The evolution of fast casual

Fewer staff members in a smaller space allow restaurant operators to provide a higher quality meal at a lower price.

By Bill Tremblay 

While attending the French Culinary Institute in New York City, chef Shahir Massoud discovered Roman cuisine. 

Massoud was on a path to becoming a chartered accountant, but decided to change direction in pursuit of career in culinary arts. 

“One of the first great kitchens I worked in was Mario Batali’s Lupa,” Massoud said. “I really fell in love with authentic Italian food there.”

After returning home to Canada, Massoud worked in several kitchens. When the time came to open his own restaurant, his focus returned to Italian cuisine. 

“I always came back to the idea of doing these beautiful dishes I fell in love with and try to replicate them and scale them,” Massoud said. 

To deliver quality Roman food without a fine dining price, Massoud created the fast casual restaurant concept Levetto. The first location opened in Vaughan, Ont., in 2013 with a 20-item menu of various pastas and pizza. 

“You can have a scratch made, amazing spaghetti pomodoro for $9, but you’ve got to play by a different set of rules,” Massoud said. 

As he created the concept, Massoud recalls friends asking why he wanted to enter the crowded pizza and pasta market. 

“I want to do it better, at a price point no one else is doing,” he said. 

To achieve a lower ticket, Levetto restaurants require a footprint of about 1,200 to 1,300 square feet. As well, staying true to the fast casual service model, customers place their order at a counter, rather than with front of house staff. 

“I have a small footprint, a small staff and no table cloths,” Massoud said. “There’s three pillars we stick too: authentic Roman, fast casual price and high quality.” 

He explained the fast casual format makes sense for consumers demanding quality at a lower price. 

“I do think in today’s day and age, we can and we should look to meet guests’ standards at their desired price point,” Massoud said. “Industry wide, we’re seeing shifts in that direction anyway.”

For Levetto, the format is working. Since its introduction to the market in 2013, the restaurant has grown to include seven locations throughout southern Ontario. 

“It’s been a busy three and a half years,” he said.  

A global success

Fast casual success isn’t limited to Levetto or Ontario. In 2015, the fast casual segment recorded sales growth of 11.4 per cent, almost doubling the growth rate of any other segment, according to Technomic. 

Sarah Monnette, vice-president of research and insights at Technomic, explained fast casual restaurants are hitting on key consumer trends, like fresh, high quality ingredients and menu transparency.

 “Fast casual chains have seen stand up growth across the globe,” Monnette said. “Global demand for fresh ingredients and customization; that’s going to continue to be seen across the globe. That’s what’s fueling the growth of fast casual.”

She added quick service restaurants are also stepping up to the fast casual plate. 

“They’re revamping their concepts and ingredients as well, to kind of have that QSR-plus type model,” Monnette said.  

Moving to a new format

About six years ago, Nando’s began migrating from quick service restaurant to fast casual format. With 42 locations in Canada, and seven to 10 new restaurants opening each year, the South Africa-based company is renovating its existing locations and building the fast casual format. 

“We’re opening up the kitchens and taking down menu boards where we can,” said Ron Cecillon, president of Nando’s Canada. “It makes it more consistent with full service, without waiters and waitresses.”

For Cecillon, the advantage of moving to fast casual is a higher quality menu with lower operating costs. 

“We can do great quality with few staff. … As labour just gets more expensive, you have to be as flexible as possible,” he said. “You don’t need people anchored in specific positions. Everybody is cross-trained to do a little of everything.”

With less staff, the guest is responsible for some of the tasks usually handled by staff in a full service restaurant, like placing an order or filling beverages. 

“The guest controls their dining experience. When they’re ready to order, they order,” Cecillon said. “You can get up and leave whenever you want, you don’t have to flag someone down.”

Having control of the flow of the meal also fits in with customer trends, he added. 

“People are in a hurry today, much more than they were 10 or 15 years ago. They’re not looking for that 60- to 90-minute dining experience,” Cecillon said. “Millennials love convenience they love to get in and out, and they love the ability to get it on demand when they want it.”

At Nando’s, the open kitchen is a key component to fast casual success. 

“It’s that theatre of watching the food being prepared for the customer,” he said. 

Keep it simple

Cecillon points out a common theme within fast casual restaurants: a tight menu. 

“Five Guys does burgers. We do chicken and it’s all we do. Part of the success is that tight menu,” he said. “We’re not ashamed to not offer a bunch of items.”

With peri-peri chicken as a recurring protein at Nando’s, repetition in the kitchen lets back of house staff master the menu preparation, which in turn improves quality and consistency.

“Our kitchen staff are cooking the same menu items all the time,” Cecillon said. “So they get very proficient at it, versus trying to learn a 100-plus item menu.”

Segments within the segment

 Cecillon also noted fast casual is splitting into segments within the segment. 

“It will develop similar to what happened in full service, this notion of upscale casual,” he said. “I foresee a segment within a segment continuing to develop.”

He explained fast casual eateries like Chipotle or Five Guys differ from Nando’s or Famoso, despite falling into the same category. For example, Nando’s, Famoso and Levetto all have alcoholic beverage menus.   

“You’re seeing more focus on design and more focus on freshness,” he said. “Customization is a big part of it as well.” 

The importance of social

Vassil Sabev, founder of Toronto-based Blue Seal bar and restaurant consulting, ties the rise of fast casual to the rise of social media. 

“The rise of fast casual dining is synonymous with social media,” Sabev said. “Look at your Burger’s Priests and Holy Chucks, they’re able to showcase their menus via Instagram and social media. It’s led to their success.”

Regardless of dining format, social media must be integrated, Sabev said, noting most restaurants should have a network of between 5,000 and 6,000 on Instagram alone. 

“It’s an excellent way to reach all of your customers,” He said. “It’s absolutely crucial to any business to have a heavy social media presence, especially the fast causal format.”

To build a significant following, Sabev recommends tying the social media launch to the opening of the restaurant. As well, invite Instagram influencers who specialize in restaurant food photography to try out the menu.  

“It would be imperative to establish a launch with a few of these online personalities,” he said. “You might have to spend some money, but it’s better to spend and make money in the future. In our experience it translates to better numbers.”

The future of fast casual

New technology available to restaurateurs will spur fast casual interest and growth, according to Sabev. 

“We still believe this format is in its infancy stages,” he said. 

With a rise in options for automating the hospitality industry, like mobile ordering or interactive dining tables, technology is being geared towards the fast casual format. 

“Keep your options open and don’t be scared to take a chance on new technology,” Sabev said.

For example, placing an order via a tablet helps eliminate errors in communication between the guest and back of house, saves on wages and will help a business stand out from the crowd. 

“The initial cost for iPads might be high. In the long run, you’re going to save money compared to wages. It’s imperative to have an open mind,” Sabev said.  

Upsell without alcohol 

Many fast casual restaurants in Canada do not serve alcoholic beverages. While this saves time and money by eliminating the need for a liquor license, it also eliminates an opportunity to upsell. 

“This is a blessing and a curse,” Sabev said. “Alcoholic drinks have a high profit margin.”

For fast casual restaurants, homemade, non-alcoholic beverages fit well in the segment, and help recoup the upsell opportunity. 

“A lot of people are health conscious when it comes to pop or soda,” Sabev said. “This is a trend we’ve been noticing the last couple of years.”

Instead of carbonated beverages, Sabev recommends a house made ice tea, for example. 

“It’s an excellent way to thicken your revenue stream,” he said. “Your overhead for these drinks is next to nothing.”

It’s not for everybody

When Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria opened its first location in Edmonton in 2007, the restaurant operated as a hybrid of fast casual and full service. Guests were seated, where they could peruse the menu. When ready, they would place their order at the bar. 

“Quite a few people were confused by that slight difference of having to sit and then go order,” said Famoso founder Justin Lussier. “It’s just ingrained in people’s mentalities in North America; you either line up and order or you sit down and get served. We were asking them to do something in the middle.”

Famoso decided to equip servers with iPads to take orders at the table. 

“It saves time, and keeps the orders accurate,” Lussier said. “The orders go right to the kitchen. You don’t have to wait until the server gets back to the point of sale system to do it.”

Lussier explained the switch has allowed Famoso to maximize its potential by expanding its menu and bar program. 

“That has been a good switch,” Lussier said. “It’s kind of like a new world. We’re not this place in between full service and fast casual.”

At Levetto, fast casual is a success at the majority of its locations, especially in Toronto. However, in Waterloo, Ont., customers didn’t take to the service format. 

“In any one we open there’s a growth process. You automatically think ‘where’s the server’?” Massoud said. “In Waterloo, no matter what, the guests wanted to sit down and have full table service.”

Cecillon noted there are always “growing pains” when introducing consumers to a new method of business. 

“Some guests hate it, to be completely honest. They just don’t get it,” Cecillon said.  

He explained training staff to educate guests who are new to the format is key to success with fast casual. 

“As more and more brands, new and old, start to develop the fast casual model, I think it will be widely accepted,” Cecillon said. “You can get in and out, get great quality and a great environment as well.”