Fast Casual
topic on 2 shows · 4 statements across 4 episodes
the Knowledge Project 
How I Built This
4 statements about Fast Casual, every show
The fast casual restaurant sector is a $350 billion industry today.
“That became the ideology that fuels what's called fast casual today, which is a three hundred and fifty billion dollar business.”
Ells: Kernel operates out of 800 square feet with lower build-out costs
“We can operate out of 800 square feet, where a typical fast casual might be 2500 square feet, and our build-out cost is a lot less.”
Shaich: Au Bon Pain pioneered the fast-casual restaurant category
“What the bakery cafe was an alternative between down and dirty fast food. And fine dining. And for people who were working in white collar jobs increasingly in urban settings, this was the first example of what we later came to call fast casual.”
Shaich: Au Bon Pain was the first example of fast casual dining
“And for people who were working in white collar jobs increasingly in urban settings, this was the first example of what we later came to call fast casual. This was an attempt to do something that was better But in a quick service mode.”