March-May Restaurant Openings: Analysis of 2,698 Projects

Restaurantdata analyzed 2,698 restaurant projects that opened, transferred ownership, relocated, or reopened during March, April, and May. The analysis covers operator growth stage, service format, cuisine category, location type, and regional activity. Several findings stand out.

Key Observations

1. Single-unit operators continued to dominate restaurant activity

Single-unit operators with no known restaurant affiliation accounted for 1,865 projects, or 69.2% of populated operator records. Some industry definitions classify operators with fewer than ten units as independent. Restaurantdata separates known 2-4 unit and 5-19 unit operators into distinct growth-stage cohorts.

2. Emerging brands in the 2-19 unit range represented 20.9% of operator activity

Micro-Regional Multi-Unit and Regional Multi-Unit operators accounted for 562 projects, or 20.9% of populated operator records. These brands are expanding from two locations up to nineteen locations and are often still building vendor relationships, operating systems, and purchasing programs.

3. Casual/Family concepts remained the leading service format

Casual/Family concepts accounted for 1,395 projects, or 55.5% of populated service-format records. That was more than Fast Casual and Quick Serve combined.

4. American and Mexican/Latin concepts continued to lead openings

American concepts represented 572 projects, or 22.2% of populated cuisine records. Mexican/Latin concepts accounted for 359 projects, or 13.9%. Together, these two categories generated more than one-third of populated cuisine activity.

5. Southern markets produced more than half of all regional activity

Southern markets accounted for 1,403 projects, or 52.1% of populated regional records. Texas and Florida were major contributors, with three Texas territories and two Florida territories ranking among the highest-volume Restaurantdata markets.

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Operator Analysis

Restaurantdata classifies operators by growth stage rather than using a broad independent-versus-chain split. This distinction matters because many industry definitions classify operators with fewer than ten units as independent. Restaurantdata separately tracks operators in the 2-4 and 5-19 unit growth stages because purchasing behavior, expansion patterns, and vendor-selection processes differ from true single-unit operators.

Operator Type	Count	Share
Single-Unit Operators (No Known Affiliation)	1,865	69.2%
Micro-Regional Multi-Unit (2-4 Units)	383	14.2%
Multi-Unit (20+ Units)	255	9.5%
Regional Multi-Unit (5-19 Units)	179	6.6%
Other / Pending Classification	13	0.5%

Operator type was populated for 2,695 records.

Micro-Regional Multi-Unit operators are brands expanding from their first location to a second unit, from two locations to three, or from three locations to four.

Regional Multi-Unit operators are brands expanding within the 5-19 location range. These companies are often adding management structure, standardizing operations, and formalizing purchasing decisions.

Multi-Unit operators generally operate twenty or more locations. These brands are more likely to have approved vendor programs, structured purchasing processes, and broader geographic footprints.

The 2-19 unit segment is important because these operators are large enough to expand but often still flexible enough to consider new vendor relationships.

Location Type Analysis

Real estate type provides another signal for suppliers. It helps identify whether activity is being driven by neighborhood infill, shopping center redevelopment, free-standing sites, hotels, malls, or mixed-use projects.

Location Type	Count	Share
Mixed Use	983	36.7%
Shopping Center	660	24.7%
Free Standing	626	23.4%
Mixed Residential	215	8.0%
Hotel	61	2.3%

Location type was populated for 2,676 records.

Mixed-use locations generated the largest share of activity, reflecting continued restaurant demand in residential, retail, office, and entertainment-oriented developments.

Shopping centers and free-standing locations together accounted for 1,286 projects, or 48.1% of populated location-type records. These locations often involve buildout, retrofit, signage, equipment, parking, and second-generation restaurant space considerations.

Restaurant Openings Remained Focused on New Locations

Project Type	Count	Share
New Opening	2,392	88.8%
New Owner / Operator / Transfer	202	7.5%
Reopening	36	1.3%
Possible New Owner / Operator	33	1.2%
Change of Location	30	1.1%

Project type was populated for 2,693 records.

New restaurant openings represented almost nine out of ten populated project records. Transfers should not be ignored. When ownership changes, operators often reassess food suppliers, beverage programs, POS systems, equipment vendors, payroll providers, marketing firms, and other service relationships.

Casual/Family Concepts Continued to Lead Development Activity

Service Type	Count	Share
Casual/Family	1,395	55.5%
Fast Casual	555	22.1%
Quick Serve	421	16.8%
Upscale Dining	130	5.2%

Service type was populated for 2,513 records.

Casual/Family restaurants generated 2.5 times the activity of Fast Casual concepts and more than three times the activity of Quick Serve concepts.

This suggests full-menu restaurants remain a major source of demand for foodservice distributors, equipment suppliers, tabletop vendors, furniture suppliers, beverage companies, and labor-related service providers.

American and Mexican/Latin Concepts Generated the Most Activity

Cuisine	Count	Share
American	572	22.2%
Mexican/Latin	359	13.9%
Coffee/Tea	152	5.9%
Pizza	137	5.3%
Bar Food	99	3.8%
Café	91	3.5%
Asian	90	3.5%
Chicken	79	3.1%

Cuisine was populated for 2,577 records.

American concepts generated about 1.6 times the activity of Mexican/Latin concepts. Together, the two categories accounted for 931 projects, or 36.1% of populated cuisine records.

Coffee/Tea ranked third overall, finishing ahead of Pizza, Bar Food, Café, Asian, and Chicken concepts. Beverage-focused growth remains an important signal for suppliers selling coffee, tea, bakery, disposables, equipment, signage, and drive-thru or pickup-related services.

Regional Comparison: South Markets Led the Dataset

U.S. Region	Count	Share
South	1,403	52.1%
West	591	21.9%
Northeast	418	15.5%
Midwest	282	10.5%

Regional classification was populated for 2,694 records.

The South produced more than half of all populated regional activity in the dataset. The West accounted for 21.9%, followed by the Northeast at 15.5% and the Midwest at 10.5%.

Texas and Florida Led Restaurant Opening Activity

Restaurantdata Market	Projects
Dallas-Fort Worth	161
Austin-San Antonio-Corpus Christi	143
Houston-Galveston	141
Tampa-Gulf Coast	134
South Florida	133

Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin-San Antonio-Corpus Christi, and Houston-Galveston combined for 445 projects. Those three Texas territories represented a major share of the highest-volume markets identified during March, April, and May.

Florida placed two markets among the top five: Tampa-Gulf Coast and South Florida. Together, Texas and Florida accounted for a large share of the highest-volume restaurant development markets in the dataset.

Sales Implications for Suppliers

The March-May data highlights several supplier-facing trends.

• Single-unit operators with no known affiliation remain the largest source of new opportunities.
• Micro-Regional and Regional Multi-Unit brands represent an important 2-19 unit growth segment.
• Mixed-use, shopping center, and free-standing locations accounted for 84.8% of populated location-type records.
• Casual/Family concepts continued to generate the largest share of restaurant projects.
• American and Mexican/Latin concepts accounted for 36.1% of populated cuisine records.
• South markets produced more than half of populated regional activity.
• Texas and Florida remained priority states for restaurant prospecting.

The March-May data suggests restaurant growth remains concentrated among single-unit operators, emerging multi-unit brands, mixed-use developments, and high-growth Sun Belt markets. Suppliers that identify operators before opening day remain best positioned to establish vendor relationships before purchasing decisions become standardized.

Methodology

This analysis is based on 2,698 restaurant projects tracked by Restaurantdata that opened, transferred ownership, relocated, or reopened during March, April, and May. Projects were classified by operator type, cuisine category, service format, location type, project type, and geography. Percentages shown throughout the report are based on populated records for each category.

Classification note: Tables in this report summarize different analytical dimensions of the same dataset. Category totals may differ because some records are not populated for every field, are pending classification, or fall into other categories not shown in every table.

Related Restaurant Opening Reports

For questions about how Restaurantdata identifies and tracks pre-opening restaurant activity, see the Pre-Opening Restaurant Leads FAQs.

For a broader historical view, see the Restaurant Opening Cross-Tab Analysis 2020-2025, which compares restaurant opening trends by format, geography, ownership type, and market activity.

For the most recent Restaurantdata opening signal report, review Restaurant Opening Signals Report: June 2026, which tracks 1,188 location filings across 49 states and 72 regions for the three-week period ending June 25, 2026.

For a weekly opening-alert view, see Restaurant New Opening Alerts May 2026 – Week 1, covering 543 location filings across 48 states.

For the prior April signal report, review Restaurantdata.com Signals April 23, 2026, which provides another snapshot of near-term restaurant activity.

For a full-year benchmark, see the 2024 New Restaurant Openings Report, which provides a broader U.S. market comparison.