A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, is a

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

that does not offer full

table service The foodservice (US English) or catering (British and Commonwealth English) Industry (economics), industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, grocery stores, school ...

, but advertises higher quality food than

fast-food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

s, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is an intermediate concept between

fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...

and

casual dining Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the US, while categor ...

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. During the economic recession that began in 2007, the category of fast casual dining saw increased sales to the 18–34-year-old

demographic Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analy ...

. Customers with limited

discretionary spending In United States, American public finance, discretionary spending is government spending implemented through an Appropriations bill (United States), appropriations bill. This spending is an optional part of fiscal policy, in contrast to social ...

for meals tend to choose fast casual for dining which they perceive as healthier.

Definition

The founder and publisher of FastCasual.com, Paul Barron, is credited with coining the term "fast-casual" in the late 1990s. Horatio Lonsdale-Hands, former chairman and CEO of ZuZu Inc., is also credited with coining the term. 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, 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.'' The company Technomic Information Services defined "fast-casual restaurants" as meeting the following criteria: * Limited-service or

self-service Self-service is a system whereby customers acquire (or serve) themselves goods or services, paying for the items at a point-of-sale, as opposed to a shop assistant or clerk acquiring goods or providing services in addition to taking payment. Comm ...

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 A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word through), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products (or use the service provided by the business) without leaving their c ...

Examples of fast casual restaurants

* Au Bon Pain * Barburrito * Beef-a-roo * Blaze Pizza * BurgerFi *

Captain D's Captain Ds, LLC. is an American fast casual restaurant chain that specializes in seafood and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The chain was founded as Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers by Raymond L. Danner Sr. on August 15, 1969, in Don ...

* Cava *

Chipotle Mexican Grill Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. ( ), often known simply as Chipotle, is an American multinational chain of fast casual restaurants specializing in bowls, tacos, and Mission burritos made to order in front of the customer. As of March 31, 2025, C ...

* Chopt *

Culver's Culver Franchising System, LLC, doing business as Culver's, is an American fast-casual Chain store, restaurant chain. The company was founded in 1984 by George, Ruth, Craig Culver, Craig, and Lea Culver. The first location opened in Sauk City, ...

* Dig * El Pollo Loco * Fat Bastard Burrito * Farmer Boys *

Firehouse Subs Firehouse Restaurant Group, Inc., doing business as Firehouse Subs, is an American multinational Fast casual restaurant, fast casual restaurant chain based in Jacksonville, Florida, that specializes in submarine sandwiches. It was founded in 1994 ...

* Five Guys *

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers Freddy's, LLC, doing business as Freddy's (known as Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers until 2024), is an American fast-casual restaurant chain based in Wichita, Kansas. Its menu includes steakburgers, Vienna Beef hot dogs, and chicken ...

Fuddruckers Fuddruckers (sometimes abbreviated as Fudds) is an American fast casual, franchised restaurant chain that specializes in hamburgers. As of 2019, Fuddruckers had 49 company-operated restaurants and 107 franchises across the United States and ar ...

* Jason's Deli * Jersey Mike's Subs *

McAlister's Deli McAlister's Deli is an American chain of fast casual restaurants founded in 1989 in Oxford Mississippi, by retired dentist Don Newcomb. There are currently over 500 locations in 29 states. The menu includes deli sandwiches, "giant spuds" (ba ...

Mendocino Farms Mendocino Farms, colloquially shortened to Mendo, and formerly Mendocino Farms Sandwich Market, is a fast casual restaurant chain based in the Western United States mainly selling sandwiches and salads. Private equity firm TPG Inc. holds a major ...

* Mission BBQ * Moe's Southwest Grill * Mucho Burrito * Panera Bread * Portillo's Restaurants * Potbelly Sandwich Shop * Pret A Manger * Qdoba * Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers * Shake Shack * Smashburger *

Sweetgreen Sweetgreen (legally Sweetgreen, Inc., stylized as sweetgreen, previously swɘetgreen) is an American fast casual restaurant Chain store, chain that serves salads. It was founded in November 2006 by Nicolas Jammet, Nathaniel Ru, and Jonathan Ne ...

* Taco del Mar * The Halal Guys * Tropical Smoothie Cafe * Wingstop * Zaxby's

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fast-Casual Restaurant restaurants by type

History

Definition

Examples of fast casual restaurants

See also

References