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The 10 U.S. restaurants with the fastest-growing estimated sales per unitThe 10 U.S. restaurants with the fastest-growing estimated sales per unit

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister, Managing Editor

August 1, 2023

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Three chains on this list are limited service, specifically fast casual.

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

We also look at unit and estimated sales per unit (ESPU) data in this report.

Three of the restaurants with the fastest-growing ESPUs in 2022 were also among the 10 biggest brands by this metric, but many chains grew without hitting the very top rankings. The highest ESPU among the bunch is $12.1 million, and the lowest is $1.2 million — showing that a chain of truly any size or type can achieve huge growth on the unit level.

Three chains on this list grew ESPU by over 51% from 2021, and all of them grew by at least 18.7%. Seven of these chains are full service — not surprising as those brands continued to climb out of a COVID hole. Three chains on this list are limited service, specifically fast casual.

Last year we assessed average unit volumes, and none of the fastest-growers from 2022 appear on this list, showing that huge growth can be difficult to achieve over longer stretches of time.

Click through this gallery to see the 10 U.S. restaurants that grew estimated sales per unit the most in 2022.

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Related:The 10 biggest restaurant chains in America by estimated sales per unit

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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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