Word: casually
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...which has dethroned McDonald's as nationwide champ in total stores with 13,101, has added to the McWoes. Subs and other custom-made sandwiches are growing 12% a year as a fast-food category vs. a paltry 2% to 3% for burgers. Meanwhile, a range of upstart "fast casual" restaurants such as Panera Bread and Baja Fresh, which serve up a slightly more upscale dining experience, "have raised the bar for the fast-food industry," says Robert Sandelman, president of Sandelman & Associates, a market-research firm...
Industry experts have grouped chains like Pret into a new category they call "fast casual" or "quick casual." These combine the convenience of a fast-food joint with the more sophisticated fare, atmosphere and price of a sit-down restaurant. The market leaders boast about the freshness of their ingredients and the diversity of their menus. Panera Bread, with headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., offers 14 kinds of bread--including Asiago Cheese and Olive Sourdough--freshly baked on its premises and sells loaves as well as sandwiches. Fazoli's, with restaurants in 32 states, serves pasta and Italian subs. Rubio...
According to research firm Technomic, fast-casual chains have enjoyed aggregate growth of 15% for each of the past three years and booked more than $5 billion in sales last year. Panera, with 414 stores the nation's largest fast-casual company, had revenues of $529 million last year, compared with $114 million in 1998. Technomic analyst Joe Pawlak says these restaurants appeal to office workers and others who are willing to pay more for better food--those who "want to move beyond fast food but still need food fast...
Russ Smyth, who is responsible for McDonald's fast-casual investments, says buying into such restaurants is the only way for traditional fast-food firms to get into the pockets of free-spending fresh-food fans. "No matter what we do," he says, "we won't be able to attract those people to the Golden Arches." --By Desa Philadelphia
...which has dethroned McDonald's as nationwide champ in total stores with 13,101, has added to the McWoes. Subs and other custom-made sandwiches are growing 12% a year as a fast-food category vs. a paltry 2% to 3% for burgers. Meanwhile, a range of upstart "fast casual" restaurants such as Panera Bread and Baja Fresh, which serve up a slightly more upscale dining experience, "have raised the bar for the fast-food industry," says Robert Sandelman, president of Sandelman & Associates, a market-research firm...