QSR magazine announced that its annual Fast Casual Meet Up series will travel to 10 U.S. cities in 2019.
The series, which launched in 2015 and has welcomed representatives from hundreds of fast-casual brands, will make stops in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
The Fast Casual Meet Ups are free networking events open to any restaurant operator interested in connecting with the local fast-casual community.
“Our Fast Casual Meet Ups have been a fantastic opportunity for operators around the country to get to know their peers in their communities,” says Sam Oches, editorial director of Food News Media, publisher of QSR. “Not only is it a great way to meet your competition, but it’s also a valuable opportunity to learn from those who are in the trenches with you. It’s amazing what can come from a couple hours of networking.”
The 2019 Meet Up series will launch on January 24 in Atlanta. QSR is hosting the Atlanta Fast Casual Meet Up at SweetWater Brewery from 6-8 p.m., with food from local premium burger joint Farm Burger.
“The emerging category of fast casual 2.0 is changing everything we know about limited-service restaurants,” Oches says. “Our Fast Casual Meet Ups are the perfect place to see that innovation first-hand and meet the people driving the change.”