What will fast-casual dining look like in a post-pandemic world? This is a question restauranteurs, chefs and patrons are asking themselves as the world begins to slowly open back up.

One such idea offers both a smaller and safer physical footprint. Tiny restaurants. Sometimes made out of shipping containers or smaller brick-and-mortar buildings that primarily house just a kitchen with limited or no interior public space, usually with alfresco seating.

Repurposed shipping containers effectively function as affordable and mobile eateries. SFJones Architects has been lucky to put this concept to the test, both with the beer garden located at the Fields LA (home of the LA Football club), and Pavilions at Veranda in Concord, CA, where tiny brick and mortar structures and a common seating area offer a refreshing outdoor twist on the traditional mall food court.

Watch the LAFC Stadium Beer Garden Installation.

Containers are manufactured in a factory, streamlining the approval process and the ability to create a fleet of units more efficiently and cost effectively. The shipping containers act as a module that can be arranged as site conditions dictate. Containers allow the ease of mobility and flexibility for not only new restaurant owners, developers, but also 3rd party delivery drivers with easy accessibility. With our concept (located in the deck below), it also acts as a destination for hungry patrons who want a fast-casual experience.

Not only that, but the investment into an outlet that has the ability to be moved to another location changes the way that a restauranteur evaluates their investment costs, since they are creating an asset rather than investing into a build out to a landlord’s space. Resale of a unit offers opportunities to recapture investment costs if necessary or moved to a different location.

Mobil units also offer established food outlets to expand their brand or to provide pop up locations to test markets or to provide seasonal operations as well as running as ghost kitchens to service to-go and delivery options for mobile apps.

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