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<div id="pastingspan1"><span style="">Fast-casual restaurants&#8212;concepts that have no full table service but concentrate on providing higher quality food&#8212;have become a predominate force in the restaurant industry. A report from global information company <a href="https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/2016/fast-casual-restaurant-chains-continue-to-grow-in-units-and-customer-visits/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-fast-casual-restaurants-have-become-the-dominant-concept-in-franchising-4434" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The NPD Group</a> found that not only are the number of fast-casual units growing, but so are the number of people visiting them.</span></div><div id="pastingspan1"><span style=""><br /></span></div><div id="pastingspan1"><span style="">The number of fast-casual restaurants grew 5 percent in 2015 to 19,043 units. And some of the biggest brands leading the charge are <a href="http://franchise.yourpie.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-fast-casual-restaurants-have-become-the-dominant-concept-in-franchising-4434" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Your Pie</a>, <a href="http://www.mooyahfranchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-fast-casual-restaurants-have-become-the-dominant-concept-in-franchising-4434" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MOOYAH Burgers, Fries &amp; Shakes</a>, <a href="https://pitapitusa.com/franchise/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-fast-casual-restaurants-have-become-the-dominant-concept-in-franchising-4434" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pita Pit</a>, <a href="http://www.chipotle.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-fast-casual-restaurants-have-become-the-dominant-concept-in-franchising-4434" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chipotle</a>, <a href="https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/company/franchise-overview.html?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-fast-casual-restaurants-have-become-the-dominant-concept-in-franchising-4434" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Panera Bread</a> and <a href="https://www.pandaexpress.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-fast-casual-restaurants-have-become-the-dominant-concept-in-franchising-4434" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Panda Express</a>, all of which offer customers the same perks of a quick-service restaurant brand, but in a more casual, sit-down experience with higher-quality, elevated meals. </span></div><div id="pastingspan1"><span style=""><br /></span></div><div id="pastingspan1"><span style="">&#8220;There has been significant unit growth in the fast casual category over the past several years, and it hasn&#8217;t reached a saturation point since traffic is still increasing,&#8221; said <span style="">NPD Foodservice Director of Product Management Greg Starzynski</span>.  &#8220;This would indicate that there is room for more growth for the fast casual category into the foreseeable future.&#8221;</span></div><div id="pastingspan1"><span style=""><br /></span></div><div id="pastingspan1"><span style="">One of the reasons why fast-casual restaurants have been successful is because they are offering consumers better food. Your Pie tosses their own dough and only uses fresh ingredients and homemade pizza sauce. And <a href="http://mooyah.1851franchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-fast-casual-restaurants-have-become-the-dominant-concept-in-franchising-4434" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MOOYAH</a> offers mouthwatering made-to-order burgers and bakes its buns in-house daily.  Many fast-casual restaurants also give consumers the opportunity to customize their meals. Brands like <a href="http://yourpie.1851franchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-fast-casual-restaurants-have-become-the-dominant-concept-in-franchising-4434" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Your Pie</a> and Pita Pit provide a build-your-own meal option, which provides freedom for a guest to choose exactly what they want, as opposed to picking from a one-size-fits-all menu.</span></div><div id="pastingspan1"><span style=""><br /></span></div><div id="pastingspan1"><span style="">But one of the most important components to fast-casual success is the level of service it offers its guests. Because fast-casual restaurants do not have a wait staff, they are able to concentrate on providing fresh, quality food in a timely manner the moment an order comes through. </span></div><div id="pastingspan1"><span style=""><br /></span></div><div id="pastingspan1"><span style="">Elliot Jablonksy, research and development chef for <a href="http://ownabuffalo.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-fast-casual-restaurants-have-become-the-dominant-concept-in-franchising-4434" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buffalo Wings &amp; Rings</a> and a veteran of the restaurant industry, said consumers are gravitating toward fast casual concepts because it combines the best of both worlds<span style="">&#8212;great food served at QSR speeds.</span></span></div><div id="pastingspan1"><span style=""><br /></span></div><div id="pastingspan1"><span style="">&#8220;Consumer are eating out with more frequency and they want to stretch out their dollars as much as they can,&#8221; Jablonsky said. &#8220;Fast-casual restaurants offer them the reassurance that they won&#8217;t have to pay extra for table service and all their hard earned money is going back to providing delicious and quality food.&#8221;</span></div>

1851 Franchise

Consumers are eating out more, and they’re gravitating toward fast-casual concepts because of the quality food and quality atmosphere they offer. 

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