QSR and Fast Casual Concepts Forego Expensive Commercial Real Estate Buildouts | Modern Restaurant Management | The Business of Eating & Restaurant Management News

COVID-19 global pandemic changed nearly everything. As vaccines become widely available, businesses are itching to re-open fully in an effort to return to pre-COVID numbers. For the quick-serve (QSR) and Fast Casual industry, a re-examining of all operational processes is taking place at a rapid, yet reactive rate. Atop the list of concerns is the brick-and-mortar buildouts, and many operators and franchise concepts are realizing the un-needed burden and limited ROI with lots of square footage.

At Aloha Poke, we discovered these nuances well before the global pandemic and were already shifting away from the typical Fast Casual model. For one, it made sense for our operation. Secondly, we re-conceptualized our model entirely, allowing us to more easily roll with the COVID punches and accelerate toward trends that were taking shape. Here are a few lessons behind our philosophy and experience.

Leaner and Meaner BuildoutsConvenience and quality have been well before COVID and the…

Chris Birkinshaw

Chris Birkinshaw is the CEO of Chicago-based Aloha Poke Co., a fast casual franchise serving poke bowls filled with healthy, fresh, quality ingredients. A veteran professional in the fast-casual restaurant industry, his 20 years of progressive positions and expertise working with national restaurant chains have earned him a reputation as a dynamic and incisive leader combined with unique industry knowledge. Birkinshaw started his career at Starbucks in store-level operations, eventually moving to Potbelly Sandwich Works, where he held senior management positions across departments including Operations Services, New Store Development, District and Regional Operations and Franchising.

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Chris Birkinshaw