Well, here's the thing:
--dependability from faceless mall to faceless mall when traveling
--family
We have a very popular model in this country when it comes to dining and shopping: we want the exact same experience in city x that we had in city c. No matter how much we claim otherwise, we like to know what we are getting into when visiting new and strange places. There is much to be said about trying new and unusual things, but there is also risk involved of having a terrible experience. If you ate at Cheesecake Factory in your hometown of St Paul a few times and deemed it, at least, satisfactory, then there is a high chance that, when traveling to some other town over a weekend and confronted with unknown choices and cheesecake factory, you will probably choose Cheesecake Factory, because you at least know that you won't be disappointed. This is why all of our stores and restaurants are the same. We like to feel that we are somewhere else, even when we aren't.
Also, all of these places are generally family friendly as they tolerate such diners, and have kid-friendly options on their menus. When you have kids in tow, that prefer bland and boring crap, and can typically be loud and obnoxious, you gravitate towards such places that will make the experience the most tolerable for you. Small cafe or fancy restaurants generally aren't family friendly.