Fast food is the term
given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly.
While any meal with low preparation time can be considered
to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold
in a restaurant or store with low quality preparation
and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away.
The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary
by Merriam–Webster in 1951.
Outlets may be stands or kiosks, which may provide no
shelter or seating, or fast food restaurants (also known
as quick service restaurants). Franchise operations which
are part of restaurant chains have standardized foodstuffs
shipped to each restaurant from central locations.
The capital requirements involved in opening up a fast
food restaurant are relatively low. Smaller, individually-owned
fast food restaurants are becoming much more common throughout
the world. Restaurants with much higher sit-in ratios,
where customers tend to sit and have their orders brought
to them in a seemingly more upscale atmosphere, may be
known in some areas as fast casual restaurants...
