The nation’s latest restaurant brand fad is one that features side dishes as the main course. This appears to be the next wave of the “snack” trend, following on the footsteps of the upscale coffees/tea/dessert/boba craze.
As customers seek quick, convenient, bites to eat at cheaper price points, they are consequently gravitating to “side dish” restaurant brands that focus on such meals as macaroni and cheese, french fries, taquitos, wings or salads.
Today’s savvy millennial and Gen Z consumer still expects to have creative flourishes in their food, so some of these new side dish restaurant concepts have incorporated the “assembly line” customization ordering add-ons that today’s discerning food customer expects, including protein additions or exotic vegetables. This idea of promoting the basic, American comfort food side dish to an entrée status has materialized into a full-blown phenomenon, with many new restaurant brands in this category on the precipice of massive national expansion.
Because this trend especially appeals to the Gen Z/millennial, look for new brands in this category to pop up where the demographic congregates, especially near universities and in ground-level units in metro mixed-use buildings with strong foot traffic, whether office or residential. Younger children are also attracted to the novelty of eating comfort food side dishes as well, so expect more of these brands to appear in family-friendly power centers in suburban neighborhoods.
Overall, this food category can take up all manners of retail space, including strip mall, standalone pads and urban street-front units, even those off Main and Main. Popular co-tenants in this category include convenience stores, bars and dessert brands.
For more information on the particular food tenants in this category that are currently in expansion mode, and to find their real estate development contact information, be sure to subscribe for a free trial to our Crittenden Retail Tenants Report newsletter.
