Q.S.R.
My book, Innovating Food Fast, is available now on Amazon. This is the second of six excerpts from Innovating Food Fast. This week’s excerpt takes a look at what a quick-service restaurant (QSR) really is and how experts define the common expression.
To define the term QSR, the acronym for quick service restaurant, many individuals contribute their take on the common phrase term. This term broadly encompasses fast-food restaurants and fast-casual restaurants. QSR Magazine defines a QSR as much more than a nicer line of fast-food restaurants, however.
Scott Davis, chief concept officer at Panera Bread, a prominent QSR, stated that “for [Panera], we look at the whole package. It’s not just the food. It’s not just the décor. … It’s a mindset.” Kevin Moll, CEO of National Restaurant Consultants Inc., sees QSRs as an opportunity to demonstrate a “brand’s strengths in a compelling, value-oriented fashion to the consumer.”
Moll additionally discusses the actual implications of QSRs. “Today’s restaurant operators are selling to a consumer who has been financially impacted in a negative way, and as such, this consumer is specifically looking for two things: convenience and value,” described Moll, whose firm helps fast-food clients with their marketing initiatives. “If the marketing proposal misses these two targets, it will not be effective.’” As for a less professional view on QSRs, that still stands moderately true, Urban Dictionary describes a QSR as such:
“Abbreviation for Quick Service Restaurant, the modern [politically correct] way to say Fast Food Restaurant. Instead of being seated at a table, placing your order with the waitstaff, and the food is brought to you on dishes — QSR has a drive-thru or you place your order with a cashier at the front counter and take the food in a bag or similar disposable carrier. The food is mostly pre-packaged and reheated, so you get your food faster than if it were made to order. “Fast food” carries a negative connotation as unhealthy, so the industry uses QSR instead to avoid the stigma and to account for the increasingly high-priced “premium” fast food options.”
Whatever perception someone has of QSRs, however, many of the characteristics remain the same. A QSR tries to incorporate change and innovation. Simple fast food was the past, and now it is time for a rebranding revolution where QSRs can take the stage. In addition, building from Moll’s statement, QSRs work to offer larger value to their consumers, often at the expense of higher prices to consumers. This stems from the reaction to America slowly noticing the issues present in society surrounding health and food initiatives. QSR innovations are a direct result of this, in an attempt to slim down the U.S. obesity epidemic.
Understanding the history of fast food helps us understand how we got to where we are today. There are many contributing factors, but continuous innovation has pushed us towards the food-service reality that we live in today.
Restaurants focused on speed have been around for a long time.
The evolution of fast food really took off after the creation of the Ford Model-T. According to a Modern Marvels documentary, Drive-Thru, this is where Americans were first given their very own sense of speed. While there were no fast-food drive-through locations for a substantial period after the presence of the first automobile, the new innovation quickly forced gas stations to evolve into the first generation of drive-throughs. While these locations did not serve food, they were serviced without the customer having to leave the comfort of their car.
This all eventually changed, however. According to a report from the University of Michigan, “in 1921, two men — J.G. Kirby and Dr. Reuben W. Jackson — revolutionized the restaurant industry. They introduced the first drive-in restaurant known as the Texas Pig Stand — a barbeque-themed curbside service located off a busy highway in Dallas, Texas. Customers sat in their automobiles as ‘tray boys delivered barbeque pork and Coca-Colas.’”
Similar to everything else, however, the typical ‘tray boys” standard evolved and was replaced. Fast food in this era experienced its own massive shift in trends as tray boys were often dropped and women were hired in their place. As Modern Marvels stated, “sex sells,” and with this change, women had to wear revealing clothing to attract customers. This approach was introduced to create a unique appeal over the competition in an already highly concentrated market. Fast-food owners went to all extremes to take customers away from the competition.
Then, another major change infiltrated the market. McDonald’s was the first to cut its menu down to only a small selection of items and operate purely on speed. It cut out the tray boy operations and had customers walk up to its window to order, streamlining the process.
An era was forever changed from this point on. People interested in the food industry from all around visited the famed McDonald brothers’ restaurant in hopes of finding out what made them so successful. Their speedy operations clearly stood as their competitive advantage over everyone else. After ordering, McDonald’s could provide customers their order in as little as fifteen seconds!
The playing field was forever changed. From here, many looked to duplicate this system. A lot of these companies still stand today, such as Taco Bell, Burger King, and Wendy’s.
Fast food was launched from the ability to quickly go to-and-from places. From here, food companies followed the trend and sped up their own operations to keep pace.
Quick-service restaurants have clearly evolved since the creation of the Texas Pig Stand. While there are certainly changing trends throughout the food-service industry, there are also many elements that have remained constant. By identifying these key aspects, illustrated in Innovating Food Fast, we can work to forecast the future of food throughout our nation.
