Quick serve restaurants are staying up for the Edward Hopper set. According to Harriet Presser, author of the book The Economy Never Sleeps, one-fifth of all employed Americans work mostly in the evening, at night or on a regularly rotating schedule. So more and more, QSRs are staying open later or for 24 hours to meet these consumers' dining needs.
The hours of midnight to 5 a.m. are the fastest-growing segment in McDonald's Corp.'s business. Nearly 40% of McDonald's U.S. locations are open 24 hours a day, up from 30% seven years ago.