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The 10 biggest limited-service sandwich restaurants in the U.S.The 10 biggest limited-service sandwich restaurants in the U.S.

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister, Managing Editor

November 21, 2023

10 Slides
Limited Service sandwiches Arby's

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It was a good year for limited-service sandwich restaurants, with all 10 of the largest growing systemwide sales and estimated sales per unit in 2022.

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, unit, and estimated sales per unit. NRN has been analyzing the Top 10 restaurant chains in each segment by sales.

The 10 biggest sandwich chains, out of 33 total on the Top 500, are the same 10 as they were the year before, but there was some movement within the ranking — including a new chain in the No. 3 spot.

While it was a great year for sandwich sales, with brands growing by as much as 25.7%, only six of these 10 chains added net new units in 2022.

Interestingly, four of these brands — McAlister’s Deli, Jimmy John’s, Arby’s, and Subway — have ties to Roark Capital.

Click through the gallery to see the 10 biggest limited-sandwich chains in the U.S.

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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