NEW YORK – A growing number of specialty restaurants are finding that they can build a following by focusing on one particular item, Entreprenuer.com reports. Many of the items are comfort foods, like macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches.

The National Restaurant Association says that, although it doesn’t have hard numbers yet, this is a trend that will become even more prevalent in the future. “Because the restaurant industry has exhibited such progressive growth and will continue to, it’s inevitable more establishments will focus on specialized items,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research and information services for the association.

Riehle forecasts that simple items like cereal will take center stage in these restaurants. “What’s old is new again. For example, grilled cheese. Take a popular and common food and offer it with a host of different preparation techniques, then generate a large number of potential combinations the consumer relishes,” he said.

Across the country, specialty restaurants are popping up. In New York, S’Mac serves, you guessed it, mac and cheese to a wide range of consumers. “We draw crowds from age 1 to 100,” Sarita Ekya, co-founder of the New York restaurant, told the magazine. “We’ve hooked a lot of people simply through word-of-mouth.”

Out in Colorado, Chedd’s Gourmet Grilled Cheese offers 25 specialty melts or consumers can customize their order from a selection of more than 35 Wisconsin cheeses. Founders Dirk and Wendy Bruley have two locations in the state and are beginning to franchise around the nation.

The success of these restaurants is their ability to resist expanding the menu to items outside their main focus. “In the beginning, people were telling us to offer more than macaroni and cheese. But we chose not to. We didn’t want to confuse people,” said Ekya. While S’Mac has a few side items, such as cookies, brownies and salads, mac and cheese remains the mainstay.