food trucks<\/a>, food halls, ghost kitchens, pop-ups and whatever else some entrepreneur dreams up. <\/p>\nHere\u2019s a glance at some spokes, all of which are affected by consumer preferences in your market and financial considerations in your business model.<\/p>\n
LSRs and FSRs<\/h3>\n
Limited-service (LSR) and full-service restaurants (FSR) remain relevant, but they\u2019re evolving\u2014think Cracker Barrel and their Holler & Dash stores, which have been described as \u201cCracker Barrel for millennials.\u201d Other operators are combining LSR and FSR operations in the same store, one during the day and one at night, or on different days. <\/p>\n
Food trucks<\/h3>\n
Food trucks allow operators to grow sales and\/or test new markets. Trucks allow menu and location flexibility. But cultivating regular customers is harder and there are equipment, maintenance, insurance and permit considerations.<\/p>\n
Food halls<\/h3>\n
A food hall is a collection of counters at one location, offering a range of cuisines in a food-court setting. They\u2019re a big-city thing right now, driven in part by high rents. Sharing the cost of space with other operators can significantly reduce expenses. <\/p>\n
Ghost kitchens<\/h3>\n
A ghost kitchen is configured for delivery only. There is only a back of house. Customers place orders digitally, typically through a third-party delivery service, and the food is transported to them. Startup and maintenance costs are relatively low and chef independence is high\u2013but lack of visibility may hinder the ability to create a strong brand.<\/p>\n
Pop-ups<\/h3>\n
These restaurants \u201cpop up\u201d from nowhere, often at an unusual venue or in a private residence. They don\u2019t require a long-term investment. They let chefs innovate and experiment, and their novelty can command premium prices from diners. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Operators have more options for building a business than ever before. The restaurant business once was clear and direct. You opened an eatery, offered great food and service, and used your success to expand. That still works, but it\u2019s not the only way to grow. Think of restaurant evolution like a wheel with spokes, where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":26845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,68,112,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catering-small-business","category-culinary-ideas","category-restaurant-bars","category-running-your-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
The Spokes Model of Restaurant Evolution | Gordon Food Service<\/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:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Spokes Model of Restaurant Evolution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Operators have more options for building a business than ever before. The restaurant business once was clear and direct. You opened an eatery, offered great food and service, and used your success to expand. That still works, but it\u2019s not the only way to grow. Think of restaurant evolution like a wheel with spokes, where […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gordon Food Service\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-06T17:09:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-01T15:17:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Spokes-Model-image_0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"760\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cody Rivers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cody.rivers@gfs.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GFSDelivers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cody Rivers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Spokes Model of Restaurant Evolution | Gordon Food Service","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Spokes Model of Restaurant Evolution","og_description":"Operators have more options for building a business than ever before. The restaurant business once was clear and direct. You opened an eatery, offered great food and service, and used your success to expand. That still works, but it\u2019s not the only way to grow. Think of restaurant evolution like a wheel with spokes, where […]","og_url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/","og_site_name":"Gordon Food Service","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/","article_published_time":"2019-09-06T17:09:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-01T15:17:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":760,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Spokes-Model-image_0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cody Rivers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cody.rivers@gfs.com","twitter_site":"@GFSDelivers","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cody Rivers","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/"},"author":{"name":"Cody Rivers","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ac2dd585b10d08ce15daca230d897374"},"headline":"The Spokes Model of Restaurant Evolution","datePublished":"2019-09-06T17:09:19+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-01T15:17:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/"},"wordCount":364,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Spokes-Model-image_0.jpg","articleSection":["Catering & Small Business","Culinary Ideas","Restaurant & Bars","Running Your Business"],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":["WebPage","CollectionPage"],"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/","name":"The Spokes Model of Restaurant Evolution | Gordon Food Service","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Spokes-Model-image_0.jpg","datePublished":"2019-09-06T17:09:19+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-01T15:17:52+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Spokes-Model-image_0.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Spokes-Model-image_0.jpg","width":760,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/the-spokes-model-of-restaurant-evolution\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Spokes Model of Restaurant Evolution"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/","name":"Gordon Food Service","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#organization","name":"Gordon Food Service","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GFS-EN-Logo-og-image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GFS-EN-Logo-og-image.png","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Gordon Food Service"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/","https:\/\/x.com\/GFSDelivers","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gordonfoodservice\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/gordon-food-service\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ac2dd585b10d08ce15daca230d897374","name":"Cody Rivers","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9b81a7281ffd8fc2d52ce39faf1be6f131db67bdc3ed5914928324e202f21f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9b81a7281ffd8fc2d52ce39faf1be6f131db67bdc3ed5914928324e202f21f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Cody Rivers"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/cody.rivers@gfs.com"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25542"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38591,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25542\/revisions\/38591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}