{"id":1541,"date":"2026-06-16T16:11:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T16:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1541"},"modified":"2026-06-16T16:11:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T16:11:01","slug":"gen-z-calls-it-slop-but-theyre-fast-casuals-most-loyal-and-demanding-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1541","title":{"rendered":"Gen Z calls it \u2018slop\u2019\u2014but they\u2019re fast casual\u2019s most loyal (and demanding) customers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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To explore whether Americans and Gen Zers in particular have truly fallen out of love with fast casual, SmartSense by Digi surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults about their dining preferences, concerns and behaviors, as well as the roles the economy and food safety play in dining out decisions, especially within the fast casual space.<\/p>\n

Read more Infant mortality in the U.S. fell to an all-time low in 2025 thanks to antibody shots and RSV vaccines<\/a><\/p>\n

The findings were clear: Gen Z still loves fast casual.\u00a0The \u201cslop bowl\u201d meme, it turns out, is more term of endearment than indictment.\u00a0At the same time, Gen Z consumers hold fast casual brands to high standards, particularly around food safety, value and consistency during a difficult economic climate.<\/p>\n

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Fast Casual Proves Resilient in a Tough Economy<\/h2>\n

SmartSense found that 66% of American adults say their dining-out budgets have tightened over the past year.\u00a0Counterintuitively,\u00a0Gen Z adults (ages 18\u201329) are slightly less likely than average to say this (63%), even though they\u2019re more likely than any other generation to report that their financial situation has worsened compared to a year ago (67% versus 59% of U.S. adults overall).<\/p>\n

The apparent contradiction resolves quickly on closer inspection.\u00a0Despite widespread economic pressure, fast casual remains more resilient than traditional sit-down dining thanks to Gen Z diners. Nearly three-quarters (71%) of Americans say they are more likely to choose fast casual over sit-down restaurants when money is tight, a trend reinforced by strong earnings from Cava and Chipotle. Nearly half of Gen Z respondents (49%) go even further to say they would increase spending overall at fast casual restaurants when money is tight, the highest of any generation and far above the national average of 31%.<\/p>\n

Though the most practical assumption might be that young consumers would cut restaurants out altogether, what\u2019s actually happening is that they\u2019re becoming more strategic about where they spend. Part of this behavior is lifestyle-driven. While most Gen Zers are adults, fewer are married, as the median age at first marriage nears 30 (roughly five years older than it was when many of their parents married in the early 1990s). As a result, many young Americans are cooking and dining for one, and stretching a fast casual bowl across two or three meals is far more frugal and convenient than buying groceries to prepare a single homemade meal, especially as grocery prices continue to rise.<\/p>\n

Mixed Bowls Stir Up Mixed Feelings<\/h2>\n

Despite growing online jokes about \u201cslop bowls\u201d and exaggerated headlines, outright disillusionment with these customizable meals remains relatively limited. Just 15% of Gen Z cite low variety or poor quality as a source of fatigue, suggesting the \u201cslop\u201d label simply does not resonate with most young consumers. Additionally, Gen Z stands out for how frequently they visit fast casual restaurants and how much they spend on dining overall. They are more likely than any other generation to eat fast casual three times a week or more (25%) and to spend between $300 and $500+ per month on dining and takeout for their household (34%).<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s clear Gen Zers are fast casual\u2019s biggest fans. But they\u2019re also the sector\u2019s biggest critics. Their skepticism centers on concerns that many fast casual restaurants are not run efficiently and do not prioritize food safety as much as they should.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018It\u2019s on us\u2019: Luigi Mangione\u2019s hearing delayed after DA failed to request him from jail<\/a><\/p>\n

Gen Z Emerges as Food Safety\u2019s Strongest Advocate<\/h2>\n

More than two-thirds of Gen Z respondents (68%) believe fast casual restaurants are more likely to cut corners on food safety than full-service restaurants, tied with Millennials for the highest of any generation and well above the 60% national average. Gen Z is more likely than any other generation to see fast-casual restaurants as especially susceptible to food recalls, with 61% expressing that concern, compared with 37% of Boomers.<\/p>\n

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How well a restaurant operates also matters deeply to Gen Z. They are the most likely generation to associate visible staffing shortages with poor management (61%) and to report a recent\u00a0dining experience disrupted\u00a0due to staffing shortages (55%). Similarly, 89% of Gen Z say the restaurant\u2019s cleanliness, and 75% say the restroom\u2019s cleanliness, influences their perception of restaurant food safety. Their perspective may sound critical, but as the generation that grew up with access to social media and delivery apps, they\u2019re likely to be privy to food recalls as soon as the news hits and conditioned to expect speed and convenience\u00a0as baseline requirements.<\/p>\n

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Gen Z\u2019s critical approach hurts restaurant brand loyalty and revenue. Sixty-six percent (66%) of Gen Zers say they\u2019ll avoid a restaurant forever after learning about a food safety violation, and nearly half (47%) say a dramatically inconsistent experience across restaurant locations would also prompt them to never return.<\/p>\n

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A Call to Action Before LA28<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a looming deadline for restaurant operators, and Gen Z\u2019s criticism and actionable input may just help them meet it. The U.S. will welcome a surge of visitors from around the world for LA28\u00a0in 2028,\u00a0with four million tickets already sold. With more tourism comes more business for restaurants. To handle the scale, they may need to source food from new suppliers and hire temporary staff who aren\u2019t fully in the loop on best practices. This creates new challenges, both operationally and from a food safety perspective, and could prove to be a critical moment for the U.S. culinary scene.<\/p>\n

Fortunately,\u00a0the opportunity for brands is clear: consumers increasingly reward restaurants that visibly demonstrate food safety and operational discipline. The study finds Americans, including Gen Z, are more likely to dine at restaurants that publicize their use of technology to prioritize cleanliness and enforce food safety standards at every location through centralized oversight. There are fast casual brands out there that provide great blueprints for what this looks like in practice; other restaurant operators just need to take notes to overcome the slop reputation for good.<\/p>\n

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of <\/em>Fortune.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Tariffs are only generating 25% of the revenue needed to pay interest on national debt\u2014despite pitch that it would be a silver bullet<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new survey finds Gen Z eats fast casual more than any other generation\u2014and holds it to higher food safety standards than anyone else.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gen-z"],"yoast_head":"\nGen Z calls it \u2018slop\u2019\u2014but they\u2019re fast casual\u2019s most loyal (and demanding) customers - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1541\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gen Z calls it \u2018slop\u2019\u2014but they\u2019re fast casual\u2019s most loyal (and demanding) customers - 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