Is the world ready for the Chipotle of pizza?

The time is right

Pizzeria Locale

Chipotle Mexican Grill, leader of the "fast-casual" food trend, earlier this year sneakily planted a seed that could grow into an enormous, delicious pizza tree. Without so much as a press release, it financed the opening of Pizzeria Locale, a Denver pizza restaurant that uses a similar kitchen model to turn pizza into Chipotle-like fast food.

Chipotle, which last year made $2.5 billion in revenue, makes higher-quality-than-you-might-think Mexican food like burritos and taco salads at fast food speeds. But Chipotle is not alone. This "fast casual" category, which promises better atmosphere, higher quality food, and higher prices than usual fast food, has proved viable for many types of foods, from burgers, to salads, to even Chinese food. Pizza, which has been slow to catch on, is thought to be the next frontier. The Wall Street Journal:

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Carmel Lobello is the business editor at TheWeek.com. Previously, she was an editor at DeathandTaxesMag.com.