“Silver Diner had such specific concerns for us to address that we would not have been successful without Placer’s insights. Placer helped us demonstrate that a new location would fill a trade area void and be a win-win for both of us, making them confident to open at National Harbor.”

~ Mark A. Kufka, Assistant Vice President, Market Research and Leasing Technology, Peterson Companies

‍The Challenge

Peterson Companies sought a strong 3 day-part restaurant tenant to refresh a multi-story building at National Harbor’s Waterfront District, a 350 acre development with shops, offices, hotels, retail, dining, and more situated in National Harbor, Maryland, on the Potomac River and within sight distance of Washington, DC. They had been courting Silver Diner, a regionally acclaimed casual dining restaurant, but there were hesitations around opening a ground floor location that was a departure from the typical Silver Diner model, which included standalone locations.

With more than 15 million visitors a year and much activity around the clock, Peterson Companies knew the National Harbor property was opportunistic for both sides. How could they prove this with data and land Silver Diner?

The Solution

Due to its unique offerings and location, National Harbor drew visitors from a far greater trade area than a typical Silver Diner location would experience. That draw, coupled with Silver Diner’s already strong presence in the region, meant cannibalization was a potential risk, despite a more local void around the Waterfront District.

Plotting nearby Silver Diner locations, Placer showed a trade area gap that a National Harbor location would fill in for them. Cross shopping data was promising, showing that only 9% of shoppers at National Harbor were also dining at Silver Diner. In other words, National Harbor was an enormous opportunity to introduce new diners, including business travelers, conventioneers, hotel visitors, and tourists to the Silver Diner brand.

Learn more about True Trade Area

Peterson Companies also pulled visits by hour and showed that day-part sales were a match for the Silver Diner model, and, importantly, they would also gain a +13% surplus in late night visitor traffic they did not usually have. Given late night sales were higher tickets, this was an exciting piece of data to share.

Learn more about Hourly Visits

Using Placer to understand demographics and visitor draw also helped Peterson Companies quantify the opportunity. With nearly 1 million people living within a 20 min drive, there was significant annual household spending on dining. Comparing this data with existing Silver Diner locations demonstrated a close demographic fit in restaurant spending patterns.

Learn more about Audience Profile

The Outcome

Placer’s objective data helped show the untapped market potential available to Silver Diner as a tenant in National Harbor. Peterson Companies closed the deal and signed Silver Diner, successfully capping a two year long process.

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