A fast food restaurant, sometimes known as a quick service restaurant or QSR, is a specific type of restaurant A restaurant prepares and serves food, drink and dessert to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance and offerings, including a wide variety of cuisines and service models characterized both by its fast food Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away. The term " cuisine and by minimal table service Table service is a form of service in restaurants, pubs, and bars where food or drinks are served to the customer's table. This is compared with counter service where service is provided at the counter. Food served in fast food restaurants typically caters to a "meat-sweet diet The Western pattern diet, also called Western dietary pattern or the meat-sweet diet, is a dietary habit chosen by many people in developed countries, and increasingly in developing countries. It is characterized by high intakes of red meat, sugary desserts, high-fat foods, and refined grains. It also typically contains high-fat dairy products," and is offered from a limited menu; is cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot; is finished and packaged to order; and is usually available ready to take away, though seating may be provided. Fast food restaurants are usually part of a restaurant chain Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses or franchise operation, which provisions standardized ingredients and/or partially prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant through controlled supply channels. The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary A dictionary, also referred to as a lexicon, wordbook, or vocabulary, is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a by Merriam–Webster in 1951.^[2]

Arguably the first fast food restaurants originated in the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language with White Castle White Castle is an American regional fast-food hamburger chain. It is the first American hamburger fast food restaurant chain in 1916.^[3] Today, American-founded fast food chains such as McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving more than 58 million customers daily and KFC KFC Corporation , founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global Restaurants Inc are multinational corporations A multinational corporation or transnational corporation (TNC), also called multinational enterprise (MNE), is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred as an international corporation. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has defined[citation needed] an MNC with outlets across the globe.

Variations on the fast food restaurant concept include fast casual restaurants A fast casual restaurant is a type of restaurant that does not offer full table service but promises a higher quality of food and atmosphere than a fast food restaurant. In the USA it is a relatively new and growing concept to fill the space between fast food and casual dining. The typical cost per meal is in the US$8–$15 range and catering trucks Mobile catering is the business of selling prepared food from some sort of vehicle. It is a feature of urban culture in many countries. Fast casual restaurants have higher sit-in ratios, and customers can sit and have their orders brought to them. Catering trucks often park just outside worksites and are popular with factory workers.

History

Some trace the modern history of fast food in America to July 7, 1912 with the opening of a fast food restaurant called the Automat An automat is a fast food restaurant where simple foods and drink are served by coin-operated and bill-operated vending machines in New York. The Automat was a cafeteria with its prepared foods behind small glass windows and coin-operated slots. Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart had already opened the first Horn & Hardart Philadelphia's Joseph Horn and German-born, New Orleans-raised, Frank Hardart opened their first restaurant together in Philadelphia on December 22, 1888. The small (11 x 17 feet) lunchroom at 39 South Thirteenth Street did not have any tables, only a counter with 15 stools Automat in Philadelphia in 1902, but their “Automat” at Broadway and 13th Street, in New York City, created a sensation. Numerous Automat restaurants were built around the country to deal with the demand. Automats An automat is a fast food restaurant where simple foods and drink are served by coin-operated and bill-operated vending machines remained extremely popular throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The company also popularized the notion of “take-out” food, with their slogan “Less work for Mother”. The American ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language company White Castle White Castle is an American regional fast-food hamburger chain. It is the first American hamburger fast food restaurant chain is generally credited with opening the second fast-food outlet in Wichita, Kansas Wichita is a city in and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2000 census its population was 344,284. The 2008 estimated population of 366,046 made it the 51st largest city in the country and the most populous city in Kansas. Wichita is located in south central Kansas on the Arkansas River in 1921, selling hamburgers for five cents from its inception and spawned numerous competitors. It is arguable because most historians and Secondary School textbooks state that A&W A&W Restaurants, Inc. is a chain of fast-food restaurants, distinguished by its draft root beer and root beer floats. A&W was arguably the first successful food franchise company, starting franchises in 1921. Today it has franchise locations throughout the world, serving a typical fast food menu of hamburgers and french fries, as well as was the first fast food restaurant, which opened in 1919.(E. Tavares)

The hamburger A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat, (usually beef, but occasionally pork, turkey, or a combination of meats) placed between two buns. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, bacon, tomato, onion, pickles, cheese and condiments such as mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup and relish. The hamburger has attained restaurant concept which is most associated with the term "fast food" was created by two brothers originally from Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, USA. As of the 2000 census, Nashua had a total population of 86,605, making it the second largest city in the state after Manchester (pop. 107,219). The estimated population of Nashua in 2007 was 87,150. Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened a barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (with abbreviations BBQ, Bar-B-Q and Bar-B-Que; and diminutive form barbie, used chiefly in Australia and New Zealand; and called Braai in South Africa) is a method and apparatus for cooking meat with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of charcoal, cooking gas, or even electricity; and may include drive-in A drive-in is a facility such as a bank, restaurant, or movie theater where one can literally drive in with an automobile for service. It is usually distinguished from a drive-through. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk out to take orders and return with food, encouraging in 1940 in the city of San Bernardino, California San Bernardino is a city located in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. One of the major cities of the Inland Empire, it is the 18th largest city in California, and the 101st largest city in the United States, with a population of 205,010 as of 2006. Though much of the housing stock is, on average, older than. After discovering that most of their profits came from hamburgers, the brothers closed their restaurant for three months and reopened it in 1948 as a walk-up stand offering a simple menu of hamburgers, french fries French fries , fries, or French-fried potatoes or, in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, chips are thin strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans often refer to any elongated pieces of fried potatoes as fries, while in other parts of the world, long slices of fried potatoes are sometimes called fries to contrast them with, shakes A milkshake is a sweet, cold beverage which is made from milk, ice cream or iced milk, and flavorings or sweeteners such as fruit syrup or chocolate sauce. Milkshakes are usually served in a tall glass with a straw, and whipped cream may be added as a topping. Several popular milkshake flavors include vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. In some, coffee Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. They are seeds of coffee cherries that grow on trees in over 70 countries. Green unroasted coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Due to its caffeine content, coffee can have a stimulating effect in humans, and Coca-Cola Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines internationally. The Coca-Cola Company claims that the beverage is sold in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke . Originally intended as a patent medicine when it was, served in disposable paper wrapping. As a result, they were able to produce hamburgers and fries constantly, without waiting for customer orders, and could serve them immediately; hamburgers cost 15 cents, about half the price at a typical diner A diner is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of North America, especially on Long Island, in New York City, in New Jersey, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, although examples can be found throughout the US and in Canada. Some people apply the term not only to the prefabricated structures, but also to. Their streamlined production method, which they named the "Speedee Service System" was influenced by the production line A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory whereby materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward consumption; or components are assembled to make a finished article innovations of Henry Ford Henry Ford an American industrialist, philanthropist, pacifist and antisemite, was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and widely considered a father of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. As owner of the Ford Motor Company, he became one.

By 1954, The McDonald brothers' stand was restaurant equipment manufacturer Prince Castle's biggest purchaser of milkshake blending machines. Prince Castle salesman Ray Kroc Raymond "Ray" Albert Kroc was a Czech American businessman who took over the (at the time) small-scale McDonald's Corporation franchise in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a $500 million fortune during his traveled to California to discover why the company had purchased almost a dozen of the units as opposed to the normal one or two found in most restaurants of the time. Enticed by the success of the McDonald's concept, Kroc signed a franchise agreement with the brothers and began opening McDonald's restaurants in Illinois.^[4] By 1961, Kroc had bought out the brothers and created what is now the modern McDonald's Corporation McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving more than 58 million customers daily. One of the major parts of his business plan was to promote cleanliness of his restaurants to growing groups of Americans that had become aware of food safety issues. As part of his commitment to cleanliness, Kroc often took part in cleaning his own Des Plaines, Illinois Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It has adopted the official nickname of "City of Destiny." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,720. It is a suburb of Chicago, and its next to O'Hare International Airport. The Des Plaines River runs through the city, just east of its downtown area outlet by hosing down the garbage cans and scraping gum off the cement. Another concept Kroc added was great swaths of glass which enabled the customer to view the food preparation, a practice still found in chains such as Krispy Kreme Krispy Kreme is a chain of doughnut stores. Its parent company is Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. , based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. A clean atmosphere was only part of Kroc's grander plan which separated McDonald's from the rest of the competition and attributes to their great success. Kroc envisioned making his restaurants appeal to suburban families.^[5]

At roughly the same time as Kroc was conceiving what eventually became McDonald's, two Miami The City of Miami is a major city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida, United States. Miami is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida. It is the principal city and the center of the South Florida metropolitan area, which had a 2008 population of 5,414,712; ranking 7th largest in the U.S.. The, Florida With an area of 65,758 square miles , it is ranked 22nd in size among the 50 U.S. states. Florida has the longest coastline in the Contiguous United States encompassing approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km). The state has four large urban areas, a number of smaller industrial cities, and many small towns businessmen, James McLamore and David Edgerton, founded a small take-out shop in the northern section of their home city they named Insta Burger King. Inspired by a visit to the same San Bernardino McDonald's restaurant, they came to the same conclusion about the business structure as Kroc. Utilizing the same assembly line concept, but instead of fried burgers, they used an automated broiling unit invented by McLamore. Roughly a year later they dropped the "Insta" from the name and became Burger King Burger King , often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began as a franchise restaurant chain, based in Jacksonville, Florida in 1953, named Insta-Burger King, and operated by Kieth J. Kramer and Matthew Burns. After the.

While fast food restaurants usually have a seating area in which customers can eat the food on the premises, orders are designed to be taken away Take-out or takeout , carry-out (in U.S. and Scottish English), take-away (in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong and Ireland), parcel (in Pakistani English), or tapau (in Malaysian English and Singlish - from the Chinese "package it" 打包 da-bao), is food purchased at a restaurant for the purpose of being eaten, and traditional table service is rare. Orders are generally taken and paid for at a wide counter, with the customer waiting by the counter for a tray or container for their food. A "drive-through A drive-through, or drive-thru, is a type of service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was first pioneered in the United States in the 1930s but has since spread to other countries" service can allow customers to order and pick up food from their cars.

Nearly from its inception, fast food has been designed to be eaten "on the go" and often does not require traditional cutlery Cutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. It is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where cutlery can have the more specific meaning of knives and other cutting instruments. This is probably the original meaning of the word. Since silverware and is eaten as a finger food. Common menu items at fast food outlets include fish and chips Fish and chips is a popular take-away food that originated in the United Kingdom in 1858 or 1863. It consists of deep-fried fish (traditionally cod, haddock or plaice) in batter or breadcrumbs with deep-fried chipped (slab-cut) potatoes, sandwiches A sandwich is a food item, often consisting of two or more slices of bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or picnics to be eaten as part of a packed lunch. They, pitas Pita or pitta is a round pocket bread widely consumed in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. It is prevalent from North Africa through the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. The "pocket" in pita bread is created by steam, which puffs up the dough. As the bread cools and flattens, a pocket is left in the middle, hamburgers A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat, (usually beef, but occasionally pork, turkey, or a combination of meats) placed between two buns. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, bacon, tomato, onion, pickles, cheese and condiments such as mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup and relish. The hamburger has attained, fried chicken Fried chicken is chicken pieces usually from broiler chickens which have been floured or battered and then pan fried, deep fried, or pressure fried. The breading adds a crispy coating or crust to the exterior. What separates fried chicken from other fried forms of chicken is that generally the chicken is cut at the joints and the bones and skin, french fries French fries , fries, or French-fried potatoes or, in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, chips are thin strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans often refer to any elongated pieces of fried potatoes as fries, while in other parts of the world, long slices of fried potatoes are sometimes called fries to contrast them with, chicken nuggets, tacos, pizza, and ice cream, although many fast food restaurants offer "slower" foods like chili, mashed potatoes, and salads.

Cuisine

Old commercial fast food is highly processed and prepared on a large scale from bulk ingredients using standardized cooking and production methods and equipment. It is usually rapidly served in cartons or bags or in a plastic wrapping, in a fashion which reduces operating costs by allowing rapid product identification and counting, promoting longer holding time, avoiding transfer of bacteria, and facilitating order fulfillment. In most fast food operations, menu items are generally made from processed ingredients prepared at a central supply facilities and then shipped to individual outlets where they are cooked (usually by grill, microwave, or deep-frying) or assembled in a short amount of time either in anticipation of upcoming orders (i.e., "to stock") or in response to actual orders (i.e., "to order"). Following standard operating procedures, pre-cooked products are monitored for freshness and disposed of if holding times become excessive. This process ensures a consistent level of product quality, and is key to delivering the order quickly to the customer and avoiding labor and equipment costs in the individual stores.

Because of commercial emphasis on taste, speed, product safety, uniformity, and low cost, fast food products are made with ingredients formulated to achieve an identifiable flavor, aroma, texture, and "mouth feel" and to preserve freshness and control handling costs during preparation and order fulfillment. This requires a high degree of food engineering. The use of additives, including salt, sugar, flavorings and preservatives, and processing techniques may limit the nutritional value of the final product.

Value meals

A value meal is a group of menu items offered together at a lower price than they would cost individually. They are common at fast food restaurants. Value meals are a common merchandising tactic to facilitate bundling, up-selling, and price discrimination. Most of the time they can be upgraded to a larger size of fries and drink for a small fee. The perceived creation of a "discount" on individual menu items in exchange for the purchase of a "meal" is also consistent with the loyalty marketing school of thought.^[6]

Technology

In order to make speedy service possible and to ensure accuracy and security, many fast food restaurants have incorporated hospitality point of sale systems. This makes it possible for kitchen crew people to view orders placed at the front counter or drive through in real time. Wireless systems allow orders placed at drive through speakers to be taken by cashiers and cooks. Drive through and walk through configurations will allow orders to be taken at one register and paid at another. Modern point of sale systems can operate on computer networks using a variety of software programs. Sales records can be generated and remote access to computer reports can be given to corporate offices, managers, troubleshooters, and other authorized personnel.

Food service chains partner with food equipment manufacturers to design highly specialized restaurant equipment, often incorporating heat sensors, timers, and other electronic controls into the design. Collaborative design techniques, such as rapid visualization and parametric modeling of restaurant kitchens are now being used to establish equipment specifications that are consistent with restaurant operating and merchandising requirements.^[7]

Business

Consumer spending

In the United States alone, consumers spent about $110 billion on fast food in 2000 (which increased from $6 billion in 1970).^[8] The National Restaurant Association forecasts that fast food restaurants in the U.S. will reach $142 billion in sales in 2006, a 5% increase over 2005. In comparison, the full-service restaurant segment of the food industry is expected to generate $173 billion in sales. Fast food has been losing market share to so-called fast casual restaurants, which offer more robust and expensive cuisines.

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