QSR Magazine: Report: Fast Casual Off to a Rough Start in 2017

Continuing the trend from late 2016, this year is off to a slow start for the fast-casual industry. According to a recent QSR Magazine article and BDO’s The Counter, same-store sales dropped 0.7 percent across the entire restaurant industry. With lower grocery store prices, consumers are dining out at restaurants less frequently.

The report also showed that fast casual was the lowest performing segment in terms of same-store sales. Chipotle and Panera Bread were two of the few brands seeing positive increases, while Qdoba, Pie Five and Pollo Tropical were among the brands that reported negative same-store sales of five percent or worse.

One segment that continued to exceed expectations was pizza, with Dominos topping the list with franchise same-stores sales up 9.8 percent in the U.S.

Click here to read the full article.