An Inside Look Into Fast Food Restaurants.
- Malika Vaidya
- Jan 1, 2022
- 4 min read
We have all flocked to a burger or fried chicken joint for a quick meal fix. Or simply to satisfy our cravings. What attracts us to these restaurants? Is it food? Interior design? Or the brand itself? These fast-food restaurants are called quick-service restaurants (QSR) in industrial parlance. Franchises like McDonald, Burger King, KFC and Taco Bell fall into this category. And as the name suggests, the concept of these restaurants is to provide quick, efficient and consistent service to the consumer at a reasonable price. So, let us take a look at what makes these restaurant formats oh so successful.
The two important factors driving the narrative for restaurant design are the concept and the story behind it. The design narrative is morphed into a brand identity for fast-food restaurants and large franchises such as KFC and McDonald. And this brand identity becomes the foci around which the restaurant is designed.
The 1930s saw the concept of fast food spread among the masses in the USA. Many drive-in restaurants cropped up, with the menu revolving around barbeque beef, pork and chicken. And in this scenario, two brothers, Maurice and Richard McDonald started their own fast-food restaurant. The business soon attracted a lot of teenagers and continued to grow rapidly. But soon after WWII, the brothers realised that they were not making enough profits. They realised that they were selling too many items similar to every other competitor. So, they decided to strip down their menu to the ones that brought in most of the revenue – hamburger and fries. They also noticed that the customers expected quicker service that was not provided by any of the competitors. Hence, they stripped down their menu and incorporated the lean manufacturing process (assembly line process) similar to the automobile industry. These machines drastically reduced the time and brought down the inventory and labour costs.
THE KITCHEN
The kitchen in a fast-food restaurant has to be as efficient as possible. When the aim is to provide quick and fast delivery, the kitchen assembly line needs to be efficiently designed. The kitchen should have an efficient flow and should use every inch to its full potential. Much of maintaining efficiency means recognising what equipment are needed daily by the staff and preventing unnecessary clutter. McDonald’s was able to achieve this, which drastically increased the volume of its sales. This further helped them sell quality hamburgers cheaper than other competitors.
LAYOUT AND CIRCULATION
The layout and circulation of any restaurant play an important role in increasing consumer as well as staff satisfaction. A clear and efficient layout makes it easier for the staff to navigate and provide service. It also makes the customer more comfortable. The dining area forms the core of the dining experience. While a fine-dining restaurant focuses on ample space between tables as dining takes place at a leisure pace, a QSR focuses on increasing the number of tables for a quick and higher turnover. Moreover, the focus is more on delivery and takeout compared to dining in the restaurant. Hence, the tables in a fast-food chain, like KFC and subway, are tightly packed with not so ergonomic chairs.
AMBIENCE
The ambience of a fast-food restaurant is highly functional as the menus are limited and food is available as takeout, though seating is provided. This means that there is lots of plastic seating and tabletops, fluorescent lighting and branded graphics. The bright lighting at fast-food restaurants is used to overstimulate guests, which creates a tendency to eat much more than intended. Hence, say during the lunch hour, the bright lighting helps increase customer turnover and facilitates traffic. A softer and dimmer ambience tends to relax the customer and asks them to linger longer. Sometimes QSR employs this method too. This can be seen in the restaurant interior design between Starbucks and McDonald’s. Though the two chains serve a similar demographic, the lighting reflects a different intent for each. McDonald’s is brightly lit to stimulate and facilitate turnover, while Starbucks encourages one to linger over coffee and pastry.
BRAND IDENTITY
The brand identity for a fast-food restaurant is of great importance apart from its overall layout and ambience. It adds value to a brand and makes it recognisable in any part of the world. A logo helps cement the brand identity. The golden arches of McDonald’s are instantly recognisable from miles away, no matter where you live. When you think of a burger or fries, it instantly reminds you of McDonald’s. This is the power of a logo, where choosing the right colours and design plays an important role in brand positioning.
The fast-food universe is a study in itself. Millions of people all over the globe walk into these restaurants, place their orders and walk away with exact copies of the same dish assembled in the blink of an eye. But this very effective format has saturated the market with its look-alikes. Hence, there is a growing trend to upscale fast food where healthier food in appropriate portions and localised ambience is provided to the consumers. In the past, designers tried to optimise the restaurant operations by focusing on the kitchen and counter. Now, they are working on the floor by creating spaces for people to do their own ordering, adding pick up areas for on-demand food delivery, facilitating table service and providing pre-ordered food to customers waiting in the parking lot. The brand colours are slowly being replaced or subdued with a focus on multiple seating options and softer furnishing. And fast-food chains like McDonald’s are jumping on the wagon.
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