Chains ranking highest in their competitive set deliver more than just good food. They’re winning in all aspects of the dining experience, from service to convenience.
Many chains’ overall scores were bolstered by one area: Service/Hospitality. Not a single favorite chain scored under 60 percent in that category, showing that consumers take notice when they feel appreciated and taken care of.
About the research
RB partnered with Technomic, a Winsight market research firm, for this report.
Technomic’s Consumer Brand Metrics program is an ongoing study that tracks the performance of leading chains by measuring the consumer experience. This report includes the top 100 restaurant chains in the U.S. in terms of sales, plus additional chains to round out categories or capture regional data. The data represents responses from nearly 100,000 consumers, collected between Oct. 1, 2014 and Sept. 30, 2015. Scores represent the percentage of respondents who strongly agree with the statements, ranked on a scale of 1 to 5.
Top Bakery Cafe Chains
| Overall Score | Value | Food/ Beverage | Appearance/ Ambiance | Convenience/ Takeout | Service/ Hospitality | |
| Panera Bread | 54.7% | 44.6% | 53.2% | 50.7% | 59.4% | 65.5% |
| Einstein Bros. Bagels | 49.7% | 40.1% | 46.6% | 44.1% | 57.0% | 60.7% |
| Bruegger's Bagels | 48.9% | 37.1% | 45.2% | 42.8% | 57.2% | 62.3% |
Top Beverage/Snack Chains
Top Burger Chains
Top Chicken Chains
Top Family Style Chains
Top Italian Chains
Top Mexican Chains
Top Pizza Chains
Top Sandwich Chains
Top Seafood Chains
Top Steak Chains
Top Varied Menu Chains
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Top Beverage/Snack Chains
| Overall Score | Value | Food/ Beverage | Appearance/ Ambiance | Convenience/ Takeout | Service/ Hospitality | |
| Pinkberry | 55.0% | 47.9% | 53.8% | 52.8% | 58.5% | 62.3% |
| Krispy Kreme | 54.6% | 45.9% | 53.4% | 49.5% | 60.7% | 63.3% |
| Ben & Jerry's | 54.3% | 46.2% | 53.7% | 51.0% | 56.6% | 63.8% |
Top Beverage/Snack Chains
Top Burger Chains
Top Chicken Chains
Top Family Style Chains
Top Italian Chains
Top Mexican Chains
Top Pizza Chains
Top Sandwich Chains
Top Seafood Chains
Top Steak Chains
Top Varied Menu Chains
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Top Burger Chains
| Overall Score | Value | Food/ Beverage | Appearance/ Ambiance | Convenience/ Takeout | Service/ Hospitality | |
| In-N-Out Burger | 57.9% | 54.1% | 51.0% | 52.3% | 60.5% | 71.4% |
| Culver's Frozen Custard | 56.6% | 45.4% | 54.1% | 54.4% | 61.3% | 68.0% |
| The Habit Burger Grill | 56.2% | 49.4% | 50.9% | 53.1% | 58.1% | 69.4% |
Top Beverage/Snack Chains
Top Burger Chains
Top Chicken Chains
Top Family Style Chains
Top Italian Chains
Top Mexican Chains
Top Pizza Chains
Top Sandwich Chains
Top Seafood Chains
Top Steak Chains
Top Varied Menu Chains
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Top Chicken Chains
| Overall Score | Value | Food/ Beverage | Appearance/ Ambiance | Convenience/ Takeout | Service/ Hospitality | |
| Chick-fil-A | 63.4% | 53.3% | 59.7% | 60.0% | 67.5% | 76.7% |
| Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers | 54.7% | 45.7% | 47.3% | 51.3% | 63.7% | 65.6% |
| Zaxby's | 54.7% | 42.8% | 52.4% | 52.2% | 61.8% | 64.1% |
Top Beverage/Snack Chains
Top Burger Chains
Top Chicken Chains
Top Family Style Chains
Top Italian Chains
Top Mexican Chains
Top Pizza Chains
Top Sandwich Chains
Top Seafood Chains
Top Steak Chains
Top Varied Menu Chains
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Top Family Style Chains
| Overall Score | Value | Food/ Beverage | Appearance/ Ambiance | Convenience/ Takeout | Service/ Hospitality | |
| Cracker Barrel Old Country Store | 57.8% | 52.6% | 56.1% | 58.2% | 56.0% | 66.1% |
| Shoney's | 52.8% | 47.7% | 51.1% | 48.8% | 54.9% | 61.3% |
| Bob Evans | 52.1% | 45.2% | 50.7% | 49.2% | 55.5% | 60.1% |
Top Beverage/Snack Chains
Top Burger Chains
Top Chicken Chains
Top Family Style Chains
Top Italian Chains
Top Mexican Chains
Top Pizza Chains
Top Sandwich Chains
Top Seafood Chains
Top Steak Chains
Top Varied Menu Chains
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Top Italian Chains
| Overall Score | Value | Food/ Beverage | Appearance/ Ambiance | Convenience/ Takeout | Service/ Hospitality | |
| Carrabba's Italian Grill | 57.6% | 48.0% | 54.2% | 57.9% | 57.7% | 50.4% |
| Maggiano's Little Italy | 57.2% | 49.9% | 55.1% | 57.4% | 56.6% | 66.8% |
| Brio Tuscan Grille | 54.6% | 47.1% | 52.6% | 58.3% | 53.5% | 61.3% |
Top Beverage/Snack Chains
Top Burger Chains
Top Chicken Chains
Top Family Style Chains
Top Italian Chains
Top Mexican Chains
Top Pizza Chains
Top Sandwich Chains
Top Seafood Chains
Top Steak Chains
Top Varied Menu Chains
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Top Mexican Chains
| Overall Score | Value | Food/ Beverage | Appearance/ Ambiance | Conveniece/ Takeout | Service/ Hospitality | |
| Moe's Southwest Grill | 55.6% | 46.3% | 54.2% | 49.3% | 62.5% | 65.8% |
| Rubio's | 55.3% | 47.6% | 53.3% | 51.3% | 58.2% | 65.8% |
| Qdoba Mexican Grill | 50.2% | 41.1% | 47.7% | 42.9% | 58.7% | 60.7% |
Top Beverage/Snack Chains
Top Burger Chains
Top Chicken Chains
Top Family Style Chains
Top Italian Chains
Top Mexican Chains
Top Pizza Chains
Top Sandwich Chains
Top Seafood Chains
Top Steak Chains
Top Varied Menu Chains
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Top Pizza Chains
| Overall Score | Value | Food/ Beverage | Appearance/ Ambiance | Convenience/ Takeout | Service/ Hospitality | |
| Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza | 58.6% | 54.6% | 53.6% | 43.0% | 70.9% | 70.9% |
| Godfather's Pizza | 51.6% | 46.8% | 50.0% | 44.3% | 56.6% | 60.1% |
| Marco's Pizza | 50.6% | 43.6% | 46.5% | 43.3% | 59.5% | 60.1% |
Top Beverage/Snack Chains
Top Burger Chains
Top Chicken Chains
Top Family Style Chains
Top Italian Chains
Top Mexican Chains
Top Pizza Chains
Top Sandwich Chains
Top Seafood Chains
Top Steak Chains
Top Varied Menu Chains
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Top Sandwich Chains
| Overall Score | Value | Food/ Beverage | Appearance/ Ambiance | Convenience/ Takeout | Service/ Hospitality | |
| Firehouse Subs | 60.8% | 51.1% | 58.0% | 57.4% | 65.0% | 72.6% |
| McAlister's Deli | 58.0% | 48.3% | 57.2% | 54.5% | 59.5% | 70.4% |
| Jersey Mike's Subs | 56.2% | 44.9% | 51.5% | 50.4% | 64.0% | 70.0% |
Top Beverage/Snack Chains
Top Burger Chains
Top Chicken Chains
Top Family Style Chains
Top Italian Chains
Top Mexican Chains
Top Pizza Chains
Top Sandwich Chains
Top Seafood Chains
Top Steak Chains
Top Varied Menu Chains
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Top Seafood Chains
| Overall Score | Value | Food/ Beverage | Appearance/ Ambiance | Convenience/ Takeout | Service/ Hospitality | |
| Bonefish Grill | 56.5% | 46.5% | 56.3% | 55.2% | 54.6% | 69.8% |
| Joe's Crab Shack | 53.0% | 43.8% | 55.2% | 53.4% | 49.8% | 62.7% |
| Captain D's Seafood Kitchen | 51.4% | 45.8% | 49.9% | 44.1% | 56.4% | 60.5% |
Top Beverage/Snack Chains
Top Burger Chains
Top Chicken Chains
Top Family Style Chains
Top Italian Chains
Top Mexican Chains
Top Pizza Chains
Top Sandwich Chains
Top Seafood Chains
Top Steak Chains
Top Varied Menu Chains
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Top Steak Chains
| Overall Score | Value | Food/ Beverage | Appearance/ Ambiance | Conveniece/ Takeout | Service/ Hospitality | |
| The Capital Grill | 56.5% | 47.4% | 55.0% | 58.0% | 52.8% | 69.4% |
| LongHorn Steakhouse | 55.1% | 47.0% | 53.0% | 53.4% | 55.3% | 67.0% |
| Texas Roadhouse | 53.7% | 47.0% | 51.7% | 51.0% | 53.1% | 65.6% |
Top Beverage/Snack Chains
Top Burger Chains
Top Chicken Chains
Top Family Style Chains
Top Italian Chains
Top Mexican Chains
Top Pizza Chains
Top Sandwich Chains
Top Seafood Chains
Top Steak Chains
Top Varied Menu Chains
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Top Varied Menu Chains
| Overall Score | Value | Food/ Beverage | Appearance/ Ambiance | Convenience/ Takeout | Service/ Hospitality | |
| Seasons 52 | 58.0% | 47.8% | 57.6% | 60.2% | 55.0% | 69.2% |
| Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen | 55.1% | 51.8% | 54.8% | 54.9% | 51.0% | 62.8% |
| The Cheesecake Factory | 54.5% | 44.0% | 58.0% | 55.1% | 52.2% | 63.2% |
Top Beverage/Snack Chains
Top Burger Chains
Top Chicken Chains
Top Family Style Chains
Top Italian Chains
Top Mexican Chains
Top Pizza Chains
Top Sandwich Chains
Top Seafood Chains
Top Steak Chains
Top Varied Menu Chains
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