Fast casual food take out

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     Restaurants and cafes are difficult to operate. Many start-ups do not survive. It is a tough business. 

     Today's owners of restaurants and cafes are noting a new trend. It's not just a quick sandwich you pick up at the health food store. It's more like fast casual, like a whole meal to go. It's take out carried to the next level. 

     You can attract new customers if you offer fast food take out. You create dinners designed around popular menu items, and you offer these as fast casual, or take out. You relieve customers of the chore of going home and preparing a meal. 

     Example: Gustav noticed that take out was becoming more than take out. People called to order a meal that would be ready when they arrived. They would pick it up and head home to feed the family waiting on dinner. Gustav expanded his take out menu and he posted pictures of mouth-watering meals on Facebook with a simple caption: "Everything here is home made." Interest exploded. Gustav had tapped into the growing trend of people demanding fast casual meals--to eat at home.

     Example: Miranda runs a small cafe, serving only breakfast and lunch. Responding to several customer requests, Miranda began offering home cooked dinners for them to pick up and enjoy at home. She began by offering one entree, prepared and ready to pick up between 4 and 6 p.m. each day. This expanded her restaurant into the dinner meal preparation, but she does not serve dinners at the restaurant. This held costs down, but expanded her business. When she began tailoring meals to customer's desires, she expanded even more--these included gluten-free meals, sugar-free preparations and vegetarian dishes. "It's like having your own personal chef," reads the caption on her Facebook picture postings. 

     The take out food concept has of course been popular for a very long time. It is a perfectly designed concept, however, when you use it to help people avoid home preparation of meals--especially when you emphasize the home cooked idea. 

     And I didn't mention pizza once.

     Tap into the fast casual "home made" food market. You are using yesterday's take out idea--updated to today's interests and needs.