For decades, industry titans have cornered the fast food market.
In recent years, new fast food chains have emerged to break the mold — but they haven't
all hit the mark.
Whether it's because of silly gimmicks or unoriginal concepts, here's a list of new
fast food chains that are doomed to fail.
Pie Five Pizza exploded onto the scene in 2011, rapidly expanding to over 100 locations
across the south thanks to their guarantee of a customized pizza in just five minutes.
Unfortunately, though, the chain has been in economic freefall since 2014.
The chain closed 18 locations in 2017, and in 2018 they reported a year-over-year sales
decline of more than 18 percent.
Yikes!
David Chang, most well-known as the creator of Momofuku Noodle Bar, decided to put his
stamp on chicken sandwiches with Fuku.
With just four dedicated locations, the upscale chain is starting small, but it has an uphill
battle thanks to the ubiquitous presence of Chick-fil-A, whose sandwiches cost less than
half what Fuku charges.
That doesn't seem like a recipe for success.
Another chain with a limited footprint is Pure Green, which offers upscale juices to
people in New York City.
And by upscale, we mean expensive.
While the chain has managed to do okay so far thanks to clever locations near gyms and
yoga studios, simple economics suggests that they may face trouble in the future.
With an average smoothie coming in around $9.50, Pure Green is probably too upscale
to thrive outside of expensive areas like Manhattan.
But that cost of living means that Pure Green locations needs to sell a ton of juice in
order to afford rent.
It's a tough balance — and it may not be sustainable.
The main issue for Beefsteak is that it doesn't have a clearly identifiable niche.
It's a lot like Chipotle, only without the Mexican flavor.
The chain's tagline is "Vegetables, unleashed," which frankly sounds... terrifying.
“Tomato!"
But even if you aren't afraid of your veggies, most people who want to eat a salad or veggie
bowl are likely to hit up the more well established Sweetgreen.
Unless Beefsteak can show why it should exist, it may not exist for much longer.
There are over 75,000 pizzerias in the United States alone, but this chain is definitely
the most ampersand-forward.
And that's actually a problem.
We know what you're thinking:
"What the f--- does that have to do with pizza?"
"I don't know."
But it's an issue because many potential customers seem confused about how to even say the chain's
name.
Is it… &pizza?
&pizza?
&pizza?!
&pizza is trying to carve a niche out for themselves with a modern vibe and artsy social
media offerings.
But with a name that implies pizza is just an afterthought, an afterthought just may
be what this chain becomes.
Pinstripes has one of the strangest gimmicks around, as it combines bistro dining with
a bowling alley.
And some bocce courts, because what hungry person doesn't love bocce?
The combination is weird enough to make your head spin.
It's like a Chuck-E-Cheese for adults, which sounds great on paper, but seems a little
weird for anything other than birthday parties or company outings.
Can those things keep this chain afloat?
We'll see.
Like Beefsteak, the main problem facing the build-your-own salad chain Mixt is that the
dining industry already has two other well-established chains in the same space: Sweetgreen and Chopt.
Unless Mixt finds some way to stand out from the pack, it's going to be difficult to gain
traction in an oversaturated market.
Finally, there's Thirsty Lion, which straddles the line between fine dining and fast food,
and risks being neither.
A so-called "gastropub" with locations in the southwest and pacific northwest, Thirsty
Lion is more like a watered down, classic pub, with stuff like fries, burgers and beer
on the menu rather than the high end offerings the term "gastropub" implies.
As we've seen, branding is important when it comes to defining expectations for potential
diners — and if Thirsty Lion doesn't meet those expectations, they could be forced to
gastro-close.
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