Darden CEO: Why oil hasn't helped restaurant biz
Gene Lee, Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI)' chief executive, said Tuesday that lower oil prices haven't lifted the restaurant industry because they are not necessarily a primary mover of the sector.
"What really drives casual dining is discretionary income, and we need a greater increase in discretionary income to really spur on the whole industry. Not just a little decline in gas prices," Lee told CNBC's " Squawk on the Street ."
Personal income, a factor in determining discretionary income, was flat for the month of March.
U.S. crude (New York Mercantile Exchange: @CL.1) prices have dropped more than 30 percent in the last year. However, on Tuesday they were above $60 a barrel for the first time in 2015.
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Still, Lee added he has seen a change in consumer behavior amid oil's recent decline. "We've seen consumers that do not buy on [deals], consumer that are willing to buy ... an [extra] alcoholic beverage, but overall the industry hasn't seen the lift from the lower gas prices."
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