Top of the Food Chains
How much do mega-chains like Olive Garden and the Cheesecake Factory actually pull in? A lot, actually, and according to Restaurant Business, Texas Roadhouse is now the biggest casual chain in the country. What else makes the top ten? Take a look at the 10 biggest chain restaurants in the United States.
1. Texas Roadhouse
U.S. Sales in 2024: $5,488,007
Percent of Change: 14.7%
The steakhouse chain is relatively new to the game, but it’s exploded in popularity in recent years, even developing a cult-like following. The menu is far from unique, boasting steaks, burgers, and a Bloomin Onion knockoff, but the restaurant still pulled in five billion dollars last year. I might need to try this place and figure out the hype.
2. Olive Garden
U.S. Sales in 2024: $5,152,300,000
Percent of Change: 0.8%
Olive Garden has held down the number one spot since 2018, so it’s a big deal to see it fall. If we finally see the bottom of the bowl on those neverending breadsticks at this wildly popular Italian chain, we may have Texas Roadhouse to blame.
3. Chili’s
U.S. Sales in 2024: $4,571,300,000
Percent of Change: 15.0%
Despite landing at number three, Chili’s actually experienced the most growth last year, to the tune of 15%. That’s a whole lot of Quesadilla Explosion Salads.
4. Applebee’s
U.S. Sales in 2024: $4,104,700,000
Percent of Change: -5.8%
There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of eating good in the neighborhood lately, with sales down 5%. The Dillon, Texas location is probably the store reporting the highest numbers.
5. Buffalo Wild Wings
U.S. Sales in 2024: $4,054,360,000
Percent of Change: 2.4%
Why is this place carpeted? Avoiding bits of chicken that have been smashed into the floor is an unpleasant experience to me, but not enough to stop Buffalo Wild Wings from pulling in four billy in sales. Nice work.
6. LongHorn Steakhouse
U.S. Sales in 2024: $3,011,300,000
Percent of Change: 7.2%
What’s Texas Roadhouse doing that LongHorn isn’t? Aren’t these just basically the same restaurant? Two billion dollars says otherwise.
7. Outback Steakhouse
U.S. Sales in 2024: $2,718,812,000
Percent of Change: -3.9%
Outback is one of the only places on this list that I’ve actually been to. My experience at Outback was a nightmare in every sense. I can see why people are picking the other places.
8. The Cheesecake Factory
U.S. Sales in 2024: $2,661,627,000
Percent of Change: 2.6%
With two billion in sales, it looks like the Cheesecake Factory has one dollar for each item on its menu. If you were to have quizzed me about what would take number one, I would have picked The Factory. I know a lot of people that truly love this place. Makes no sense to me.
9. Red Lobster
U.S. Sales in 2024: $1,680,500,000
Percent of Change: -22.7%
What a rollercoaster it’s been with Red Lobster, eh? Bankrupt, then back, then bankrupt, then back. You can thank endless shrimp for that negative 22%.
10. Red Robin
U.S. Sales in 2024: $1,498,600,000
Percent of Change: -4.2%
When I was in high school, this was the place to be. 20 years later, we’re down four percent and can’t even sell a measly 2 billion dollars worth of Camp Fire sauce. Pitiful.
This article was originally published on Cheapism
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