25 Years of Ranking Fast-Food Chains

This August marks 25 years of the QSR 50. I spent a few dusty minutes the other day trying to track down the original copy. It was in the care of our art director, Tory Bartelt, who had to empty a few shelves before former Sonic Drive-In leader Clifford Hudson’s cover fell out of the pile. The inaugural QSR 50 actually didn’t feature a chart and ranking the way it has from

Year 2 forward. It wasn’t even called the QSR 50, technically. We labeled the report, “America’s Hottest Chains” and essentially broke down the landscape from the top to the “Up and Coming.” To prove how long ago this was, Jersey Mike’s was on that list with 106 stores. Today? There’s 2,100 with systemwide sales north of $2.2 billion. The brand added 246 restaurants in just 2021.?

In 1997, Chick-fil-A had sales of $671.95 million—a 17.9 percent jump from the prior year. The company’s stated goal was to hit $1 billion in systemwide sales by the year 2000. Feel old yet? Chick-fil-A crossed $16 billion in 2021. And its unit count has ballooned from 761 to over 2,700. A year later, Panda Express clocked in with $191.4 million in domestic systemwide sales and 269 units. It closed 2021 at $4.45 billion and 2,334 stores, respectively. For the most part, what stands out is the category’s resiliency. But, naturally, there are other sides. Blimpie boasted $300 million and 2,135 locations in 1998. The footprint was a 16.48 percent bump from 1,833. To be candid, I’m not entirely certain how many dot America today, but Mashed pegs the figure at about 156. It’s also interesting to see the inflection Subway stood at.

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There were 11,540 units after a relatively modest 3.36 percent, year-over-year, rate. Before an 866-store decline from 2016–2017, Subway added 4,456 restaurants the previous six years combined. The concept finished 2021 with 21,147 U.S. outlets, a net decrease of 3,650 units versus 2019. Even so, it’s still the largest domestic brand by a good distance. Starbucks, at 15,450, is next. Back in 1998, the title belonged to McDonald’s, which had 12,472 U.S. stores and sales of $18.1 billion. It touted 13,438 locations in the U.S. year-end 2021. That sales figure, though, has ballooned to nearly $46 billion.?

Let’s circle burgers and pizza. In 1998, the “Big 3” went as follows after McDonald’s: Burger King—sales of $10.241 billion and 7,691 locations; Wendy’s—sales of $5.6 billion and 4,676 units. Fast forward: BK generates $10.03 billion across 7,105 stores. Wendy’s touts $11.1 billion and 5,938.?

And pizza: Pizza Hut in 1998, $4.875B, 8,471; Domino’s $2.6B, 4,475; Little Caesars $1.75B, 3,905; and Papa Johns, $1.2B, 1,879. Current view: Pizza Hut, $5.5B, 6,548; Domino’s $8.6B, 6,560; Little Caesars $4.2B, 4,181; and Papa Johns, $3.45B, 3,164.

I could stare at these comparisons until my eyes twitch. When I first started covering restaurants (the QSR 50 had been going on for nearly 20 years by then), somebody told me I’d enjoy writing about fast food because it’s “the heartbeat of the American consumer.” Want to know what’s going on in the world? See how people are eating. If there’s a more accurate statement in this world, I haven’t found it yet.