Operations
Sam Stanovich of Craveworthy Brands, Blake Johnson, CMO of CEC Entertainment (parent company of Chuck E. Cheese), and Mark Brezinski, widely known as the godfather of the Dallas fast casual scene, brek down AI, experience-first design and the real drivers of perceived value.
Fast Casual Pulisher Cherryh Cansler, Sam Stanovich of Craveworthy Brands, Blake Johnson, CMO of CEC Entertainment (parent company of Chuck E. Cheese), and Mark Brezinski, known as the Godfather of the Dalas Fast Casual scene discuss the industry’s future.
July 14, 2026
Fast casual isn’t slowing down — it’s leveling up. That was the clear message from “The State of the Industry: Fast Casual,” a panel I had the pleasure of moderating Monday at the Texas Restaurant Show in San Antonio.
Joining me were Sam Stanovich of Craveworthy Brands, Blake Johnson, CMO of CEC Entertainment (parent company of Chuck E. Cheese), and Mark Brezinski, widely known as the godfather of the Dallas fast casual scene. Brezinski helped create Velvet Taco, Saucy and Pei Wei, is an author, and is currently developing a new Italian fast casual concept.
Here’s what stood out from our conversation.
Fast casual don’t need to worry
Recent headlines have pointed to casual dining regaining ground —Chili’s Pick 3 platform has been widely credited with driving traffic back to Brinker’s flagship brand, and just this week Olive Garden announced the return of its cult-favorite Never-Ending Pasta Pass for the first time since 2019. Headlines like these raise a fair question: Is fast casual still the growth engine it once was?
The panel wasn’t concerned.
If anything, Brezinski argued, moves like Pick 3 and Never-Ending Pasta prove the opposite point — casual dining is fighting for value on fast casual’s home turf, not the other way around. Fast casual will always have an edge because the food is elevated, yet still more affordable than casual dining — and there’s no tipping involved. The group agreed that the category’s strength has never been about price alone. It’s about perceived value. Winning isn’t about discounting; it’s about making customers feel like they got their money’s worth.
AI is already reshaping decision-making
AI adoption came up quickly, and it’s already practical, not theoretical. Stanovich shared how he uses AI in the site selection process. Instead of physically visiting 18 potential locations, he feeds his criteria into Claude, which narrows the list down to a handful of sites worth an in-person visit.
Both Stanovich and Johnson said they also lean on AI to track menu trends and inform limited-time offer decisions, cutting down the guesswork that used to go into those calls.
Experience is the new battleground
If there was one theme that tied the panel together, it was experience.
Chuck E. Cheese has long been known as an experiential brand, but Johnson said the company is pushing further, adding active play zones designed to compete directly with trampoline parks and adventure retail concepts — and notably, one that adults can enjoy too, not just kids.
Stanovich pointed to smaller gestures that make a big difference: if a line starts to form, hand out free samples. Brezinski shared that some fast casual brands are bringing food to the table and offering drink refills, blurring the line between fast casual and full service. He’s also experimenting with lighting in his new concept, exploring how a shift in ambiance could make a restaurant feel different at lunch versus dinner.
A key point from Stanovich: technology should be used to increase hospitality, not replace it. A kiosk doesn’t eliminate the need for staff — it frees up that employee to refill drinks or help a guest navigate the ordering process instead.
Despite headlines about Chili’s Pick 3 and Olive Garden’s Pasta Pass suggesting casual dining is clawing back share, the panelists made clear that fast casual’s momentum isn’t slowing — if anything, those moves are evidence that casual dining is chasing fast casual’s playbook on value, not the other way around. Between AI-driven efficiency, more elevated hospitality and experience-first thinking, the category is adapting in ways that keep it ahead of both quick service and casual dining.
