NRN & Technomic Identify America’s Favorite Chains
by David Klemt
Alright, which one of you maniacs out there is going to make this AI-generated chicken-patty-pizza-steak burger a reality and put it on your menu?
Toward the beginning of 2024, Nation’s Restaurant News collaborated with Technomic to identify America’s favorite restaurant chains.
To my understanding, this is the first such partnership between the independent foodservice publication and the foodservice intelligence platform.
Providing more than just a glimpse into America’s favorite chains, the rankings span several categories. For instance, the partnership between NRN and Technomic reveals the top QSRs, along with the country’s favorite fast-casual, family-style, and miscale restaurants.
However, the top three chains across more granular categories are also identified. Examples include America’s favorite chicken, pizza, burger, and Mexican restaurants.
In fact, I’m going to kick things off with the more specific, specialized categories. Then, I’ll move into the broader segments.
That said, I encourage you to review NRN‘s article revealing America’s favorite midscale, casual, QSR, etc. restaurants for yourself. Written by Joanna Fantozzi, the piece is full of valuable insights beyond simple rankings.
Further, you may find it interesting to compare these rankings to the results of BrandVue’s Most Loved Eating Out Brands 2023 report, which we reviewed here.
Cheers to NRN and Technomic! Here’s to hoping that this becomes an annual release.
Beverage or Snack
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe
- Smoothie King
- Jamba
Burger
- Culver’s
- In-N-Out
- Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburger
Chicken
- Chick-fil-A
- Jollibee
- Raising Cane’s
Italian (FSR)
- Carrabba’s Italian Grill
- Maggiano’s Little Italy
- Mellow Mushroom
Mexican
- Chuy’s Tex-Mex
- Torchy’s Tacos
- Moe’s Southwest Grill
Pizza
- Papa Murphy’s
- Marco’s Pizza
- Cici’s Pizza
Sandwich
- Jersey Mike’s Subs
- Newk’s Eatery
- Jason’s Deli
Steak
- Ruth’s Chris Steak House
- Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse
- Longhorn Steakhouse
Varied Menu
- Seasons 52
- Bahama Breeze Island Grille
- Cooper’s Hawk
QSR
- Dutch Bros Coffee
- Topical Smoothie Cafe
- Smoothie King
- Cold Stone Creamery
- Chik-fil-A
Fast Casual
- Jersey Mike’s Subs
- Newk’s Eatery
- Jason’s Deli
- McAlister’s Deli
- Sweetgreen
Family Style
- First Watch
- Cracker Barrel
- Golden Corral
Casual
- Seasons 52
- Bahama Breeze Island Grille
- Bonefish Grill
- Longhorn Steakhouse
- Cooper’s Hawk
Midscale
- First Watch
- Cracker Barrel
- Golden Corral
- Shoney’s
- Black Bear Diner
Favorite Chains: Overall
- Ruth’s Chris Steak House
- Season 52
- Dutch Bros Coffee
- Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse
- Bahama Breeze Island Grille
- Longhorn Steakhouse
- Cooper’s Hawk
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe
- The Capital Grille
- Smoothie King
When it comes to this list of the top-ten favorite chain restaurants, Technomic data scores a number of crucial insights.
Click here to see how each of these industry leaders ranked in:
- Service and hospitality
- Unit appearance and ambience
- F&B
- Convenience and takeout
- Value
Image: Shutterstock. Disclaimer: This image was generated by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system.
