Fast Casual opens nominations for its 2027 'Brands to Watch' report — nominations due Oct. 5, 2026

What this call for nominations is about Fast Casual is accepting nominations for its 2027 Brands to Watch special report. The goal is to surface fast-casual restaurants that look poised for a breakout year — whether through culinary creativity, rapid scaling, or technology that changes how customers order, pay, and eat.

Cherryh Cansler, Publisher of FastCasual.com and Vice President of Connect Food, is leading the effort. She has covered the restaurant industry since 2012 and is inviting brands to tell their stories directly to the editorial team.

The report focuses on rising concepts but leaves room for notable exceptions:

• Newer concepts: Priority goes to restaurants launched within the last seven years that haven't been featured in this report before.
• Recent, significant changes: Established brands can qualify if they launched something genuinely new in the past 12 months — examples cited include a full brand pivot, a major technology rollout, or a new franchise model.

Submit your brand's nomination through Fast Casual's site before the Oct. 5, 2026 deadline. The publisher asks that brands tell their story directly, explaining what makes the concept likely to break out in the coming year.

This marks the eighth year of the Brands to Watch report. Fast Casual runs several related programs and special reports that highlight emerging brands and industry leaders, including previous initiatives like Frontrunners and annual Movers & Shakers lists. Those pieces illustrate the publication's ongoing effort to identify and promote fast-casual concepts that could shape the category. Why this matters to operators and investors Being named a Brand to Watch provides exposure to Fast Casual's audience of operators, suppliers, and investors. For founders and leadership teams, a focused nomination — clearly explaining recent innovations or growth plans — increases the chance a brand will be seen and judged on its merits.

Give a concise, factual account of what separates your concept: launch date, unit count, recent product or operational changes, technology rollouts, franchise plans, and measurable results where available. If your brand has been around longer but executed a significant change in the past year, document that change and its early outcomes.

Nominations close Oct. 5, 2026. After submissions, judges will review entries and Fast Casual will publish the Brands to Watch in 2027. Brands that want to participate should prepare a direct submission through the Fast Casual site immediately.