Have consumer dining habits changed, and do some restaurants need to change the way they do business? It would appear so, based on data from American Express Business Insights, which shows spikes in spending at two ends of the dining spectrum.

During Q1 2011, quick service restaurants (QSRs) saw overall spend increase by 5.2 percent over the same quarter last year, and spend on fine dining increased 4.2 percent during the same period, according to actual, aggregated spend data. Comparatively, casual dining, which includes many of the nation’s mid-tier chains, saw flat spending – or no increase at all - during Q1 2011.

With this emerging spending trend, the restaurant industry is exhibiting a barbell effect, showing growth within the low- and high-end segments.

Businesses have been the one group to continue steadily spend, making an impact within casual dining establishments. Large corporations are actually leading the growth in every single dining category – over all consumer segments and small businesses. This group increased spend by 8.0 percent in QSRs, 6.4 percent in fine dining and 4.1 percent in casual dining, respectively – a positive sign for restaurants, who can remain hopeful consumers and small businesses will follow suit across all categories.

In the meantime, restaurants should remain cautious in making future business plans and be mindful to reflect consumers’ changing habits (i.e. concentrating on value). Whether diners have changed their spending preferences for the short- or long-term remains to be seen, but QSRs and fine-dining merchants can remain hopeful that businesses will continue to make their own businesses boom in the near future.