Chick-fil-A Opening in the Bay Area? (San Diego, San Jose: home, live in, store)

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by EdJS

There are plenty of McDonald's in the Bay Area. Also Burger King, Wendy's, etc.

No there aren't really. Plenty is what SoCal has. Fast food is everywhere there.

[sav858]

Outside of SF, Berkeley, and parts of Oak there is a prevalence of fast food as much as most other places IMO.

[04kL4nD]

Not as many as Starbucks or Trader Joes...

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by sav858

Outside of SF, Berkeley, and parts of Oak there is a prevalence of fast food as much as most other places IMO.

I don't think in the inner bay area that fast food prevalence is that high (compared to the rest of the nation, that is). You don't really see those clusters of fast food restaurants like you find in other places. In most places around the country, you can get right off of basically any highway exit and be next to 2-4 fast food restaurants, and I've never really seen that in high concentrations here. Having grown up in the Midwest and having lived all over the east coast, I definitely don't think the Bay Area is like most places as far as fast food goes.

I do feel like if you really want fast food, you have to go looking and do a little more work than you would do in most places around the country. I'm also specifically referring to fast food restaurants and am not just talking about all chain establishments, as these do exist. Although, overall I think the people in the bay area do a good job of supporting and making sure local restaurants stay in business/thrive. Chains/fast food restaurants, while they do exist, aren't the main places people go.

I think the outer east bay has more fast food restaurants, and you're more likely to get that cluster of fast food restaurants like you'd see in other places around the country. But, I still don't think it's as prevalent as everywhere else.

It's no surprise that SF ranks very low in fast food consumption/prevalence rankings:
SF ranked 93 out of 100 cities ranked (money.bundle.com article...the main link seems to be down):
The Cities That Spend The Most On Fast Food - Business Insider
Chandler places seventh on list of fast food consumers in US

Ranking of cities with the most people who ate NO fast food in the last MONTH, SF was near the top...Monterrey, CA was number 1 (published June 29, 2012):
Cities That Eat The Most Fast Food, And The Least « K 104.7 FM

It was hard to actually find any rankings of cities that eat the least amount of fast food since most rankings having to do with fast food consumption almost always look at the opposite (i.e. places that consume the most)...

[sav858]

Originally Posted by HockeyMac18

I don't think in the inner bay area that fast food prevalence is that high (compared to the rest of the nation, that is).

think the outer east bay has more fast food restaurants, and you're more likely to get that cluster of fast food restaurants like you'd see in other places around the country. But, I still don't think it's as prevalent as everywhere else.

So you don't think places like Richmond, Fremont, Hayward, etc..don't have that much fast food? Just look at the demographics of those cities, not exactly your stereotypical Bay Area "foodie" type. Or much of the entire South Bay? I haven't spent much time on the Penninsula in years so I can't say. I agree the outer East Bay it seems more prevalent. It's not hard to find fast food out here. If the Jack in the Box has a long drive through line in WC at night then I just hop over to the one in Pleasant Hill 5-min away, which is always shorter.

It's no surprise that SF ranks very low in fast food consumption/prevalence rankings:
SF ranked 93 out of 100 cities ranked (money.bundle.com article...the main link seems to be down):
The Cities That Spend The Most On Fast Food - Business Insider
Chandler places seventh on list of fast food consumers in US

Ranking of cities with the most people who ate NO fast food in the last MONTH, SF was near the top...Monterrey, CA was number 1 (published June 29, 2012):
Cities That Eat The Most Fast Food, And The Least « K 104.7 FM

Is this looking at specific cities or entire metro's? If it's just cities then yeah that comes as no surprise that SF would be low on the list.

Outside of some pockets in the Bay Area I really don't notice much of a difference between here and San Diego as far as fast food. The Bay Area is probably below the national average as far as fast food chains per capita, I just don't think it's that drastic.

[jade408]

I remember in college (I went to Cal), that the fast food was so far away, everyone pretty much cut it out by default. I was used to fast food being the default, I am not eating dinner until really late choice. You would walk by 8 cheaper, better Thai restaurants, 3 Korean places, 12 Mexican places and 5 cafes before you got to McDonalds.

I don't eat much fast food, but I have a few favorite items, things I really just don't make at home. So I go ocassionally, it but it takes some effort......

Fast food options are definitely limited in the Bay Area outside of the suburban parts.

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by sav858

Outside of SF, Berkeley, and parts of Oak there is a prevalence of fast food as much as most other places IMO.

Even in the parts of Oakland that do have fast food, the concentration is not high at all in comparison to most other places. East Oakland has the most fast food out of any part of Oakland and even then, the distance from one McDonald's to the next is generally 30+ blocks... the one on 98th & International is 25 blocks east and 10 blocks south of the one in Eastmont Mall, which is 10 blocks north and 10 blocks east of the one on 63rd & International, which is 15 blocks south and 30 blocks east of the one on Fruitvale & MacArthur... the same is true of KFC. The other traditional chains like Wendy's, Church's Burger King, In N Out, Subway, Popeye's, etc. only have a single location in East Oakland as far as I'm aware, which is both surprising when you consider that their target demographic lives in large swaths of East Oakland but also unsurprising because chains typically don't like East Oakland because places that stay open late tend to attract a seedier element after dark. It's not like most places where you walk 5 blocks and there's yet another McDonalds or Subway or BK or etc.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

it's not like most places where you walk 5 blocks and there's yet another McDonalds or Subway or BK or etc.

And what places are like that? Do you really think the rest of America has fast food every 5 blocks in cities?

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by sav858

And what places are like that? Do you really think the rest of America has fast food every 5 blocks in cities?

Yeah, I've lived in and visited plenty of places like that... take Redwood City for example where there's 4 subways within a 5 block radius.

subway redwood city - Google Maps

San Jose is even more like that... all the main avenues (Bascom, Alum Rock, etc.) have fastfood joints literally every 3 blocks or so.


New York City is like that as well... even only looking at Manhattan - especially Midtown - it's very difficult to find a block that doesn't have fast food. Granted, it also has everything else but the prevalence is somewhat surprising given how high-rent of an area Manhattan is.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

New York City is like that as well... even only looking at Manhattan - especially Midtown - it's very difficult to find a block that doesn't have fast food. Granted, it also has everything else but the prevalence is somewhat surprising given how high-rent of an area Manhattan is.

Yes look at Manhattan, what is the average density like 70K per square mile? That might have something to do with that. How many places in America are like Manhattan?