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顾客口味改变促快餐业转型

Fast-food giants are facing demanding customers who want healthful food that can be tailored to individual tastes. These days, they want something more than just hamburgers and french fries.

面向的苛刻的顾客, 快餐业巨头不得不为各种口味的人量身订制健康食物。快餐业要想生存，不能只外食客提供汉堡和薯条了。

In the industry's infancy¹, though, that alone was the perfect combination.

Fast food got its start on historic Route 66 in San Bernardino, California, where the McDonald brothers opened a restaurant in 1940. They would later streamline² their operation to focus on burgers and fries, sold at high volume and for a low price. A business acquaintance named Ray Kroc helped them expand their franchise³ and later bought them out, and he created a worldwide empire.

快餐业始于加利福尼亚州圣贝纳蒂诺市具有历史意义的66号公路，1940年麦当劳（McDonald）兄弟在这开设了一家餐馆。之后，他们把生产流线化，集中制作汉堡和薯条，以低廉的价格大量出售。后来，一名生意上的熟人雷?克罗克(Ray Kroc)买下这家店的产权，创造了一个遍及全球的帝国。

A privately⁴ run museum on the site of that first McDonald's celebrated⁵ the company's 75th anniversary, as museum owner Albert Okura told visitors about the brothers' big idea.

原址上的一家私营博物馆最近刚刚庆祝了75周年纪念日，博物馆的主人艾伯特?欧库拉(Albert Okura)向人们介绍麦当劳兄弟的宏图大志。

“They had hamburgers and french fries, meat and potatoes," he said. "They had the right food at the right time in the history of America.”

他说：“他们有汉堡和薯条，也就是肉和土豆。他们在美国历史上争取的时间推出了正确的食物。”

It was fast and it was cheap. Tommy Bliss⁶ came often in those early days, when the restaurant was a popular hangout for the local teenagers.

托米?布利斯（Tommy Bliss）那时候经常来光顾，这儿当时是深受本地青少年欢迎的会友场所。

“Well, you know, all the hot girls were hanging around McDonald's then, and all the hot cars were cruising around it,” he said.

 “你知道，那时候所有火辣的女孩都在麦当劳闲逛，所有的酷车都在这里巡游。”他说。

Different appeal

Young people are likely to hang out at other restaurants today, like Chipotle. The growing Mexican-food chain advertises its healthful ingredients. A Chipotle outlet⁷ in Washington draws customers like Yao Odamtten.

现在，年轻人可能会去其他地方，例如像奇波特雷(Chipotle)这样的餐馆。这个不断扩大的墨西哥风味连锁餐厅宣称他们提供健康的食材。首都华盛顿中国城的这家奇波特雷加盟店吸引了姚?欧达姆腾(Yao Odamtten)等顾客。

“I just eat healthy and I like health and wellness. It's very important to me,” he said.

欧达姆腾说：“我吃的很健康，我喜欢身心健康，这对我来说非常重要。”

Chipotle is part of a new segment of “fast-casual” restaurants, said industry analyst⁸ Shon Hiatt of the University of Southern California.

南加州大学的行业分析师肖恩?希亚特(Shon Hiatt)说，奇波特雷是新兴的“快速休闲”（fast casual）餐饮的一部分

What makes restaurants like Chipotle, Panera and Noodles & Company different from fast food "is that the food is tailored, and it can be customized," he said. "It's still quick, and also has this perception of being much higher quality.”

他说：“奇波特雷、帕尼罗(Panera)以及面条与伙伴(Noodles&Company)。这些餐馆与快餐不同的是，他们的食物是定做的，可以为顾客个人化定制。他们依然很快，同时也给人质量更好的感觉。”

Burgers made with Angus beef, with or without tomato, or a vegetarian⁹ sandwich with Portobello mushrooms — that's the formula of Shake Shack¹⁰, a New York hot dog-and-burger joint¹¹ that had its initial public offering this year.

安格斯牛肉做的汉堡，加或不加番茄，或者是一个素食大褐菇三明治，这是一家纽约热狗汉堡连锁店摇克夏(Shake Shack)提供的配方。该餐馆今年进行了首次公开募股。

Hiatt said these new chains cater¹² to Millennials, young people who became adults around the year 2000.

希亚特说，新的连锁店迎合的是千禧一代，也就是2000年左右成年的年轻人。

“Recent statistics over the last four years have shown that Millennials, on average, have been increasing their consumption of fast casual by 5 percent annually¹³, whereas their consumption of fast food has remained largely flat,” he said.

“过去四年的数据显示，千禧一代对快速休闲的消费每年平均增长5%，然而他们对快餐的消费基本上保持平稳。”他说。

Falling profits, image trouble

McDonald's is facing falling profits and is coping with fallout of news last year that its Chinese supplier had provided the company with expired meat. The scandal also tarnished¹⁴ Yum Brands outlets¹⁵ such as KFC.

麦当劳面临利润的下降，同时正在应对去年中国供应商提供过期肉的新闻带来的负面影响。这个丑闻也毁坏了包括肯德基(KFC)在内的百胜餐饮（Yum Brand）的名声。

McDonald's has diversified¹⁶ its menu to include more healthful items. It is also exploring automation to make its food more customizable.

麦当劳已经把菜单多元化，增加了更为健康的食物选项。

And in the face of worker demands for higher wages, the company may use automation to reduce its labor¹⁷ costs. Industry analysts¹⁸ say the fast-food giants need to innovate¹⁹ to keep pace with a changing business landscape and changing tastes.

由于美国员工要求涨工资，麦当劳还在探索自动化操作，让食物更加客制化，减少劳力成本。行业分析师说，快餐业巨头需要创新，跟上不断变化的商业环境和个人口味的步伐。