America's favorite family-dining chains

There is no doubt that family-dining chains are struggling, with stalwarts such as Friendly’s, Village Inn, Bakers Square and more encountering troubles. While it is hard for such chains to compete with the quick-service sector on convenience, the most-loved family-dining chains set themselves apart in service and hospitality. And innovative breakfast and lunch chains such as First Watch are on the rise. 

Overall: 58.1%

Service & Hospitality: 66.3%

Ambiance & Appearance: 59.8%

Food & Beverage: 57.9%

Takeout & Convenience: 57.1%

Value: 50.3%

Source: Technomic Ignite consumer data

Learn more about America's Favorite Chains.

Overall: 56.7%

Service & Hospitality: 65%

Ambiance & Appearance: 55.9%

Food & Beverage: 59.6%

Takeout & Convenience: 56.4%

Value: 43.6%

Daytime-dining chain First Watch continues its evolution, hiring development veteran Greg Barber as its first chief transformation officer early this year. His charge: to craft the concept's business development strategy and further position it for growth.

Source: Technomic Ignite consumer data

Learn more about America's Favorite Chains.

Overall: 51.1%

Service & Hospitality: 60.3%

Ambiance & Appearance: 49.6%

Food & Beverage: 51.7%

Takeout & Convenience: 55.3%

Value: 41.2%

Source: Technomic Ignite consumer data

Learn more about America's Favorite Chains.

Overall: 47.7%

Service & Hospitality: 60.1%

Ambiance & Appearance: 45%

Food & Beverage: 47.8%

Takeout & Convenience: 52.4%

Value: 38.5%

Source: Technomic Ignite consumer data

Learn more about America's Favorite Chains.

Overall: 47.4%

Service & Hospitality: 56.5%

Ambiance & Appearance: 45.6%

Food & Beverage: 47.2%

Takeout & Convenience: 50.9%

Value: 40.9%

Source: Technomic Ignite consumer data

Learn more about America's Favorite Chains.

The Technomic Ignite: Consumer program is an ongoing study that tracks the performance of leading chains by measuring the consumer experience. This report includes the top chains in the U.S. by sales, plus 53 additional chains to round out categories or capture regional data. The data represents responses from more than 100,000 consumers, collected from Q4 2018 to Q3 2019. Scores represent the percentage of respondents who strongly agree with the statements, on a scale of 1 to 5.