RestaurantData identified four restaurant companies that crossed operating thresholds during the November 2025–June 2026 tracking period.
Two operators moved beyond 30 units. Two others moved beyond 70 units. Each advanced into a new operating range based on verified restaurant development activity observed during the same period.
Key Findings
- Four restaurant companies crossed operating thresholds between November 2025 and June 2026.
- Slice House expanded from 29 to 36 units, adding 7 tracked openings across 3 states.
- Juiceland expanded from 28 to 34 units, adding 6 tracked openings.
- Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux moved from 68 to 73 units, adding 5 tracked openings across 3 states.
- Guthrie’s Chicken Fingers moved from 70 to 73 units, adding 3 tracked openings.
- The analysis compares companies within similar size cohorts rather than against all restaurant operators.
Cohort Size and Threshold Movement
The examples in this post come from larger company-size cohorts. Cohort boundaries are defined per analysis, so companies are compared against operators of similar scale during the same tracking period.
| Company-Size Cohort | Companies Analyzed | Operating Range |
|---|---|---|
| Emerging | 931 | 3–9 units |
| Regional | 401 | 10–30 units |
| Growth | 165 | 31–70 units |
Additional cohorts, including operators above 70 units, are tracked in the full index but are not covered in this post.
The 30-unit examples below show operators moving out of the 10-to-30 range. The 70-unit examples show operators moving out of the 31-to-70 range.
Expansion Activity and Business Prioritization
Organizations that serve the restaurant industry often organize coverage by account size, segment, territory, category, or recent activity. Unit count provides one view of business size. Current development provides another view of movement.
This analysis gives structure to that movement by comparing verified expansion activity inside defined size cohorts and tracking periods.
It does not prescribe a business decision. It presents evidence so readers can interpret the activity within their own planning process.
How to Read the Model
The model compares companies within a selected size segment and tracking period. It weighs recent unit growth, growth velocity, multi-state presence, new-market expansion, recency and momentum, and verification strength.
| Factor | Weight |
|---|---|
| Recent unit growth | 30% |
| Growth velocity | 20% |
| Multi-state presence | 20% |
| New-market expansion | 15% |
| Recency and momentum | 10% |
| Verification strength | 5% |
Verification strength reflects how many independent source types confirm a company’s tracked activity, such as D/B/A filings, permits, and licensing records.
Scores are grouped into pressure tiers: Very High, High, Moderate, and Watch.
Very High indicates the strongest relative expansion pressure within the segment during the window. High and Moderate indicate active but less concentrated development. Watch identifies companies with minimal tracked development. These are not declining businesses, but operators to monitor for future movement rather than prioritize today.
A higher tier indicates stronger relative expansion pressure within the same size segment during the selected period. It does not measure company quality, financial performance, management effectiveness, or investment potential. For an example applied to a single dining segment, see the Top 10 Upscale Dining Brands Showing Expansion Pressure.
Adapting the Model to Your Own Segmentation
The cohort boundaries shown in this post are one configuration, defined for this analysis. They are not fixed.
Organizations segment their markets differently. Some divide accounts into SMB, mid-market, and enterprise. Others organize by territory, category, or purchasing volume. Stage ranges can be redefined to match an organization’s own account structure and adjusted as coverage models change.
A sales team that treats 50 units as the enterprise line can set the stage range there. A market analyst comparing operators between 15 and 45 units can define that band directly. Rankings, tiers, and momentum are recalculated within the selected segmentation, so expansion pressure is measured against the relevant comparison set.
Organizations interested in seeing the model configured around their own segmentation can request a full demonstration.
Understanding the Unit Counts
RestaurantData’s analysis of 2,698 opening projects from March through May shows the pace at which the record base moves. Counts here may differ slightly from a company’s published total by the time this post is read.
Companies Crossing the 30-Unit Threshold
Restaurant operators passing approximately 30 locations have generally moved beyond the earliest stage of expansion. The threshold provides context for comparing companies inside the 10-to-30 cohort and identifying those moving into the next operating range.
| Brand | Units | Net New | States | Pressure | Key Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slice House | 29 → 36 | +7 | 3 | Very High | Crossed 30 units; added 7 tracked openings; active across 3 states; validated by 1 source type (D/B/A filings). |
| Juiceland | 28 → 34 | +6 | 1 | Very High | Crossed 30 units; added 6 tracked openings; validated by 2 source types. |
Both companies moved from below 30 units to above 30 units during the tracking period. Crossing an operating threshold identifies movement from one range into the next.
Companies Crossing the 70-Unit Threshold
Restaurant companies approaching 70 locations are at the upper end of the Growth range. The examples below show companies moving past that boundary and into the next operating stage.
| Brand | Units | Net New | States | Pressure | Key Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux | 68 → 73 | +5 | 3 | Very High | Added 5 tracked openings; active across 3 states; validated by 2 source types. |
| Guthrie’s Chicken Fingers | 70 → 73 | +3 | 1 | Moderate | Added 3 tracked openings; validated by 2 source types. |
Both companies moved from the 31-to-70 range to more than 70 units during the tracking period. Walk-On’s combined unit growth with multi-state activity, while Guthrie’s showed steady single-state development.
Research Methodology
This post is based on RestaurantData’s ongoing threshold movement research. The analysis is powered by continuous ingestion of expansion signals drawn from legal filings, permits, licensing records, local reporting, and other public sources. This is the same verified record base behind RestaurantData’s Restaurant Opening Signals Report and franchise FDD analysis. Development records are reviewed across companies during the same tracking period, covering November 2025 through June 2026.
Individual developments are events. Concentrations of developments across markets, states, and source types represent patterns that can be compared within company-size cohorts.
Operating counts should be interpreted as directional indicators within the research period. They will not match a company’s exact footprint on any given day, and they are not intended to. The goal is to show movement through operating ranges rather than a fixed census of every location on one publication date.
Related Reading
RestaurantChains.net published an editorial summary of this research that places the findings within the context of historical restaurant chain growth reporting.
Read: Restaurant Expansion Watch: Four Chains Cross Operating Thresholds
Related RestaurantData Research
- Six months of restaurant opening data by segment, state, and category: U.S. Restaurant Opening Cross-Tab Analysis: January–June 2026.
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Preferred citation: “Source: Restaurantdata.com, Expansion Pressure Index™ Threshold Movement Analysis, November 2025–June 2026 tracking period, published July 2026.”