Fast Casual Food Pioneer Ron Shaich Explains How to Find a Niche and then Scale
b'The restaurant\\xa0business\\xa0is notoriously\\xa0competitive and often propelled by passing fads. But, first at the helm of\\xa0Au Bon Pain,\\xa0and\\xa0then\\xa0as the founder of\\xa0Panera Bread,\\xa0Ron Shaich managed to create an entirely new category of dining between fast food and table service and then dominate that market in the United States. He says the strategies that brought him success can be applied in any type of organization:\\xa0\\xa0listen to\\xa0and observe\\xa0customers\\xa0so you know what they want, create a truly differentiated offering, execute with excellence, and find the right opportunities to grow.\\xa0He\\u2019s\\xa0employed this playbook as an investor in newer ventures\\xa0like Cava and Tatte,\\xa0as well. Shaich wrote the book Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations.'