The Different Types of Restaurant Concepts

FacebookTwitterLinkedIn

While there are many different types of restaurants that come in all shapes and sizes, today’s
restaurant concepts extend beyond the traditional fast food, casual, and fine dining concepts. Fine
dining is loosening its bow tie, fast food is getting fancy, and food trucks are serving up for more
than hot dogs and chips.

The stark lines that once divided these restaurant concepts have been replaced by grey areas that
overlap each other, which can make it difficult for restaurant owners to define their own restaurant
concept.

Get started on defining your own restaurant concept

Developing Your Concept Checklist

In this article, we’ll breakdown the definition of each restaurant concept, their average price range,
and customer demographics – so you can get started on defining your own restaurant concept for
your business.

Family Style or Casual Restaurant Concept

Family style restaurants follow a table service/full service model. Patrons are seated at a table with a
dedicated server who takes and delivers their order.

They are kid-friendly establishments, so it’s common to see paper tablecloths, crayons, and
unlimited dinner rolls.

Family style restaurants strive to create a casual atmosphere, where kids are welcome but adults can
still enjoy a full bar.

Family style and casual restaurants often serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They serve all kinds of
different food, including steak, cheeseburgers, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, seafood, etc.

Some traditional family style restaurants will serve food on large share platters, whereas exclusively
casual restaurants will serve individual plates.

For family style restaurants that portion food individually, the dishes are typically larger than the
average fast food service.

It’s common for family style and casual restaurants to belong to a chain franchise.

Price range

 Average dinner price: $15–$25

Demographics

Family style restaurants target a blue collar, middle-class demographic. A 2014 study from Morgan
Stanley revealed that casual dining’s core customers are baby boomers between 50 and 68 years
old.

Family style and casual restaurants are created to appeal to a larger demographic, from a finicky
four-year-old with a short attention span to older folk who may like a glass of white wine with their
meals.

You are most likely to see parents with children, large groups, teenagers, and seniors dining at family
style restaurants.

Examples

New York

Dinosaur Barbecue

Good Enough to Eat

Carmine’s

Chicago

Yolk

Maggiano’s Little Italy

Smoque BBQ

Toronto

Texas Lonestar Grill

The Old Spaghetti Factory

Mumma Martino’s

Fast Casual Restaurant Concept

The latest trend in restaurant concepts, fast casual has taken the industry by storm.

Fast casual is best described as “upscale fast food”, combining casual dining with take out. You may
also consider fast casual restaurants to be “quick service restaurants” (QSRs).

Fast casual has all the operational facets of a fast food restaurant – food prepared to order,
disposable packaging – but is differentiated by the quality of ingredients. It’s common to see organic
greens, artisan bread, or grass-fed beef on fast casual menus. Fast casual restaurants are often
focused on delivering healthy, sustainable fast food.

While seating is often limited, fast casual restaurants will have more seating than the average fast
food joint.

Price range

 Average check: $12, approximately $7 more than the average fast food chain

Demographics

According to Morgan Stanley, millennials make up 51% of fast casual customers. Fast casual
restaurants target younger professionals who are busy but are also environmentally and socially
conscious.

Examples

New York

Made Nice

CAVA

Honeygrow

Chicago

Big & Little’s

LYFE Kitchen

Luke’s Lobster
Toronto

Banh Mi Boys

Chop Chop

Freshii

Fast Food Restaurant Concept

Also known as quick service restaurants (QSRs), fast food restaurants often have meals produced  en
masse  to meet the grab-and-go demand. With limited table service and cafeteria seating, fast food
restaurants prepare food to-go and usually follow a franchised business model.

While the fast food restaurant concept has been dominated by cheap burger joints in the past, fast
food has recently expanded to include fast casual restaurants and fancier establishments with more
expensive meals and no seating.

Burger joints, pizza parlors, sandwich shops, chicken restaurants, and burrito places make up the
majority of fast food types.

Price range

 Average check: $5–$10

Demographics

While all age groups indulge in fast food, middle income earners are more likely to eat fast food than
those who are of higher than average income or lower than average income.

Examples

New York

Five Guys

Shake Shack

John’s Fried Chicken

Chicago

The Art of Chicken

Bareburger

SmallFry

Toronto

Pita Pit

Harvey’s
Pizza Pizza

Fine Dining Restaurant Concept

High style, high class, high cost: fine dining is marked by hand-and-foot service, formal dress, and an
air of elegance.

Fine dining might invoke thoughts of delicate linen napkins, a sommelier, and professionally trained
chefs. Many fine dining restaurants have a “chef’s table” where patrons receive one-on-one time
from the chef.

Fine dining restaurants have smaller menus that change weekly or even daily. Chefs use the freshest
ingredients they can find, often locally sourced.

Patrons of fine dining restaurants typically enjoy an appetizer, salad, main course, and dessert – so
many fine dining restaurants offer a prix fixe menu.

With top shelf liqueurs, cognacs, and aged barrels, patrons frequenting fine dining restaurants are
more likely to consume high-end booze over beers. That said, you may find microbrewery beers or
rare ales available at modern fine dining restaurants.

Fine dining is not exclusive to a single cuisine, although French, Italian, steak, and seafood
restaurants are commonly classified as fine dining.

Fine dining restaurant chefs consider their meals an art. Dining at a fine dining restaurant is meant to
be an experience itself, not just food for food’s sake.

Price range

 Average main course: $30–$50

Demographics

Those most likely to dine frequently at fine dining restaurants assume the higher end of the income
spectrum, with an income of $100,000 or more.

Examples

New York

Per Se

Le Cirque

Jean-Georges

Chicago

Blackbird

Everest Restaurant
Acadia

Toronto

Canoe

Miku

Nota Bene

Cafe Concept

Best known for coffee, espresso, biscotti, and pastries, cafes provide counter service and aim to
create a comfortable, leisurely atmosphere.

Cafes are conducive for a cake between lovers, two lattes to-go, and a seating area suitable for a
business interview or a conversation between good friends.

While cafes often have sandwiches, small pastries, and perhaps a soup of the day, their primary
purpose isn’t lunch; it’s all about the coffee and dessert.

Price range

 Average latte price: $4.50–$5

 Average sandwich price: $8–$11

 Average pastry price: $3–$5

Demographics

According to the National Coffee Association, millennials have been a steadily rising demographic for
the cafe industry since 2008. Older millennials between the ages of 25-39 are most likely to drink
espresso-based drinks and gourmet coffee, while baby boomers are more likely to drink their coffee
at home.

Examples

New York

Black Fox Coffee Co

Everyman Espresso

Third Rail Coffee

Chicago

The Coffee Studio

Asado Coffee

Caffe Umbria
Toronto

Dineen Coffee Co.

White Squirrel Coffee Shop

Merchants of Green Coffee

Food Truck Concept

The food truck has evolved from its status as greasy chip truck to a restaurant on wheels.

While the food truck concept was born out of the chip truck, today we’re seeing food trucks pull up
in busy urban areas with menus that are more robust than the hot dog and fries selection of yore.

Food trucks bring their food to hungry patrons, often by strategically positioning themselves outside
workplaces, breweries, festivals, and concerts. A new wave of street food boasts the quality of
casual dining on-the-fly.

Food type is fair game here: fish tacos, lobster rolls, pulled pork on a bun, pakora, banh mi, and
almost anything can be served out of a truck.

Many successful food trucks go on to establish brick and mortar restaurants once they see enough
profit.

Price range

 Average meal price: $7–$15

Demographics

Millennials may be considered the “food truck generation”: 47% of millennials have eaten from a
food truck, even though their parents frequently referred to food trucks as “roach coaches” or “gut
trucks.”

Examples

New York

Luke’s Lobster

Gorilla Cheese

Kimchi Taco

Chicago

5411 Empanadas

The Slide Ride

Yum Dum Truck

Toronto

Buster’s Sea Cove

Fidel Gastro’s

Mr. Pierogi

Pub or Bar Concept

Pubs and bars are frequented for their alcohol and boast a social atmosphere, often with the aim of
bringing people together.

It’s not uncommon for pubs and bars to have sports nights and live music, and they may have pool
tables, darts, pinball, and other games.

How do bars and pubs differ?

Pubs will offer table service and casual fare that’s often classified as pub food, comfort food or finger
food.

Bars, on the other hand, may daylight as a pub or restaurant and turn into a legal drinking age
establishment at night with limited seating and bar service, complete with a bouncer and stringent
age requirements.

Irish and British pubs are common cultural establishments. They can range from dive bars, which are
cheap and cheerful, or upscale pubs, which boast the same social atmosphere with higher quality
fare.

Price range

 Average meal price: $10–$20

 Average alcoholic beverage price: $5–$10

Demographics

More than half of younger millennials go to a bar on a weekly basis, while 24% of generation X and
19% of baby boomers go to bars once per week.

Examples

New York

The Playwright Pub

Blarney Rock Pub

230 Fifth Rooftop Bar

Chicago

Monk’s Pub
Timothy O’Toole’s Pub

Delilah’s Chicago

Toronto

Stout Irish Pub

Real Sports Bar

Horseshoe Tavern