Special Reports
Future 50 2023
Growth chains aren't all fast-food restaurants. While limited-service concepts still make up a majority of the growth brands on the Future 50 ranking of up-and-coming concepts, the full-service sectors were well represented, including several family-dining brands. Take a look into the next generation of chains with the Restaurant Business Future 50.
The 500 largest chains collectively have recovered from the pandemic and then some, with sales up 8.4% since 2019. But success was not spread evenly, and the very biggest concepts performed best, according to the 2022 Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. RB takes an in-depth look at the companies and sectors on this year’s list, including those that did well, and those that struggled.
This year’s class of America’s up-and-coming chains faces an uncertain future. But as the coronavirus hit, these small and innovative concepts were characteristically quick to adapt, repacking menu items into meal kits, creating pop-up drive-thrus and more. Here’s a look at how they got here, and where they plan to go next.