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The 10 restaurant chains that added the most U.S. locations in 2022The 10 restaurant chains that added the most U.S. locations in 2022

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister, Managing Editor

July 18, 2023

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Every year, Nation’s Restaurant News partners with Datassential to present the Top 500 restaurants in America based on domestic systemwide sales, then breaks down all the data. This week, we’re looking at the 10 restaurant chains that had the highest net unit growth in 2022.

Nine brands on this list added at least 100 locations last year, so unsurprisingly, they are mainly giant restaurant companies that can easily triple-digit units in a year. But still, there are emerging chains peppered throughout as well, including one that began 2022 with just 400 restaurants total.

Half of this list is the same as last year’s, representing brands that have been on a long-term growth tear. While most of those five that fell off still opened a number of units last year, Starbucks actually saw a net loss of 54.

Every chain on this list is limited service — three each from the chicken and coffee segments — and they all saw sales growth in addition to their unit growth. The No. 1 chain on this list more than doubled its footprint.

Click through to see which 10 restaurant chains added the most net locations in 2022.  

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Related:The 10 restaurants with the most locations in the U.S.

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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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