Financing

Here are the biggest family dining chains in the U.S.

These family-style concepts generated the most domestic sales in 2021, according to the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report.
largest family dining chains
Photograph: Shutterstock

Family dining chains struggled during the pandemic and have seen a slower recovery than other full-service chains. But there were some outliers. Here are the largest such chains in the U.S. based on 2021 domestic system sales, according to the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. 

2022 RankChain Name2021 US Sales ($000,000)2021 US Units
28IHOP$2,9971,657
31Denny's$2,4621,487
32Cracker Barrel$2,418664
47Waffle House$1,279*1,950
67First Watch$751435
68Bob Evans$750440
89Perkins Restaurant & Bakery$496*290
116Black Bear Diner$350144
160Village Inn$224*129
163Huddle House$219*305
180Frisch's Big Boy$190*110
205The Original Pancake House$163*144
218Friendly's$143*129
222Shoney's$141*103
225Another Broken Egg Cafe$13979
229Metro Diner$134*57
Source: Technomic's Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report; *Technomic estimate

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

Financing

The ongoing dangers of third-party delivery

The Bottom Line: The parent company of Tender Greens, which filed for bankruptcy this week, is laying part of the blame on its heavier reliance on delivery orders.

Technology

As restaurant tech consolidates, an ode to the point solution

Tech Check: All-in-one may be all the rage, but there’s value in being a one-trick pony.

Financing

Steak and Ale comes back from the dead, 16 years later

The Bottom Line: Paul Mangiamele has vowed to bring the venerable casual-dining chain back for more than a decade. He finally fulfilled that promise. Here’s a look inside.

Trending

More from our partners