McDonald’s once again was the largest restaurant chain in the U.S. in 2017, according to Technomic’s Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. Despite shrinking its unit count in the past couple of years, including a 0.8% decline last year, it maintained its overall dominance. With its combination of high average unit volume, which at $2.5 million is still among the highest in limited service, and more than 14,000 locations, McDonald’s is by far the most popular U.S. restaurant chain. Read on to see how.
Starbucks is still less than half of McDonald’s size, even after growing by more than $1.5 billion last year. That 12-year figure is assuming McDonald's saw no growth at all.
The next 10 chains are Burger King, Wendy’s, Sonic Drive-In, Jack in the Box, Hardee’s, Whataburger, Carl’s Jr., Five Guys, Culver’s and Steak ’n Shake.
The quick-service Buffalo Wild Wings Go opened 79 new stores last year while its full-service counterpart shrunk. But both concepts struggled with per-unit sales.
Immigration declines are hurting a lot of restaurants. The Texas Restaurant Association has brought together different groups to find a long-term solution.
The fast-food chain is asking a court to prevent a franchisee from closing restaurants in a dispute over unpaid marketing fees. The franchisee sued the brand last year over what it called an improper termination.
