Fast casual restaurant

A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the United States and Canada, does not offer full table service, but advertises higher quality food than fast food restaurants, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is an intermediate concept between fast food and casual dining. In Canada, it is also often referenced by a wordplay fast good or a francization haut-de-gamme (literally "top notch").

Customers dining and ordering at a New York City branch of Soul Daddy

History

The concept originated in the United States in the early 1990s, but did not become mainstream until the end of the 2000s and the beginning of the 2010s.[1] During the economic recession that began in 2007, the category of fast casual dining saw increased sales to the 18–34-year-old demographic.[2] Customers with limited discretionary spending for meals tend to choose fast casual for dining perceived as healthier.[2][3]

Definition

The publisher and founder of FastCasual.com, Paul Barron, is credited with coining the term "fast-casual" in the late 1990s.[4] Horatio Lonsdale-Hands, former Chairman and CEO of ZuZu Inc., is also credited with coining the term "fast-casual". ZuZu, a handmade Mexican food concept co-founded by Lonsdale-Hands and Espartaco Borga in 1989, filed a U.S. Federal trademark registration for the term "fast-casual" in November 1995,[5] leading Michael DeLuca to call Lonsdale-Hands a "progressive pioneer in the burgeoning 'fast-casual' market segment" in the July 1996 edition of Restaurant Hospitality.[6]

The company Technomic Information Services defined "fast-casual restaurants" as meeting the following criteria:[7]

  • Limited-service or self-service format
  • Average meal price between $8 and $15
  • Made-to-order food with more complex flavors than fast food restaurants
  • Upscale, unique or highly developed décor
  • Most often will not have a drive-through

See also

References
  1. "2010's Twenty Largest Fast-Casual Franchises". BlueMauMau. Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  2. Jargon, Julie (February 1, 2010). "As Sales Drop, Burger King Draws Critics for Courting 'Super Fans'". The Wall Street Journal. Yahoo! Finance. Archived from the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  3. Panera Bread Most Expensive Expensed Chain Restaurant, By Martha C. White, July 22, 2016, Money
  4. Wheelen, Thomas L.; Hunger, J. David (2006). Strategic Management and Business Policy: Cases (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-149460-2.
  5. "Fast Casual Trademark Serial Number: 75017852".
  6. "Formula for Success". Restaurant Hospitality. 80 (7): 81–86. July 1996.
  7. "What exactly is fast casual?". Franchise Times. January 2008. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
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