It was a tough year for the industry, but there were big wins for Dutch Bros, Raising Cane’s, and more
Every year, Nation’s Restaurant News provides analysis of Technomic’s annual Top 500 restaurant chains report, which ranks companies by U.S. systemwide sales.
2024 was a tough year for restaurants, with the lowest sales growth since 2020 and the three biggest chains falling short of their typical growth trends.
Indeed, among the 50 biggest, 19 restaurants saw negative sales growth last year, with Red Lobster’s bankruptcy dragging its sales numbers down by 22.7%. There were 20 chains among the Top 50 with negative unit growth, with Red Lobster again at the bottom.
Still, it’s not all bad among the big guys. Dutch Bros continued to climb the ranks, reaching No. 44 with 25.9% sales growth and 18.2% unit growth. Wingstop and Raising Cane’s proved that chicken is still hot, both with over 30% sales growth ��� and the latter entering the Top 20 for the first time.
Click through the above slideshow to meet the 50 biggest restaurant chains in America by U.S. systemwide sales, and check back throughout the summer as we introduce the full Top 500.
Click here to return to the Top 500 landing page.
All data courtesy Technomic Ignite Company. Looking for more data? Click here to access the complete Technomic Top 500.
.jpg?width=1400&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale "Raising Cane's will nearly double its opening pace in November")
