2016 Top 500: Family-dining chains

IHOP

The family-dining or midscale segment has been struggling for years as consumer preferences have steered them away from generalists and toward niche players. This year among the Top 500 chains, the segment grew sales by 3.2% to about $15 billion, buoyed by gains from leaders IHOP, Denny’s and Cracker Barrel, each of which has a concerted effort toward attracting millennials and other value-minded guests.

2016 Rank

Chain Name

2015 U.S. Sales ($000)

2015 U.S. Units

23IHOP3,255,0001,604
28Denny's2,548,0001,599
30Cracker Barrel Old Country Store2,248,000635
47Waffle House1,030,700*1,805*
48Bob Evans946,205548
67Perkins Restaurant & Bakery644,152386
104Village Inn359,000213
113Big Boy330,400*220*
117Friendly's310,700*265*
142Sonny's BBQ249,000*122
150Huddle House237,114368
162Shoney's219,200*144
176Black Bear Diner197,67675
195Eat'n Park167,59369
202Shari's Cafe and Pies160,500*96
203First Watch158,300*137
212Original Pancake House, The148,500*130*
213Marie Callender's Restaurant & Bakery148,23168*
216LaRosa's Pizzeria145,50566
218Country Pride Restaurant143,300*148*
225Coco's Bakery Restaurant137,700*71
248Iron Skillet122,000*70*

*Technomic estimate

 

View the full Top 500 report

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Financing

For Papa Johns, the CEO departure came at the wrong time

The Bottom Line: The pizza chain worked to convince franchisees to buy into a massive marketing shift. And then the brand’s CEO left.

Trending

More from our partners