Young people fuel rise of fast-casual dining in Salisbury
The newest restaurants in Salisbury within the last six months — The Country Cafe, Pablo's Bowls and Your Pie — all have something in common.
They combine the counter service of a fast-food restaurant with an emphasis on fresh, chef-driven specials, a commonality that is emblematic of a shift happening in the Salisbury area and beyond.
As real estate and business costs increase, and the restaurant industry becomes more saturated, competition is heating up, and casual dining chains are losing ground to fresh, fast-casual concepts, such as Panera and Chipotle, locally owned independent restaurants, or newer, more polished dining groups.
"I don’t feel like I’m doing anything new or different by walking into an Arby’s," said Jessica Julie, 22, who works at Salisbury University. "There’s nothing wrong with places like that, but I would much rather try out a hole-in-the-wall. I don’t have a lot of money to spend, so if I’m going to spend it on food, I’m going to spend it on experience as well."
READ MORE: Your Pie offers quick, custom-made pizza
Julie said she rarely visits chain restaurants besides locally run restaurant groups, like Rise Up Coffee or Southern Boys Concepts, which has five distinct restaurants under the name including Evolution Craft Brewing, Sobos and Specific Gravity.
Her major chain exception? Chipotle.
"It is expensive for fast food, but there is something about it," she said.
While it is increasingly rare to see a new Chili’s or Olive Garden open up in Salisbury, chains that dominate the so-called fast-casual segment have poured into the area in recent years and their concept continues to remain a model for others.
Your Pie, a growing pizza chain known for pairing pies with local craft beer, and Melted, a gourmet grilled cheese spot that opened recently in The Pavilion at 1400 South Salisbury, both use Chipotle's build-your-own, counter-service model, and Panera's laid-back atmosphere.
According to data from restaurant research firm Technomic Inc., the fast-casual sector, which marries quality, affordable food with quick service, grew at a rate of 12.4 percent from 2010 to 2015, far outpacing the 2.9 percent rate for the casual dining sector, including traditional sit-down spots. In between is the fast-food sector, at 3.6 percent growth, and fine dining, at 6 percent.
"People are going to fast-casual restaurants because prices are slightly cheaper, but the food quality is still high," said Mike Kreines, owner of Country Café on East Main Street in Salisbury.
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Because diners now, more than ever, are seeking out healthy, locally sourced ingredients, Kreines said there is more of an emphasis on creating menu sourcing transparency and on using kitchens where customers cannot only see the food being made, but direct the preparation themselves.
And millennials — people between the ages of 18 and 34 — are driving the trend. That trend is aided by the 8,748 students who were enrolled at Salisbury University in the fall of 2016.
Since 2000, Salisbury’s median age, the level at which half of all residents are younger and half are older, has dropped from 29.4 to 28.2 years, according to census figures. That may not seem striking unless you consider this: The median age nationwide went up from 35.3 to 37.8 in two years.
"We’re seeing this more with large urban areas, especially areas with higher-educated, younger people," said Leonard Arvi, associate professor of finance at Salisbury University. "These areas cater toward independent, regional chains more, and ‘chain’ is almost a negative word now for some people, especially with the local food movement."
Changes in consumer preferences aren’t the only factor driving the fast-casual trend.
As the costs of running a restaurant increase, from minimum wage requirements to various taxes and fees, many restaurateurs are looking at less expensive avenues. Fitting that bill are fast-casual concepts, which require fewer employees and less square footage than table service restaurants. This shift has also paved the way for the recent food truck renaissance.
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With the help of popular network shows, such as "The Great Food Truck Race" and "Food Truck Face Off," food trucks have gained unprecedented popularity in America's culinary world. Gone are the days when mobile eateries sold questionable sandwiches for lunch. Every major city now has mobile eateries serving a range of flavors, from barbecue and southern cuisine to Asian food and organic vegan.
"It was the right route for us to get started," said Josh Mason, who co-owns Vittles Food Truck with his wife, Kristin. "There was a much lower expense involved, and we've had the flexibility of bringing our brand right to our customers."
Although many are becoming aware of the shift, others are quick to point out that the rise of fast-casual options does not mean the death of sit-down. Tommy Knorr, co-founder of Southern Boys Concepts, emphasized that casual dining still makes up a much larger portion of the restaurant industry than the newer fast-casual sector. His restaurants combined bring in millions in annual revenue.
"Surviving in the restaurant world means innovating," he said.
At places like Applebee’s and Olive Garden, restaurants try to compete on convenience by offering tablets for ordering at each table. The venerable Denny’s chain, home to the "grand slam" breakfast, is remodeling its restaurants to look more like old-fashioned diners and has made more health-conscious changes to its menu.
There is also the growing popularity of more upscale casual chains like SoDel Concepts, which has opened 10 restaurants in Coastal Delaware in the past few years. According to Arvi, the SU professor, these places do well when they can leverage modern interiors and good ambience.
But most often, it comes down to restaurants’ ability to keep up with what people want, something that Christine Braughler, who owns Acorn Market, strives to accomplish.
READ MORE: Acorn Market is opening in downtown Salisbury
After building up a solid lunch following, she moved to a better site. Acorn's original location on East Main Street, tucked behind the Country House store, did not have the benefit of any street signage and could be difficult to find.
"If you’re not evolving and innovating and connecting with the guests, you aren't exactly doing it right," she said.
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