| 2024 Rank | Chain Name | Operator Category | Unit Count 2024 | Unit Count 2023 | Unit Change | Est. 2024 Sales | Est. 2024 AUV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waffle House | Midscale - Family Style | 2003 | 1980 | +1.2% | 1410.1 | 0.71 |
| 2 | IHOP | Midscale - Family Style | 1687 | 1696 | -0.5% | 3526 | 2.08 |
| 3 | Applebee's | Casual Dining - American | 1492 | 1556 | -4.1% | 4250.3 | 2.72 |
| 4 | Denny's | Midscale - Family Style | 1324 | 1407 | -5.9% | 2538.4 | 1.92 |
| 5 | Buffalo Wild Wings | Casual Dining - Sports Bar | 1323 | 1264 | +4.7% | 4370.4 | 3.39 |
| 6 | Chili's | Casual Dining - American | 1214 | 1230 | -1.3% | 4571 | 3.7 |
| 7 | Olive Garden | Casual Dining - Italian/Pizza | 916 | 908 | +0.9% | 5132.7 | 5.6 |
| 8 | Outback | Casual Dining - Seafood/Steak | 675 | 673 | +0.3% | 2724.4 | 4.07 |
| 9 | Texas Roadhouse | Casual Dining - Seafood/Steak | 671 | 638 | +5.2% | 5607 | 8.49 |
| 10 | Cracker Barrel | Midscale - Family Style | 658 | 660 | -0.3% | 2719.5 | 4.13 |
| 11 | Longhorn Steakhouse | Casual Dining - Seafood/Steak | 590 | 578 | +2.1% | 2921.3 | 4.9 |
| 12 | First Watch | Midscale - Family Style | 572 | 524 | +9.2% | 1184.5 | 2.2 |
| 13 | Red Lobster | Casual Dining - Seafood/Steak | 520 | 649 | -19.9% | 1961 | 3.77 |
| 14 | Red Robin | Casual Dining - American | 487 | 496 | -1.8% | 1507.8 | 3.1 |
| 15 | Bob Evans | Midscale - Family Style | 431 | 442 | -2.5% | 815.5 | 1.89 |
| 16 | Golden Corral | Midscale - Buffet | 351 | 355 | -1.1% | 1499.6 | 4.28 |
| 17 | Braum's | Midscale - Family Style | 314 | 310 | +1.3% | 279.8 | 0.9 |
| 18 | Hooters | Casual Dining - Sports Bar | 292 | 297 | -1.7% | 806.9 | 2.76 |
| 19 | Huddle House | Midscale - Family Style | 272 | 286 | -4.9% | 221.4 | 0.82 |
| 20 | Perkins | Midscale - Family Style | 263 | 272 | -3.3% | 527.1 | 2 |
| 21 | BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse | Casual Dining - American | 225 | 224 | +0.4% | 1357.3 | 6.07 |
| 22 | P.F. Chang's | Upscale Casual - Regional/Global | 215 | 224 | -4.0% | 979.8 | 4.66 |
| 23 | Ruby Tuesday | Casual Dining - American | 213 | 220 | -3.2% | 325.3 | 1.53 |
| 24 | Cheesecake Factory | Upscale Casual - American | 210 | 215 | -2.3% | 2661.6 | 12.4 |
| 25 | Carrabba's | Upscale Casual - Italian/Pizza | 210 | 210 | +0.0% | 766.1 | 3.65 |
| 26 | Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen | Casual Dining - American | 189 | 184 | +2.7% | 809 | 4.3 |
| 27 | Dave & Busters | Casual Dining - Sports Bar | 167 | 163 | +2.5% | 613.2 | 3.75 |
| 28 | Bonefish Grill | Upscale Casual - Seafood/Steak | 166 | 166 | +0.0% | 573.7 | 3.46 |
| 29 | Mellow Mushroom | Casual Dining - Italian/Pizza | 166 | 161 | +3.1% | 466.7 | 2.85 |
| 30 | Black Bear Diner | Midscale - Family Style | 162 | 156 | +3.8% | 444.6 | 2.79 |
Check out the 2025 QSR 50: Fast Food’s Leading Annual Report
Methodology:
The FSR Top 30 Report was created in partnership with Datassential and its annual Datassential Top 500, which ranks the largest restaurant chains in the U.S. Chain operators were invited to share unit and systemwide sales figures, and Datassential supplemented those numbers with data from its analytics platforms, including and especially the Datassential Operators platform, as well as Concept Testing and Brand Performance. Publicly available brand data from securities filings, investor research, and franchise disclosures also informed Datassential estimates. Where specific chain information was not available, estimates were made based on growth rates seen in the industry overall and among similar chains.
