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Top 500 2025

Financing

For Snarf's Sandwiches founder Jimmy 'Snarf' Seidel, the hard work pays off

 By Jonathan Maze on May 22, 2025

Seidel loaded his car 30 years ago and moved to Colorado with a dream for a restaurant and not much else. Today, Snarf’s is the industry’s fastest-growing sandwich concept.

Financing

Culver's is one of the restaurant industry's most underappreciated growth stories

 By Jonathan Maze on May 16, 2025

The Bottom Line: The Wisconsin-based burger chain has grown consistently, with a combination of improved unit volumes and new restaurants. Even when consumers were cutting back.

Operations

Traditional taco concepts crumble, while unconventional Mexican fast casuals find the secret sauce

By Lisa Jennings on May 14, 2025

Burrito-and-bowl chains Chipotle and Qdoba have long led the fast-casual category. Here are the rising taco-focused brands that saw growth last year.

Food

Tous les Jours taps into treat culture to thrive in a competitive segment

By Patricia Cobe on May 09, 2025

Top 500: The Korean-born bakery-café chain is growing its presence in the U.S., with sales and unit count increasing significantly year over year.

Financing

The beverage business is about to get a lot more competitive

By Jonathan Maze on May 09, 2025

A growing number of restaurant chains are expanding in the U.S. with a wider array of more innovative beverages than ever. And now McDonald's and Taco Bell are coming. Is there enough demand?

Financing

Subway closed more restaurants last year

By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 29, 2025

The sandwich giant closed more than 600 U.S. locations in 2024, according to the company’s franchise disclosure documents. It has fewer domestic restaurants than it’s had in 20 years.

Operations

Wine concepts were the surprise toast of casual dining last year

By Joe Guszkowski on Apr. 28, 2025

Despite a nationwide slump in wine sales, wine-centric casual-dining chains like Sixty Vines and Postino are booming. Here’s their recipe for success.

Financing

In the fast-food Mexican sector, there is Taco Bell, and everyone else

By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 25, 2025

The Bottom Line: Jack in the Box’s planned sale of Del Taco highlights the sector’s complexity. Consumers are eating more Mexican. But they’re avoiding fast-food Mexican restaurants. Unless it’s Taco Bell.

Financing

Once the dominant delivery providers, pizza chains have taken a back seat to aggregators

By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 22, 2025

The Bottom Line: Sales at fast-food pizza chains have stagnated for the past three years, according to the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. Blame the rise of DoorDash and Uber Eats.

Financing

A look into the Top 500 chain restaurants

By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 16, 2025

A Deeper Dive: Kevin Schimpf, Technomic's senior director of research and insights, joins the restaurant finance podcast to talk about the Top 500 chain restaurant report, including which restaurant brands won and which ones lost.

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