What began as a side strategy – a kiosk in an airport or a café on a campus – has become central to the next phase of QSR expansion.
From travel hubs and hospitals to universities, leisure parks, and even military bases, non-traditional venues are fast emerging as the new growth frontier for ambitious food brands, combining steady foot traffic, high visibility, and customers ready to spend.
In an increasingly crowded marketplace, these spaces offer something few others can: sustainable growth with lower risk. Once considered peripheral, they’re now shaping the very core of how QSR brands grow.
Yet as operators rush to secure their share of this new terrain, one question remains: is the future of food franchising truly found off the beaten track?
Rethinking location
The traditional restaurant model – high-rent, high-traffic, street-facing real estate – has long defined the gold standard for QSR growth. But as consumer habits evolve and the economics of urban retail shift, the meaning of a ‘prime’ location is being rewritten. Today’s franchise investors are looking beyond conventional spaces, uncovering new opportunities in places once considered secondary or underutilized.
Subway, the world’s largest QSR chain by restaurant count, has been among the first to recognize this potential. Its smart growth development strategy focuses on what its global chief development officer, Mike Kehoe, describes as “building restaurants in the right location, image, and format.” This approach has resulted in a rise in non-traditional development, from airports and rail stations to universities and hospitals.
According to Kehoe, non-traditional locations currently make up approximately 25% of Subway’s global footprint and are responsible for between 20-30% of the brand’s total sales. For a brand with more than 37,000 units worldwide, that means thousands of sites operating successfully in spaces once considered secondary.
“We’re stepping up convenience as we expand our grab-and-go offerings in North America and testing the platform in other international markets,” Kehoe explains. “From a consumer perspective, in travel hubs, Subway is a top choice for travellers seeking a convenient, great-tasting meal on the go. Additionally, our brand’s reputation for offering affordable, better-for-you options makes Subway a perfect match for non-traditional venues such as hospitals, universities, and airports.”
Non-traditional expansion is no longer a side strategy for Subway, but central to the brand’s long-term growth plan. Of the 10,000 new global restaurants slated to open under its current program, as many as 2,500 could take shape in travel hubs, campuses, and institutional venues, redefining how and where QSR brands operate.
Embedded demand
The International Air Transport Association projects that global air passenger numbers could double to 8.2 billion by 2037, with around half of all travelers purchasing food or drink while in transit. Meanwhile, the U.K. Office of Rail and Road reported that station-based catering retailers generated more than £700 million in 2019- 2020 – before accounting for post-pandemic recovery. Together, these figures underscore the vast potential of transient, high-volume environments where proximity, speed, and convenience often outweigh even brand loyalty.
For QSR operators, travel hubs such as airports and stations promise the holy trinity of convenience: built-in traffic, predictable consumption patterns, and minimal marketing costs.
Yet the non-traditional opportunity now extends well beyond airports. Across North America, operators are increasingly targeting military bases, university campuses, and leisure destinations, locations that combine consistent foot traffic, captive audiences, and an everyday demand for fast, reliable dining.
Business wise
Top five advantages of non-traditional QSR locations
- Built-in footfall: Airports, campuses, and hospitals guarantee a steady stream of daily traffic, reducing reliance on street visibility.
- Predictable patterns: Military bases and universities offer fixed schedules, supporting precise forecasting and efficient staffing.
- Smaller footprints: Compact modular formats reduce real-estate costs while maintaining profitability.
- Digital integration: Self-ordering kiosks, loyalty apps, and grab-and-go systems align perfectly with transient environments.
- Portfolio diversification: For investors, non-traditional spaces create a balanced growth model that complements traditional store networks, reducing exposure to urban rent fluctuations.
Safe bases for growth
Few environments offer the stability and predictability of a military base. For global brands testing new formats or compact menu innovations, these locations provide a uniquely controlled ecosystem, marked by consistent daily footfall, long dwell times, and limited direct competition.
Subway’s investment in low-cost, space-efficient formats, some requiring as little as 400 square feet, has allowed franchisees to succeed within military and government sites where every inch counts. These venues not only ensure steady trade from a resident workforce and rotating personnel but also help brands demonstrate operational resilience in tightly managed environments.
Japanese fast-casual brand Pepper Lunch also underscores the long-term potential of institutional environments. “There’s been a Pepper Lunch for the last seven or eight years at the U.S. military base in Guam, with a second store on its way,” explained global co-CEO Troy Hooper, who is leading the legacy brand’s North American expansion.
From an investment standpoint, military bases offer a rare combination of low risk and high visibility. With built-in populations, extended operating hours, and dependable demand, they provide an ideal platform for stable, scalable growth. For franchisors, they serve as the ultimate testing ground, delivering operational consistency, minimal external disruption, and valuable exposure to globally mobile consumers who often carry their brand preferences wherever they go.
Capturing loyalty early
If military bases offer stability, university campuses offer renewal. Across North America, campuses have become incubators for the next generation of QSR consumers – tech-native, health-conscious, and increasingly values-driven. These environments combine steady daily foot traffic, habitual purchasing behavior, and the opportunity to build brand loyalty at a formative age.
Pepper Lunch views university campuses as central to its long-term growth strategy, capitalizing on both their density and demographic influence. “Up to 60% of our customer base is under 35,” says Troy Hooper, “making it very clear where there are opportunities, such as on or near university campuses.”
By engaging young consumers where they study, socialize, and form daily routines, the brand establishes early connections that can evolve as its audience matures. “There actually are three distinct markets to follow,” Hooper explains. “The young crowd based around universities and the hyper-urban market; post-university 24- to 30-year-olds who have moved off campus or away from downtown areas; and maturing millennials relocating into the suburbs.” This progression, he adds, creates “brand affinity and longevity… a roadmap of white space to grow and mature with our customers over time.”
“QSR franchise investors are uncovering new opportunities in places once considered secondary”
For franchisors, this generational continuum offers a rare strategic advantage: the ability to follow consumers throughout their life stages without reinventing the brand every decade. Subway, for instance, is already capitalizing on this pattern. Its grab-and-go offerings and integrated digital platforms – interactive kiosks, upgraded apps, and enhanced loyalty programs – resonate with the fast-paced, mobile-first habits of Gen Z. In campus settings, such innovations position QSRs not just as convenient dining choices but as integral parts of student life.
Focus Brands recognizes this opportunity too. The group, whose portfolio includes Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon, and Jamba, is investing heavily in modular, co-branded ‘express outlets’ for university campuses. These compact units bring multiple brands under one counter, maximizing return per square foot while catering to the variety-seeking, time-pressed student market.
Meanwhile, Experiential Brands’ 2024 rollout of new university openings across the U.S. reinforces this approach, highlighting how higher-education environments have become vital testing grounds for emerging food concepts. Compact layouts, streamlined digital ordering, and minimal prep kitchens make these venues ideal for pilot programs and limited-menu launches before wider rollouts.
Adapting to smaller footprints
Operating in a non-traditional venue isn’t as simple as cutting square footage. It requires a full rethink of equipment, supply chains, and staffing models. That’s why brands like Little Caesars have focused heavily on innovation in footprint and format. The company’s 2024 announcement of new campus locations across the U.S. highlighted the operational efficiency of its ‘Pizza Portal’ technology – a digital locker system that lets customers retrieve pre-paid orders without staff intervention.
These smaller, semi-autonomous formats not only reduce labor but also allow franchises to open in constrained environments like student centers, hospitals, airports, or stadiums, where traditional buildouts would be impossible.
For investors, this convergence of technological agility and operational simplicity signals an industrywide evolution. As consumer convenience takes precedence over traditional dining, QSRs are becoming more portable, efficient, and experiential than ever before.
New era of flexibility
While global brands like Subway and Pepper Lunch are expanding into travel hubs and campuses, others are finding success by reimagining how QSR can fit within existing retail ecosystems. Chicken Cottage, a UK-based franchise with a 30-year legacy and a strong position in the international QSR sector, brings another dimension to the conversation around flexibility. The brand has successfully translated its appeal into a variety of non-traditional formats, from compact kiosks to store-in-store models across gas forecourts and premium retail locations.
“Our format is highly adaptable,” explains Sadaf Kazi, head of franchise development at Chicken Cottage. “We offer compact, concession-style units that fit neatly within retail spaces such as forecourts, premium shops, or petrol stations. Even in smaller footprints, our operational systems ensure consistent quality and fast service.”
That adaptability, she adds, has proven itself commercially. “Across all these locations, from shop-in-shop formats to kiosks and drive-thrus, our model has consistently delivered strong sales and positive customer feedback, showing that Chicken Cottage is flexible, adaptable, and well-suited to a range of retail environments.”
As non-traditional expansion accelerates, the competitive advantage will belong to brands that balance flexibility with consistency. “Pepper Lunch is a very simple concept to execute, allowing for any operator of any experience level to produce excellent results,” Hooper notes. This simplicity comes from automation and supply-chain ownership, allowing uniformity across hundreds of sites with minimal staff.
A similar philosophy is driving Subway’s tech-driven evolution. “We continue to enhance our menu and provide an elevated in-restaurant and online experience that delivers added convenience and value for guests,” Kehoe states. “Last year, we shared the rollout of an integrated digital experience in key European markets, including interactive self-serve kiosks and a refreshed app and loyalty program that ensures a consistent experience across platforms.”
The result is an emerging generation of QSRs that can thrive anywhere without compromising the core brand experience. For franchisors, the challenge is not just in finding space but in adapting to its constraints, mastering the art of compact design, and meeting consumer demand wherever it appears. For investors, it’s a reminder that the future of franchising won’t be confined to the main street – it will be wherever people gather, travel, study, and serve their nations.
In that sense, the QSR industry’s next phase of expansion is not simply about geography. It’s about mindset – a willingness to look beyond the obvious, to meet consumers in the spaces where life already happens. And in doing so, the sector may yet discover its most dynamic growth frontier yet.
The smart appeal of non-trad spaces
- Lower overheads: Smaller footprints and shared utilities with host venues reduce rent and energy costs, helping operators achieve profitability faster.
- Simplified operations: Streamlined menus, reduced equipment, and centralised supply chains make training easier and service more consistent.
- Faster setup: Preapproved sites and modular layouts mean units can be built and opened within weeks, not months.
- Flexible investment: Options such as revenue-share agreements or shorter leases help franchisees manage capital efficiently and test new markets.
- Built-in audiences: Partnering with transport hubs, universities, and service plazas guarantees consistent daily trade and strong brand visibility.
- Work-life balance: Compact units often operate on fixed schedules with fewer late nights, attractive for experienced and first-time franchisees alike
