Fast-Casual Diner Chain Is Hungry For Expansion

Hartford Business:

After 22 years of slow growth, a chain of ’50s-style themed restaurants has developed an appetite for expansion. The Massachusetts-based 5 & Diner is seeking a local franchisee to open a store in the Greater Hartford region in 2012 and establish a foothold in the market.

The fast-casual chain, which started in 1989 as a one-concept eatery in Arizona, has 12 locations in five states, down from 15 units in 2007.

The 5 & Diner restaurant chain features jukeboxes with music from the by-gone era, soda fountains, hula hoop contests and hostesses in poodle skirts who serve hamburgers, sandwiches, fries, flavored sodas and shakes. Read more.