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Nation’s Restaurant News announces the 2021 Hot ConceptsNation’s Restaurant News announces the 2021 Hot Concepts

Meet 5 restaurant brands we’re betting will become household names

NRN staff

September 21, 2021

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What makes a restaurant concept hot? Is it the pace of growth? Or is it the uniqueness of the menu? Maybe it’s the potential for massive expansion, or the appeal to the younger generations?

Or is it just the temperature of the menu?

For this year’s Hot Concepts, the answer is yes. From brands with incredible white space ahead of them to those with menus not seen anywhere else — and, yes, even one with a heat-friendly food lineup — the five winners span a wide variety of categories, formats and strategies. But they all share one very important characteristic.

They’re hungry for more.

Read on to meet this year’s Hot Concepts, which have weathered the pandemic and are on the cusp of even greater things ahead. And come back next month for video interviews with the brands’ leaders.

Plus, join us at CREATE: The Future of Foodservice in Denver, Oct. 4-6, to hear from some of the leaders behind these Hot Concepts.

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