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To: Victor Lazlo who wrote (142704)	6/4/2002 8:26:42 AM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

I like it any way I can get it, that's why I hurry all over the place. <gg>

To: Victor Lazlo who wrote (142704)	6/4/2002 8:39:20 AM
From: H James Morris	Respond to of 164684

Vic, my Ariba taco stands are doing well. I see a great opportunity for them in Japan. >>Fast-casual outlets such as Panda Express, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill and Panera Bread Co. — which combine the speed of fast food with the quality and freshness of a casual dining chain — still grab only a small share of Americans' overall dining dollar. But their growing popularity, coming partly at the expense of slower-growing traditional fast-food giants, is triggering McDonald's, Wendy's and others to counterattack with their own versions of fast-casual fare or by acquiring their own fast-casual chains. Stakes were raised on Friday, when Wendy's agreed to purchase Fresh Enterprises of Thousand Oaks, Calif., owner of Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, for $275 million in cash. Baja Fresh, which had an operating profit of $6.4 million, before charges, on sales of $72.8 million in 2001, had previously announced plans to raise $58 million from an IPO to facilitate expansion. The 157-store chain has won a loyal following with such items as lard-free beans and charbroiled mahi-mahi tacos. The result is a fierce battle for market share, posing risks for fast-casual chains that lack the advertising and marketing muscle of their bigger rivals. Several dining trends are driving the fast-casual boom. Aging baby boomers and others — suffering from what one analyst calls "fast-food fatigue" — are eager to move up to classier fare. Cost-conscious business people are looking for inexpensive but still presentable alternatives for expense-account lunches. Diet-conscious consumers are looking for healthier or lower-calorie versions of fast food. Thus, despite the sluggish economy and an overall decline in restaurant visits, fast-casual chains "are a bright spot in the restaurant industry," said Tim Carlin, senior associate at Technomic, a research and consulting firm in Chicago. Sales for the fast-casual segment are growing at a robust 6 percent to 8 percent annually, to a total of $2.75 billion last year. That is still less than 1 percent of the $411 billion restaurant industry, said Technomic. By contrast, fast food — growing at 1 percent to 2 percent annually — registered revenue of $128 billion, accounting for nearly one-third of all restaurant sales. The potential to take share from other dining segments has attracted a host of well-established players and upstarts. Panda, the nation's largest Chinese-restaurant chain, with outlets in Bellevue, North Seattle and Kent, is expected to open its 500th restaurant soon, spokesman Wen Hong said. Wolfgang Puck, best known for his ritzy Spago restaurants, plans — in conjunction with franchisees — to expand his fast-casual Wolfgang Puck Express from 19 units today to 300 by the end of 2005. And Panera Bread, a premium sandwich chain, has seen its stock price more than double. To blunt the challenge while broadening their appeal beyond the core audience of young males, many fast-food chains are adding premium products or gobbling up fast-casual competitors. In the process, they have become more like those rivals, said Bob Sandelman, a Villa Park, Calif., restaurant consultant. McDonald's, the world's largest fast-food chain, said recently that it planned to jointly develop as many as 30 outlets with Fazoli's, a Kentucky-based fast-casual chain of about 400 Italian restaurants. McDonald's also said it eventually could acquire the company. Arby's, known for its roast-beef sandwiches, last year unveiled a line of Market Fresh sandwiches, which sell for up to $4.29, company spokeswoman Anne Kirchhoff said. But Technomic analyst Carlin said there's a limit to how far fast-food chains can wander from their pizza-and-fried-chicken roots. That limit could allow fast-casual chains such as Baja Fresh and Panera to continue to do well.<<