---
title: "QSR: Penn Station President Craig Dunaway on the State of the Fast-Casual Segment"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/af02753e-cb93-493a-9552-e792eaea40e8
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/qsr-penn-station-president-craig-dunaway-on-the-state-of-the-fast-casual-segment-2704487
category: "Sandwich & sub"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Sandwich & sub"
topics: ["People"]
published: 2017-10-05T19:14:25.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:11:40.639Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/8da0df898a34dc1eef070dbebe7ea5639352.jpg
---

# QSR: Penn Station President Craig Dunaway on the State of the Fast-Casual Segment

**TL;DR:** Penn Station has bucked the downward trend in the fast-casual segment, with president Craig Dunaway attributing the industry's decline to an evening out of an unusually long boon. Dunaway advises against cheapening products to counter the sluggish economy, instead emphasizing quality and lasting impressions.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2017-10-05. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/qsr-penn-station-president-craig-dunaway-on-the-state-of-the-fast-casual-segment-2704487).*

## Story

Some industry analysts have pointed toward a downward curve in sales and profits within the fast-casual segment, but Penn Station has bucked that trend.

The grilled-sandwich brand’s president, Craig Dunaway, said that the industry’s decline has largely been overstated and reflects an evening out of an unusually long boon rather than a crash. Dunaway’s skepticism toward the doom-sayers may be the quality that has made Penn Station more successful than other fast-casual restaurants over the past year. Many of the other brands in the segment, Dunaway said, cheapened their products in an attempt to offset flagging sales, which likely only served to hasten their decline.

> *Dunaway has some ideas for what fast casuals should and should not do to counter the sluggish economy. He’s vehemently against cheapening product. When you consider the issues at hand—competing for consumers with grocery chains, convenience stores, improved quick serves, casual dining and full service—the window to attract guests is narrowing, he says. If they choose Penn Station, Dunaway wants the impression to be lasting. It has to be. And if that means paying more for USDA choice steak and stocking a leaner pepperoni, it’s worth it.*

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Penn Station (company)
- Craig Dunaway (person)
- fast-casual segment (topic)
- product quality (topic)
- competition strategy (topic)
- sales trend (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/qsr-penn-station-president-craig-dunaway-on-the-state-of-the-fast-casual-segment-2704487). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/af02753e-cb93-493a-9552-e792eaea40e8).