Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers Awards Ceremony

Does your brand have what it takes to make the 2020 Fast Casual Top 100?

Nominations for the Top 100 and the Excellence in Food Safety awards close Jan. 17.

Doug Sutton, president of Steritech; Andy Raabe, CFO of Wow Bao; Geoff Alexander, president of Wow Bao; and Cherryh Cansler, VP of Editorial, Networld Media Group, celebrate Wow Bao's win last year at the Top 100 gala.

December 11, 2019

FastCasual is taking nominations for its 2020 list of Top 100 Movers & Shakers, which honors the brands and executives leading the fast casual restaurant industry.

"Our annual list recognizes brands with major growth and sales accomplishments but also honors trendsetters and brands that incorporate technology to enhance the customer experience," said Cherryh Cansler, VP of editorial, Networld Media Group, the parent company of FastCasual. "It's never a cut-and-dry list of who has grown the most or has made the most money. Those things are obviously important, but judges also look at leadership, innovation and how brands are helping their communities to determine the top brands."

How it works
Brands will nominate themselves by answering questions about their businesses in order to help judges narrow down the list. The second set of questions will ask people to nominate the executives they believe best represent the industry. People may nominate themselves or their colleagues.

"The more information the judges have, the better, so I recommend that brands answer the questions thoroughly," Cansler said.

Out of the nominations, judges will choose 75 brands and 25 industry executives to round out the Top 100.

As in past years, the results will be revealed at an annual awards gala in May in Chicago coinciding with the National Restaurant Association show.

Nominate your brand here. Entries will be accepted until midnight Eastern time on Jan 17. There is no fee to enter.

Excellence in Food Safety
For the second year in a row, FastCasual has partnered with Steritech, a provider in third-party food safety assessments for the restaurant industry, to recognize up to three three fast casual brands that have shown excellence in food safety.

Much like the Fast Casual Top 100 process, brands must submit nominations about their efforts in food safety. FastCasual and Steritech will then use a marketing consultancy and research firm to conduct an independent assessment of the nominations and determine a select group of semi-finalists based on these criteria for food safety excellence:

1. Senior Leadership Commitment and Engagement.
2. Food Safety Communications.
3. Defined Standards & Procedures.
4. Training.
5. KPIs / Scorecard.
6. Oversight Program.
7. Positive Recognition.

Nominate your brand for that award here. The winners will be revealed during the Top 100 gala. Five Guys won top honors last year with honorable mentions going to Vitality Bowls and Chicken Salad Chick.