$RIBS - Today's best public market play for a fast casual restaurant concept. That's the down and dirty, if you want the full pitch, keep reading. Follow me on Twitter @MitchellRayRoth, Co-Chairman and CEO of $RIBS.
Why fast casual restaurants are the play in today's changing economy. You all know about the rush to tech and biotech and other industries that have boomed in the last decade or so as technology exploded at an exponential rate, effectively changing lives at every turn. What you might not know is the same thing is happening in food service.
In December 2014, total restaurant sales surpassed total grocery sales for the first time in history. Why? Consumers are eating out more, which is being driven by a demographic change; people are getting married later in life, they're having kids later in life and they're working longer hours than they ever have in the past. All these variables are stacking up in favor of eating out, rather than going to the grocery store and cooking at home.
Furthermore, we've seen an entirely new segment within the restaurant industry explode in the last 15 years and its call Fast Casual Somewhere between fine dining and fast food and represented by companies like Chipotle, Shake Shack and others, fast casual restaurants offer much higher quality food but with the same logistical efficiencies as fast food. Consumer in the 21st Century thrive on transparency, as they're the most well educated food consumers ever. They want all natural, never frozen food at a reasonable price (not necessarily a 'cheap' price) and they want it to be convenient.
Southern Concepts, parent company to three full service Southern and BBQ restaurants called Southern Hospitality, has developed the fast casual barbecue concept Carve Barbecue and opened its first unit in Denver CO in November 2015. We plan to grow this concept nationally in the coming years and set ourselves apart from other barbecue concepts.
Learn more at www.southernconcepts.com
