offered an active person on the “go” a fast and unique meal. Chipotle was not without its shortfalls. In 2015-2016, they had an e-coli outbreak, and this caused a lot of negative press, which could have been the reason for the high COCA frequency from 2015-2019 (203). According to the Food and Drug Administration Chipotle must pay a fine of $25 million.
Presentation:
- Prepare and include at least one graphic (bar chart, line graph) the illustrates your findings. Think of ways AI can help you do this. ChatGPT (without plugins) can’t do this directly, but probably could give you ideas. Google Sheets/Excel are obvious jumping off points.
