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The 10 biggest limited-service Mexican restaurant chains in AmericaThe 10 biggest limited-service Mexican restaurant chains in America

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister, Managing Editor

October 31, 2023

10 Slides
Limited service Mexican restaurant chains

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It was a good year for limited-service Mexican restaurant chains last year, with nine of the Top 10 brands growing their systemwide sales.

Every year, Nation’s Restaurant News and Datassential partner to present The Top 500, the definitive sales ranking of restaurants in America.

One element of this data is restaurant segment, meaning each can be broken down by systemwide domestic sales, units, and estimated sales per unit. NRN has been analyzing the Top 10 restaurant chains in each segment by sales.

In 2022, there were 31 total limited-service Mexican restaurants on the Top 500 list. Within the Top 10 ranked by systemwide sales, there was a slight shuffle, with numbers three and four swapping places, as well as numbers 10 and 11, with Rubio’s just eking onto the list. (Fuzzy’s Taco Shop appears just below Rubio’s on the Top 500, missing this list by just $3.4 million).

By unit count, it was not as good of a year for the segment, with just four of these chains opening net new units in 2022. Seven grew estimated sales per unit.

Click through the gallery to see the 10 biggest limited-service restaurant chains in America.

About the Author

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister

Managing Editor

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister is a managing editor for Informa’s Foodservices Vertical, specifically Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Hospitality, and Foodservice Director.  Leigh Anne works on all of the brands’ special reports, including Nation’s Restaurant News’ annual Top 500 report and Restaurant Hospitality’s Best Cocktails and Best Sandwiches contests. She also manages the group’s digital engagement team, and was the managing editor for Supermarket News until December 2024.

Leigh Anne lives in New York City, but also claims Phoenix, Dallas and Cleveland as hometowns. Leigh Anne holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where she also studied European history. 

Email Leigh Anne at [email protected] 

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister’s experience: 

  • Group Managing Editor, Informa’s Foodservices Vertical (Aug. 2021-present)

  • Group Content Manager, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (Feb. 2020-Aug. 2021)

  • Digital Content Manager, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (April 2018-Feb. 2020)

  • Digital Content Producer, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (June 2016-April 2018)

  • Community Moderator, Mail Online (March 2014-June 2016)

  • Wire Editor, Gannett’s Phoenix Design studio (The Arizona Republic, The Reno Gazette-Journal, The Statesman Journal, The Great Falls Tribune, The Visalia Times-Delta, The Tulare Advance Register, The Salinas Californian, The St. George Spectrum, The Desert Sun, The Coloradoan) (Jan. 2012-March 2014)

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