Sponsored By

10 growing restaurant chains to watch10 growing restaurant chains to watch

Meet the Next Generation rising stars on deck to join the Top 200 ranking

Alan Liddle, Senior Data & Events Editor

September 4, 2020

10 Slides
7 Next Gen 2020 Bonchon Korean Fried Chicken

Already have an account?

As Nation’s Restaurant News prepares its annual ranking of Top 200 restaurant chains, we also identify a cadre of Next Generation concepts, including growing brands that may potentially qualify among the largest soon.

Deviating from the past, this year we are excluding previously spotlighted brands to make room for more “new faces.”

To compile this roster, we not only looked at growing Top 200 database candidates whose sales fell below the qualifying threshold, but also tapped into Datassential’s Firefly 500 chain report to find four methodology-compatible brands for which we have not recently collected data or modeled results. The estimated sales per unit, or ESPU, metrics shown for all brands were calculated by NRN.

The dramatic impact of COVID-19 will ultimately determine if the 2020 Next Generation’s top performers will fulfill their potential in the year underway. This data, however, gives a picture of how these chains to watch were performing as they entered the uncharted waters of pandemic and the hoped-for recovery.

Contact Alan Liddle at [email protected]

Follow him on Twitter: @AJ_NRN

About the Author

Alan Liddle

Senior Data & Events Editor

Alan is Senior Data & Events Editor for The Restaurant & Food Group within Informa Connect, including Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Hospitality, Food Management and Supermarket News. He joined NRN in 1984, covering the Pacific Northwest, and later added chief photographer duties, initiated NRN’s regular technology coverage, was on the development team for NRN.com and generated content for NRN’s early podcasting initiative, Podcast Central, beginning in 2006. Alan is senior researcher and data analyst for NRN and Supermarket News market data products, including Top 200 and SN75, and helps develop and present educational programs for conferences and webinars. A graduate of California State University at Fullerton and a former daily and weekly newspaper reporter, he resides in Salinas, Calif.

 

Subscribe Nation's Restaurant News Newsletters
Get the latest breaking news in the industry, analysis, research, recipes, consumer trends, the latest products and more.