Long considered an innovator in the convenience-store segment, Wawa continues to gain share in the traditional foodservice space as c-stores become more a destination for prepared foods. The C-Store segment boasted the largest average growth in Estimated Sales Per Unit, at 6.3 percent in the Latest Year, among all 12 Top 100 segments. Wawa, known for its hot and cold hoagie sandwiches, also offers Hot-To-Go Bowls, soups, salads and a breakfast menu including built-to-order selections. Wawa’s focus on fresh helped it post the fourth-largest year-over-year growth in estimated sales per unit across the entire Top 100 universe.

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Segment: C-Store
Sales growth: 16.2%
Total sales: $1.6 billion
Sales rank: 39
Total units: 721 (+6%)
ESPU: $2.3 million (+9.9%)

Wingstop continues to be a darling of Wall Street as it met growth and profit expectations in 2015. Domestic same-store sales rose 7.9 percent that year, helping drive a 14-percent increase in corporate revenue and a doubling of profit for the full year. Wingstop has upped its expansion efforts, with a 17.1 percent increase in U.S. unit openings in the Latest Year. It ranked No. 3 in unit growth, up from its No. 7 ranking in the Preceding Year. New units don’t do it alone. Wingstop is benefiting from increased brand awareness, limited-time flavor offerings and a major play in online and digital ordering driving check and frequency. 

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Segment: Chicken
Sales growth: 21.5%
Total sales: $807 million
Sales rank: 60
Total units: 786 (+17.1%)
ESPU: $1.1 million (+5.1%)

One of four Chicken chains in this list of the top 10 fastest-growing chains, Zaxby’s continues to be a story of westward growth from its home base in Georgia. Along with ranking No. 10 here, Zaxby’s is No. 11 in total unit growth and in the top 20 chains with the largest growth in number of franchised units. The brand serves on-trend chicken tenders, traditional and boneless wings, sandwiches, salads and appetizers. It offers nine sauces, ranging from Wimpy and Tongue Torch to Nuclear and Insane. Zaxby’s also continues to refine unit redesigns, some of which have open kitchens and a farmhouse feel.

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Segment: Chicken
Sales growth: 15.8%
Total sales: $1.5 billion
Sales rank: 43
Total units: 726 (+10.3%)
ESPU: $2.1 million (+4.7%)

With estimated sales per unit rivaling a casual-dining chain, Chick-fil-A continued to surge in total sales, breaking into the 10 fastest-growing chains from this year’s Top 100 report. Its $3.5 million ESPU is the highest of any Limited Service or Chicken concept in the Top 100 universe, and the only limited-service restaurant represented in the 20 largest ESPUs, falling right below Red Lobster and just above TGI Fridays. The successful expansion into high-volume markets like New York City has proven the concept can travel from its origins in Atlanta. The brand keeps moving, naming a new president and COO in May and debuting a mobile ordering and pay-ahead app. 

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Segment: Chicken
Sales growth: 18.1%
Total sales: $6.7 billion
Sales rank: 8
Total units: 1,967 (+5.1%)
ESPU: $3.5 million (+11.7%)

Opening eight locations may not sound like a lot, especially when considering the Top 100 fastest-growing chains. But when you’re talking units that range between 25,000 and 40,000 square feet and bring in an average volume of $11.3 million, those eight units sure do make a difference. Dave & Buster’s, No. 8 on the top 10 list of fastest-growing chains, has also worked on its menu, marketing and merchandise to fuel growth. Headed into 2016, the brand began to use a new marketing theme, “New Is What We Do,” and introduced new “visually impactful, innovative and shareable” menu items, according to Dolf Berle, the company’s president and chief operating officer. 

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Segment: Casual Dining
Sales growth: 16.3%
Total sales: $856.4 million
Sales rank: 56
Total units: 80 (+11.1%)
ESPU: $11.3 million (+4.9%)

More proof that the Chicken segment is resonating with consumers everywhere, Raising Cane’s has joined the Top 100’s list of top 10 fastest-growing chains for the second year in a row. Fueled by fans known as “Caniacs,” the brand also ranked No. 1 in menu “craveability” in the 2016 Consumer Picks customer survey from Nation’s Restaurant News. The menu has remained as it started, with chicken fingers, crinkle-cut fries, coleslaw, Cane’s sauce, Texas toast and beverages. In the midst of Raising Cane’s sales surge, restaurant consultant Fred LeFranc said last August that focused menus can lead to fiscal success. “If you have an exceptional product, people will come in with enough numbers.”

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Segment: Chicken
Sales growth: 21.4%
Total sales: $508.6 million
Sales rank: 92
Total units: 251 (+19%)
ESPU: $2.2 million (+1.9%)

Domino’s is one of the biggest storylines of this year’s Top 100 report, as the chain made its first appearance in the top 10 largest chains based on sales, jumping three spots up the ranks and knocking Applebee’s out of the No. 10 spot. Domino’s reported a sales increase of nearly 17 percent for the Latest Year, ranking it on this list at No. 7. As a mature pizza chain, Domino’s growth came less from new unit openings and more from upping its per-unit output. Estimated sales per unit rose 14.5 percent, the largest increase of any chain in this year’s Top 100. 

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Segment: Pizza
Sales growth: 16.9%
Total sales: $4.8 billion
Sales rank: 10
Total units: 5,200 (+2.6%)
ESPU: $937,100 (+14.5%)

In its first appearance in the Top 100 report (having previously ranked in the Second 100), Marco’s Pizza is a story of a chain on the rise. Ranking No. 2 in sales growth and No. 4 in unit growth, the 100-percent franchised chain has kept development agreements rolling in. Pizza brands are growing quickly, aided by online ordering, limited-time offerings and, of course, delivery. It’s not just about quantity for Marco’s, but quality as well. The chain was ranked by customers as the third-favorite pizza brand among 13 competitors in the 2016 Consumer Picks report from Nation’s Restaurant News.

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Segment: Pizza
Sales growth: 23.7%
Total sales: $417.6 million
Sales rank: 99
Total units: 667 (+15.4%)
ESPU: $670,800 (+0.8%)

Scoring a three-peat, Jersey Mike’s Subs sits atop the rankings of the Top 100 fastest-growing chains for the third year in a row. The sandwich chain secured the ranking in both the 2014 and 2015 Top 100 reports, as well as this current 2016 edition. Fueling that growth is a surge in new unit openings. Jersey Mike’s ranked No. 1 in new unit growth, with a 22.1-percent jump in total locations. On Oct. 14, 2015, the chain broke the 1,000-unit mark. “It may have taken us 40 years to get to 1,000 restaurants, but Jersey Mike’s expects to double that in the next four years, reaching 2,000 locations by 2019,” CEO Peter Cancro said.

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Segment: Limited Service/Sandwich
Sales growth: 28.6%
Total sales: $675 million
Sales rank: 71
Total units: 1,046 (+22.1%)
ESPU: $709,400 (+6.1%)

Each of the Top 100 fastest-growing concepts boasts unit expansion and increased per-unit sales. Firehouse Subs adds to that list menu innovation and marketing prowess. The sandwich brand known for its hot, specialty subs went cold in 2015 with a test of six Cold Deli Heroes sandwiches, set for national rollout this year. In 2014 — no doubt aiding the chain’s growth in 2015 — was the introduction of the Hearty & Flavorful Under 500 Calories menu, which includes six subs and four chopped salads. To help build the brand, Firehouse Subs debuted its first national marketing campaign in 2015, with a new round of national TV spots currently airing. 

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Segment: Limited Service/Sandwich
Sales growth: 17.5%
Total sales: $639.8 million
Sales rank: 76
Total units: 944 (+12.4%)
ESPU: $717,300 (+2.3%)