Fast Food and Restaurant Signage Upgrades from Architectural Signs

When it comes to dining, no matter the cost of the meal, millennials place a premium on overall experience and that includes comfortable, well-appointed spaces, say marketing analysts. Having seen the steady rise of fast-casual competitors like Shake Shack and Panera Bread, legacy fast-food chains like KFC, Arby's and Taco Bell now are busy sprucing up their decor. Fast-casual revenue grew 13 per cent in 2014, 10 times that of restaurants overall, with a growth of 1.3 per cent, according to a restaurant market research firm. An even hotter trend within the fast-casual segment: build your own. The format was up 22 per cent in sales in 2014, compared to 11 per cent for made to order. (US source).

Some chefs pay attention to the latest restaurant and industry trends and some chefs create the trends (Source: Australian Trends, Internet);

The takeaway / fast food concepts will never slow down, especially as our lifestyles are getting faster along with our growing population. However, we've noticed a run on fast food outlets lifting their game in their food offerings by improving the quality of the menu and food. Yiros and kebab wrap-style foods are on the rise. As are specialised take-away concepts that have a limited yet specific menu model. These offer less choice by focusing on a core product but then adding better quality variations in the menu e.g. takeaways that only cook cheese toasties with many delectable filling choices, or wood-fired pizzas with endless gourmet topping choices, or noodles with every choice of protein.

Veganism is on trend but not as a specific restaurant model. It's certainly being added to menus in a lot of restaurants and cafes. It has been on the rise since 2015!

Coffee is big business. The sale of coffee and new coffee roasting brands doesn't look like slowing down. It's a bit like the ongoing growth of boutique beers and micro-breweries - the more there are, the more foodies love it.

Laneways are a traditional European concept that is growing. They are becoming the new micro food precincts in Australia's major cities. Shipping containers are still on the rise to counteract high rents and create an almost instant food hub. Pop-ups and food trucks are like shipping containers. They are a small-footprint, low-cost entry into the food industry, and they can move quickly to where the customers are. Some operators will use a pop-up concept to test their unique food offering before scaling to the market.

Clusters of micro food businesses offering dining choice appear to be working. Major shopping centres are also re-thinking food courts. They recognise that the food precinct model will attract diners who are also shoppers, so they're investing heavily in the foodie experience and hand-picking tenants that will be successful and fit the overall food concept.

We are also seeing a spike in food operators actively looking for drive-through sites to complement their (QSR) take-away food offerings. Increasing convenience to cater to our increasingly busy lifestyles will sell more food e.g. coffee, cafe fare, kebabs. Developers are pushing this trend by including drive-through formats in their development designs.

The use of tablets and smartphones for ordering and service is becoming more affordable and accessible to even the smallest cafes. Waiter's paper dockets are disappearing.

The software links directly to the kitchen, POS and accounting software. It's fast and efficient. Some restaurants are removing the waiters and getting the diners to order at the table via the tablet. Sushi trains have been doing this for years with success.

Architectural Signs provides new and upgraded signage solutions for the Fast food and Restaurant industry. You can also view our video here.

For restaurant and general signage, awards, braille and engraving solutions, visit www.arcsigns.com.au today.