by From fast food to fine dining, restaurants are everywhere and have become a staple of American life. But what makes a restaurant successful?
The first step to opening a successful restaurant is picking the right type and concept. The restaurant industry is challenging, so make sure you understand all the different types of restaurants.
When opening a new restaurant, you’ll need to ensure that the concept is right for your location, your target audience, and your business plan.
You also have to be aware of the competition in your area so that you can differentiate yourself from other restaurants in your area.
It’s easier said than done, but with a bit of guidance, you, too, can launch a successful restaurant. Here are ten different restaurant types and concepts to consider when opening your own business.
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What Qualifies as a Restaurant?
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to its customers, and the meals are generally served and eaten on the premises.
However, some restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. In addition, restaurants vary greatly in appearance and offerings, offering a wide variety of cuisines and service models.
Restaurants can be distinguished in different ways, and the primary way is usually the food itself. For example, you may have a steakhouse, a pizza place, or an Italian restaurant. Beyond this, restaurants may specialize in the type of service they provide, for example, fast food or fine dining.
Restaurants also range from inexpensive, fast food spots to expensive establishments that serve exquisite dishes with the finest dining experience.
Below, we will discuss 10 of the most popular restaurant types and why they’re successful.
Different Types of Restaurants
1. Fast Food / QSR
Fast food is an umbrella term for all types of quick service restaurants that offer limited menu items, usually made to order. Fast food restaurants may also be known as quick service restaurants (QSR) or fast casuals. Some QSRs even offer delivery options through third-party services like GrubHub and Uber Eats.
Fast food can be found in many different restaurant formats from drive-thrus to sit-down chains like McDonald’s or Chick-fil-a. And because most of these chains focus on a single type of cuisine or dish such as chicken wings, or pizza, they can focus on providing the best possible product at an unbeatable price point.
Fast-food restaurants or QSRs have some of the highest profit margins for several reasons:
- There are no servers so labor costs are lowered
- Food expenses are kept to a minimum through a limited menu
- Cheaper ingredients contribute to higher margins
The fast-food industry is huge and worth over USD 360 billion in the U.S., and there are thousands of fast-food restaurants serving millions of people every day.
While there are a dime a dozen, the successful ones do something unique and special. They offer convenience and value and stand out from their competitors.
Service Style – Counter service and drive-thru service
Menu – Limited menu options like burgers and pizza
Interior – Casual
Examples – McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s
Price – $
2. Casual Dining
Casual restaurants occupy over 30% of the US market share, making them one of the most popular types of restaurants. These eateries offer full-service dining, where guests can be seated and waited on by the server staff. They are considered a step above the quality of food and service you get from a fast-food place.
They serve a range of casual foods, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and they’re open all day long. Examples include fast-food restaurants like Denny’s, as well as family restaurants like Olive Garden and Red Lobster.
Casual dining restaurants offer more upscale menus than fast-food places, but they’re still relatively cheap.
Service Style – Full service
Menu – Classic menu
Interior – Casual, Comfort
Examples – Olive Garden, Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings
Price – $$
3. Bars and Pubs
Bars and pubs have become so popular because they offer f food, beverages, and entertainment options in one place. Bars and pubs offer a variety of food choices, from essential appetizers like chips and salsa to more complex meals like burgers, sandwiches, and salads.
They’re great places to meet up with friends, unwind after work and enjoy a drink or two. Some bars have live music or other entertainment, while others focus on the bar itself and the food to go with the drinks.
They also usually have a relaxed atmosphere that attracts a wide range of customers, including teens, young adults, and the elderly.
Service Style – Table service, counter service
Menu – Limited menu
Interior – Casual
Examples: The Palace Saloon (Florida), Old Tavern Inn (Michigan), The Old ‘76 House (New York)
Price – $-$$
4. Fast Casual
Fast-casual restaurants are similar to a fast-food restaurant but don’t offer table service. They are a more upscale versions of fast food restaurants that offer higher quality ingredients, better preparation, and more variety than traditional fast food chains. Think of Chipotle and Panera Bread.
They serve up fresh dishes that are just as affordable as casual dining but still priced higher than fast food chains. Fast casual restaurants are also all about convenience. You don’t need to wait for a table; you just walk in, look through the menu, and order from the counter.
Fast casual restaurants have been growing rapidly over the past few years as customers become more conscious of their health and what they eat. The concept of fast-casual restaurants was pioneered by Chipotle Mexican Grill in 1993 and has continued to grow ever since.
Service Style – Counter service
Menu – Sandwiches, subs, salads, wraps, or burritos
Interior – Casual
Examples – Chipotle, Panera Bread, Quiznos
Price – $$
5. Fine Dining
Fine dining is a restaurant that offers high-quality food and service and more formality than a typical restaurant. The menu is typically elaborate and expensive, featuring a wide variety of dishes. The atmosphere is generally elegant and quiet, with subdued lighting, fine table settings, and linen napkins.
Fine dining restaurants may require formal dress wear. The food at a fine dining restaurant is prepared with the highest quality ingredients. This means that the prices will also be higher because of the quality ingredients and the superb ambiance. You may also find the finest silverware and cutlery on the table, in addition to the fancy food.
Service Style – Full table service
Menu – Pricey, exclusive items
Interior – Elegant
Examples – Lahaina Grill (Hawaii), Halls Chophouse (South Carolina), Collage Restaurant (Florida)
Price – $$$-$$$$
6. Contemporary Casual
As a relatively new type of restaurant, contemporary casual places a high priority on atmosphere and experience with a sit-down dining experience. Consumers often prefer these types of restaurants because they combine a relaxed eating environment with culinary trends popular in today’s world, such as sustainable dining, farm-to-table food, fusion cuisine, and artisanal drinks. For the young, this is usually their top choice when dining out.
Restaurants like these can gain popularity quickly because they’re trendy among younger generations. The menu usually consists of burgers, fries, and other comfort foods with a twist. For example, you might find gourmet burgers or artisanal pizzas on the menu at some contemporary casual restaurants.
Service Style – Table service
Menu – Trendy cuisine
Interior – Vibrant decor
Examples – Cheesecake Factory, Red Lobster, Texas Roadhouse
Price – $$-$$$
7. Pop-ups
Pop-ups are becoming more and more common, and this trend is taking the food scene by storm.
A pop-up restaurant is a temporary restaurant that operates for a limited period or until a certain goal is met. Many people use pop-up restaurants as a way of testing out new dishes before investing in opening their restaurants.
Pop-up restaurants can be found all over the world, from New York City to Idaho and everything in between. Some pop-ups are small operations run by one person, while others can be large-scale events with hundreds of people attending at once.
Pop-ups can be located anywhere from shops, warehouses, bars, and even private homes. They can come from up-and-coming chefs or established restaurants looking to try something new.
Service Style – Counter service, food stand or food truck service, or full table service
Menu – Small menu
Interior – Temporary decor
Examples: Otaku Ramen, Lazy Bear, Superiority Burger
Price – $$-$$$
8. Ghost Kitchens
A ghost kitchen is a restaurant that has no physical location but delivers meals through a mobile app. Ghost kitchens serve takeout food, usually from local restaurants, and deliver it to customers’ homes via delivery services such as DoorDash or Postmates.
Ghost kitchens are often launched by existing restaurants looking to expand their reach without investing in additional space or hiring more staff. They’re also used by smaller restaurants with limited capacity or those that need a central location that needs support in delivering food without compromising the quality of experience.
A ghost kitchen also gives franchisees a chance to test out new items on their menus without having to worry about shutting down an entire store or losing revenue from sales during testing periods. If an item is successful at one location, it can quickly be rolled out to other locations using existing resources instead of having to build new infrastructure from scratch.
Service Style – Online and mobile ordering only
Menu – Menu items that work well with the delivery
Interior – Kitchen only
Examples – Pancake Heaven, Uhmazing BLTs, The Royal Breakfast
Price – $
9. Family Style
Family-style restaurants are casual, family-friendly places where people can enjoy a meal together and not worry about the bill. A family-style restaurant will have a menu that offers several entrees to choose from. Each person at the table will get their dish, but they’ll also share one or two side dishes and possibly even dessert.
Service Style – table service
Menu – Limited menu
Interior – Casual
Examples: IHOP, Golden Corral, Waffle House
Price – $$
10. Buffet
A buffet is a restaurant that offers a wide variety of food, usually at an all-you-can-eat price. Buffets differ from other types of restaurants because customers are encouraged to serve themselves as much as they want at any given time. Customers pay a set price for all the food they can consume during their meal time.
A buffet is also one of the easiest types of restaurants to operate because there are no waiters or waitresses involved. This can be appealing to someone who wants to own their own business but doesn’t want to spend money on labor costs or deal with customers directly.
Service Style – Self-service
Menu – Limited menu options
Interior – Casual
Examples: Golden Corral, Sizzler, Souper Salad
Price – $-$$
What is The Best Type of Restaurant to Open?
As you’ve discovered, there are many types of restaurants in the restaurant industry. Each one has its unique features, advantages, and disadvantages. It is necessary to think about the type of restaurant you want to open before starting your business.
This short guide will give you an overview of the types of restaurants available and help you make an informed decision as to whether or not opening a specific type of restaurant is right for you.
The best type of restaurant business you can look into is the fast food service business.
Fast-food restaurants or QSRs have some of the highest profit margins for several reasons:
- There are no servers so labor costs are lowered
- Food expenses are kept to a minimum through a limited menu
- Cheaper ingredients contribute to higher margins
They don’t require staff members, the ingredients are cheap to source and QSRs tend to target price points higher than fast-casual restaurants.
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