If you don't agree with the headline, I'm going to ask you to stick with me while I make my case.
The restaurant industry is changing. This time I'm not just talking about the quick-service segment. I'm talking about the industry as a whole. Fine dining, casual dining, quick service, heck, cafeteria dining--the economy has changed it all.
Anyone who watches the industry knows that fine dining is going through a bit of a crisis. Value-conscious consumers are looking elsewhere on Saturday nights out on the town and often that means trading down to casual dining or fast casuals. But yesterday at the annual conference of Women Chefs & Restaurateurs, I was presented with another observation.
Full service is too stuffy. Plain and simple.
Young chefs (usually those under 35) are finding themselves bored with the fine-dining scene. Customers want value and chefs don't want to feel like they're working somewhere their parents would hang out.
As a result, they're striking out on their own and opening quick-service brands. Sure, there's no white table clothes, but that's the point. People go out to eat for the experience, the social aspect. Even if they're just standing in line at Flip Burger, a Top Chef concept, they're getting an experience. Consumers are over being seated in decadent restaurants. The recession has turned the dining scene upside down, and quick serves stand a good chance of being the new "it" restaurants.
By offering value, chef-driven menus, and a bustling atmosphere, quick serves have inadvertently stepped into the spotlight.
Move over fine dining; quick-service is coming into its own.
The restaurant industry is changing. This time I'm not just talking about the quick-service segment. I'm talking about the industry as a whole. Fine dining, casual dining, quick service, heck, cafeteria dining--the economy has changed it all.
Anyone who watches the industry knows that fine dining is going through a bit of a crisis. Value-conscious consumers are looking elsewhere on Saturday nights out on the town and often that means trading down to casual dining or fast casuals. But yesterday at the annual conference of Women Chefs & Restaurateurs, I was presented with another observation.
Full service is too stuffy. Plain and simple.
Young chefs (usually those under 35) are finding themselves bored with the fine-dining scene. Customers want value and chefs don't want to feel like they're working somewhere their parents would hang out.
As a result, they're striking out on their own and opening quick-service brands. Sure, there's no white table clothes, but that's the point. People go out to eat for the experience, the social aspect. Even if they're just standing in line at Flip Burger, a Top Chef concept, they're getting an experience. Consumers are over being seated in decadent restaurants. The recession has turned the dining scene upside down, and quick serves stand a good chance of being the new "it" restaurants.
By offering value, chef-driven menus, and a bustling atmosphere, quick serves have inadvertently stepped into the spotlight.
Move over fine dining; quick-service is coming into its own.
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