Lessons from the Top 500 Chains

Did you know the top 500 chains in the U.S. made up 64% of all U.S. restaurant sales in 2024?¹

With these 500 brands accounting for so much of the market, there is clearly a lot to learn in the data and trends behind each of these well-known names. But these lessons couldn’t come at a better time, as the industry continues to contend with near-relentless uncertainty, pricing fluctuations, regulations, consumer sentiment—the list goes on and on.

So what can we learn? How is the industry doing right now? What are the trends that are driving some of the largest restaurant brands in the country? And what lessons can we learn from the concepts that are outpacing the rest of the industry—what are they doing and why are they resonating with consumers?

Industry update

So how is the industry doing?

On the one hand, top 500 chain sales are still growing, up 3.1% in 2024.¹

On the other hand, that marks a significant slowdown—it’s the lowest annual increase in a decade, aside from the unprecedented pandemic-related decline in 2020.¹

And for many chains, any growth was outpaced by inflation—for 55% of the top 500, sales fell short of the 4.1% inflation rate.¹

Limited service restaurants (LSRs), which is even more dominated by chains (87% of LSR sales came from the Top 500 in 2024), saw two very different stories in each of the two included segments last year. Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) saw sales increase only 2.3% in 2024, falling far short of the 5-year average growth of 6% as well as the inflation rate.¹

Fast casuals, on the other hand, performed better than any other segment, seeing a whopping 9% sales growth in 2024, bringing their 5-year average to 9.9%.¹

Full-service restaurants (FSRs) faced even more headwinds, with sales overall increasing only 1.1% last year, hit hard by restaurant closures and bankruptcies.¹

It’s clear that fast casuals are outpacing concepts at each end of the spectrum by offering up the ideal mix of pricing, value, innovation, and quality. Consumers don’t want to compromise—they are still price-conscious, but they want to treat themselves to high-quality, unique options when they go out to eat.

Tech for the win

Another theme is quickly emerging among those chains that are seeing success: they’re investing in tech.

Indeed, chains like Wingstop and brands like Yum are going all-in on proprietary tech stacks, giving them custom tech platforms that allow them to offer more innovation, utilize the vast amounts of data that chains accumulate, create back-of-house solutions that cater to their particular brand, and integrate more AI throughout the experience.

At Wingstop, which added a whopping 278 more restaurants in 2024 while seeing 37% sales growth (propelling it into the Top 25 for the first time), proprietary tech is central to that success. The company launched its MyWingstop app last year, allowing it to create a more hyper-personalized experience.² And now it’s turning its attention to the back-of-house experience, using tools like gamification to cut order times, increase consistency, and even unlock new dayparts.³

Yum Brands, parent company of brands like Taco Bell (which opened nearly 200 new locations last year and recorded 8.1% sales growth), is also going all-in on custom tech solutions, particularly AI.¹

The company unveiled its Byte by Yum in-house tech platform that collects all of its AI SaaS solutions in one place. It’s also partnering with AI chip maker Nvidia to enhance and roll out new and improved AI solutions, with 40 distinct AI projects in the works focused on voice interaction, automated drive-thrus, call center, computer vision for back-of-house, and data analytics and intelligence.³

The “ability to quickly integrate new technology that leverages Yum’s vast proprietary datasets…is an enormous competitive advantage in the global restaurant space,” Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs said on a Q1 earnings call.³

Lessons in success

Wingstop and Taco Bell were two winning brands among the Top 500 last year, but what other chains outperformed the industry? Consider some of these learnings from a few other key chains:

• Dave’s Hot Chicken—57% sales growth in 2024 Dave’s Hot Chicken easily outpaced the industry with 57% sales growth last year. Part of the reason is the chicken boom, which also helped Wingstop’s success, but it’s also due to their success in navigating the hot chicken craze at a time when consumers want spicier options. But they’ve also gone all in on social media marketing, offering up dares and challenges that are seen by billions.⁴

• Raising Cane’s—32% sales growth Raising Cane’s is also riding the chicken wave, but part of its success is an obsessive focus on culture. The brand has an app where crew members across the organization can share challenges, wins, etc., while the co-CEO has shared his number and email address across the entire organization.⁵

• Chili’s—15% sales growth “America is obsessed with Chili’s,” declared CNN. Why? The chain has bucked the trend of other casual chains, capturing customer traffic at a time when others are struggling, by focusing on customer-centric innovation. At a time when everyone is focused on value, Chili’s doesn’t just focus on pricing, but unique options that offer great value—a smash burger with unlimited chips and salsa, a Triple Dipper combo platter that guests can share.⁶

• 7 Brew —163% sales growth The coffee and beverage category overall continues to perform well, but 7 Brew outperformed every single brand in the Top 500—and for the second year in a row. Part of the reason is that it offers nearly endless customization to younger consumers who love novelty beverages, with nearly 20,000 beverage combinations available.⁷

¹ Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, Technomic, 2025
² Wingstop Readies Launch of Proprietary MyWingstop by April
³ Why Restaurant Chains Doubled Down on Custom Technology in Q1
⁴ Why Is Dave’s Hot Chicken So Famous?
⁵ Raising Cane’s Explosive Growth Begins and Ends with Culture
⁶ Viral Appetizer Sends Chili’s Sales Surging
⁷ Coffee’s New Challenges: How Emerging Brands Shook Up Starbucks’ and Dunkin’s Dominance