Evaluation of dine-in restaurant location and competitiveness: Applications of gravity modeling in Jefferson County, Kentucky

摘要

The selection of a quality site in a competitive market is critical to the future success of a dine-in restaurant. This paper focuses on the development and application of different forms of gravity models in the evaluation of a restaurant's location and competitiveness in Jefferson County, Kentucky. It also assessed the effectiveness of these applications empirically. Three models are presented, a market potential model, a complex gravity model, and a competing destinations or Huff model. The models incorporated into them the most significant variables affecting interaction with customers at restaurants. A correlation analysis was conducted on a sample of restaurants along a popular segment of local eateries in Jefferson County to determine if any statistically significant linear relationships exist between market potential or spatial interaction and real customer volume and longevity at the restaurant.