U.S. cities have been known to occasionally try to ban fast-food restaurants, but the town of Eastchester, N.Y., is going one step further. The town has already banned fast-food restaurants, and now Eastchester Supervisor Anthony Colavita told MyFoxNY that they plan to ban fast-casual restaurants as well.
Fast-casual restaurants are basically a step up from fast-food establishments, but still not full-service eateries (think: Panera, Five Guys, Chipotle, etc.). The chains have been one of the fastest-growing sectors of the food industry.
"...We don't want to have fast-food in our community, and we also decided that this 'fast-casual thing' that's developing out there wasn't something we wanted to have either," Colavita told MyFoxNY.
In an amendment to the zoning code reported by Lohud.com, “standardized” decor and “corporate-driven” settings are among attributes banned when new restaurants apply to start a location in Eastchester. The town's ban isn't necessarily due to the high calorie-content food the chains serve -- Eastchester currently boasts a Dunkin' Donuts, along with other restaurants that aren't health-focused.
While Eastchester's ban is perhaps a far cry from Michael Bloomberg's proposed New York City soda ban, it does raise several interesting questions for the small-business community and for residents of small towns everywhere. Has Eastchester gone too far, or not far enough?
[h/t Slate]
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