Quick (restaurant chain)

A typical Quick drive-thru location, in Montigny-lès-Cormeilles, France.

Quick is a Belgian chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. It is one of Europe's largest restaurants chains. In recent years, its worldwide expansion has accelerated.

Quick is similar in theme to McDonald's. In 2007 it was "nationalised" by the French government through its investment holding company CDC.

History

The chain was first established in 1971 in Schoten, Belgium, and as of December 31, 2004 operated over 400 restaurants in Belgium, France, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Andorra, Luxembourg, Spain, Russia and Armenia. 72 % of these restaurants were operated as franchises.

The first French Quick opened in Aix-en-Provence on July 19, 1980. Beginning on March 3, 2007, Quick also had restaurants in Algiers, the capital of Algeria. The first two Russian Quick restaurants opened in Moscow and Tula on March 21, 2008.

Menu

As of July 2011, Quick's burger lineup included:

• the Cheeseburger
• the Suprême Cheese
• the Quick'n Toast
• the Giant
• the Long Chicken
• the Long Chicken Barbecue Bacon
• the Long Bacon
• the Long Fish

The "Giant" (which, despite its name, is similar in size to the other burgers) is the most popular choice, constituting about 50% of Quick's burger orders.^{[citation needed]}

Quick does not salt Belgian fries behind the counter, leaving it up to the diners to salt the fries themselves. The fry containers bear the phrases "Meer of minder gezouten, aan u de keuze" in Dutch, or "Plus ou moins salés: à vous de décider" in French, both meaning "More or less salted: you decide."

A vegetarian burger was available for a limited time in the 1990s but was discontinued due to low demand in the Belgian and French markets. Quick did offer a grilled cheese sandwich as a meatless option.

In February 2010, Quick announced that eight of its French franchises would offer halal menus to cater to the Muslim population , a number that increased to 22 in August 2010, and only halal menus are being served since then.. The move has caused controversy from politicians across various parties, including Roubaix's socialist mayor, Marine Le Pen of the National Front and the UMP, France's ruling political party .

In 2011, Quick unveiled Le Double Mix, a two-in-one sandwich featuring a unique bun done two different ways on each half, with each side having its own dressings. Available in hamburger or chicken varieties, Le Double Mix is being sold as a limited-run sandwich, through April 18, 2011.

Controversy

On January 22, 2011, 14-year-old Benjamin Orset died after eating two contaminated hamburgers at a Quick Restaurant in Avignon, France. An autopsy report concluded that Benjamin died from food poisoning. Traces of staphylococci were detected in the boy’s body, as well as in five of the eight employees. Quick’s managing director, Jacques-Edouard Charret, has refused to accept responsibility for the death of the boy.

External links

• Quick Restaurants
• Quick Belgium (French) (Dutch) (English)
• Quick France (French)
• Quick Luxembourg (French)