The Historical Research Archive preserves years of RestaurantData research published through the RestaurantData Research Center and its sister publication, RestaurantChains.net. Because the same research methodology has been applied continuously since 1998, these dated reports support meaningful comparisons across changing restaurant markets and economic cycles.
Each report below is a snapshot of the restaurant industry as it stood at the time of publication. The rankings, unit counts, and sales estimates reflect the original research period and are preserved as published. Current rankings and verified development activity are published through the Research Center.
Comparisons Across Research Periods
Most restaurant industry research captures a single period. Because these reports were produced under one methodology applied continuously, they can be read against each other. Brands that led a 2007 growth ranking had, in some cases, exited the market by 2018. Segments with limited presence in 2009 later accounted for a substantial share of industry development. Operators that appear as small companies in early reports can be traced forward through expansion, franchising, and acquisition.
Read in sequence, the reports document how restaurant companies developed over the period covered, which is the basis of RestaurantData’s research since 1998.
How the Research Was Produced
The methods behind these reports changed considerably over the period the archive covers. In the earliest years, research was conducted by hand: researchers worked from printed newspapers, trade publications, and paper filings, and verification meant telephoning corporate offices directly from a desk. Email was not yet in general business use, and there was no practical way to search public records remotely. Coverage was limited to what a research team could read, call, and confirm.
As public records moved online and corporate information became accessible over the internet, the same verification principles could be applied across a far larger volume of source material. Filings that once required a phone call or a mailed request became searchable. The result was broader coverage and faster confirmation, without a change in the underlying standard: original sources, independent verification, and direct confirmation where a record could not otherwise be established.
The earlier reports in this archive were produced under those manual conditions. Their scope reflects the tools of their time; their accuracy reflects the same verification discipline applied today.
From the Archive
Top 10 Fastest Growing Restaurant Chains — January 2007
A top ten ranking by net unit growth as of January 2007, documenting the chains expanding fastest in the years before the recession changed restaurant development.
Top 125 Fast Casual Chains 2009
A ranking of 125 fast casual chains by systemwide sales as the segment stood in 2009, before its rapid expansion over the following decade.
December 2012 Top 20 Fastest Growing Restaurant Concepts
A ranking of the twenty concepts showing the strongest net unit growth during the December 2012 research period, published as part of an ongoing monthly growth series.
January 2014 Top 20 Fastest Growing Restaurant Concepts
The same monthly growth series measured in January 2014, allowing direct comparison with the December 2012 ranking to see which concepts sustained unit growth and which fell away.
The Top 300 Restaurant Concepts in 2018
A full ranking of 300 restaurant concepts by estimated systemwide sales as of year-end 2018, with unit counts, average unit volumes, menu categories, and service segments. The report documents the chain restaurant industry immediately before the pandemic.
About the Archive
The five reports above are drawn from the Fastest Growing Restaurant Chains Archive at RestaurantChains.net, which organizes ranked restaurant growth reports published between 2007 and 2018. Archived growth alerts, newsletter reports, and emerging concept coverage dating back to 2004 are preserved separately in the Restaurant Growth Reports archive. Reports are added to this page as they are restored and republished.
Every archived report was built from the same verification process used across RestaurantData research: original public records, franchise disclosure documents, permits, corporate research, and multiple independent sources. The methodology behind current research is described in Restaurant Opening Analysis.
Questions regarding archived research, methodology, or licensing may be directed through the RestaurantData Contact page.