Quick (restaurant)

Quick

Founded	Schoten, Belgium (1971 (1971))
Founder	Baron François Vaxelaire
Headquarters	Saint-Denis , France, originated in Belgium
Parent	CDC
Website	group.quick.fr/en/

Quick Restaurants' previous logo

A Quick drive takeway, at Montigny-lès-Cormeilles, Val d'Oise, France

Quick Restaurants NV/Quick Restaurants SA is a chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in Berchem, Antwerp, Belgium. Founded in 1971, it is one of Europe's first and largest transnational fast food restaurant chains.

In recent years, its worldwide expansion has accelerated. Quick is similar in theme to McDonald's and/or Burger King. In 2007, it was taken over by the French government's investment holding company, CDC, which controls 94% of the shares as of November 2013.

History

The chain was first established in 1971 with two restaurants, by the Belgian Baron Vaxelaire (Chairman of GIB Group) one in Schoten, on the outskirts of Antwerp and another in Waterloo just south of Brussels. The first French Quick opened in Aix-en-Provence on July 19, 1980. By December 31, 2010, it operated over 400 restaurants in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the French overseas departments or territories of Réunion, New Caledonia Guadeloupe and Martinique. 72% of these restaurants are operated as franchises.

Quick used to have a UK presence in the 1980s, including a branch in London's Leicester Square, but these are long since closed. From around 2007-08 Quick also had restaurants in Morocco and Algiers, Algeria, as well as Moscow and Tula in Russia, but these have also closed, although there are plans to reopen in Morocco, Tunisia and Russia.

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
• Many desserts

The Giant is one of the hamburgers served by Quick restaurants

Quick does not salt its French 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 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 bread-bun done two different ways on each half, with each side having its own dressings. Available in hamburger or chicken varieties, Le Double Mix was sold as a limited-run sandwich, through April 18, 2011.

Death of Benjamin Orset

On January 22, 2011, 14-year-old Benjamin Orset died after eating two 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, refused to accept responsibility for the death of the boy. However, the investigation found that the death of Orset was a direct result of the meal he had eaten at Quick the day before. Admitting the possibility of a "local failure" rather than any problems with the products supplied centrally, Quick took control of the Avignon restaurant back from the franchisee. Quick also promised to "strengthen its controls and hygiene measures, which are already stricter than the legal standards".

External links

• Official website
• Quick (Archive)