The Historical Research Archive preserves RestaurantData research published through FoodServiceReport, RestaurantChains.net and the RestaurantData Research Center. These dated reports document restaurant development, company footprints and industry rankings across changing markets and economic cycles.
From the Archive
Browse earlier development reports and industry rankings. Each edition is read in the context of its stated research period.
FoodServiceReport Historical Archive
Regional restaurant development reports, national chain updates and company directory samples, including research from 1999–2002 and 2010–2014. Restored reports identify their research periods and link to archived source pages.
Top 10 Fastest Growing Restaurant Chains — January 2007
A top 10 ranking by net unit growth as of January 2007, documenting the chains expanding fastest in the years before the recession changed restaurant development.
Top 122 Fast Casual Chains 2009
A ranking of 122 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 20 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 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.
Comparisons Across
Research Periods
Each report is a snapshot of the restaurant industry during its original research period. Historical rankings, unit counts and sales estimates retain that context. Restored editions may include current company links and publisher notes; those additions are identified separately from the historical observations.
Read together, these reports show changes in restaurant company footprints, market coverage and development activity. Companies appearing in early development reports can be followed through later rankings, expansion periods and ownership changes.
Comparisons should use the research periods, definitions and coverage stated in each edition. A development signal, an operating-location count and a ranking based on estimated sales describe different aspects of a company’s history.
How the Research Was Produced
In the earlier years, researchers worked from printed newspapers, trade publications and paper filings, contacting restaurant and corporate offices by telephone. Coverage depended on the source material researchers could obtain, review and confirm.
As public records and corporate information became available online, researchers could review more sources and cover more markets. The underlying verification principles continued: reviewing original records, comparing sources and seeking direct confirmation where needed. Each historical report reflects the scope and research conditions of its time.
About the Archive
The individual rankings above are included in the Fastest Growing Restaurant Chains Archive at RestaurantChains.net, which organizes ranked restaurant growth reports published between 2007 and 2018. Additional growth alerts, newsletter reports and emerging concept coverage dating back to 2004 are preserved in the Restaurant Growth Reports archive. Reports are added here as they are restored and republished.
Archived research draws on public records, franchise disclosure documents, permits, corporate research, trade publications and direct verification. The methodology behind current coverage is described in Restaurant Opening Analysis. Current terminology and classifications are standardized in the Restaurant Data Dictionary; historical reports retain the terms and category definitions used during their original research periods.