The Top 20 Fast Food

The Top 20 Fast-Food Franchises of 2016
1. Jimmy John's
Year began: 1983
Franchising since: 1993
Number of franchised units in 2015: 2,238
Startup costs: $323 K - $544 K
Fun fact: Jimmy John's is the highest-ranked franchise among the entire Franchise 500
for 2016, climbing from the number six slot in 2015. The company's founder, Jimmy
John Liautaud, started out by handing out free sandwiches to college students in
Mattoon, Ill., in the 1980s.
2. Subway
Year began: 1965

Startup costs: $116.6 K - $263.2 K
Fun fact: Subway announced in June 2015 that it would begin eliminating artifical
colors, flavors and preservatives from its menu over the next 18 months.
3. McDonald's
Year began: 1955
Startup costs: $989.4K - $2.2M
Fun fact: McDonald's, which has struggled to keep up with customers' demands for
healthier, quality food, scored a win when it introduced all-day breakfast in 2015.
4. Dunkin Donuts
Year began: 1950
Fun fact: The coffee excellence manager at Dunkin Donuts tastes an average of 200
cups of coffee a day.
5. Pizza Hut
Year began: 1958
Startup costs: $297K - $2.1M
Fun fact: In 2015, Pizza Hut's longest-running restaurant closed its doors. It was 55.
6. Hardee's
Year began: 1961
Startup costs: $1.3M - $1.9M
Fun fact: Hardee's began franchising internationally in the 1970s, starting in Australia
and what was then West Germany.
7. Jack in the Box

Year began: 1951

Fun fact: Jack in the Box was early to the bacon mashup trend, offering a bacon
milkshake back in 2012.
8. Taco Bell
Year began: 1962
Fun fact: This past November, the building that housed the first Taco Bell was
transported from its birthplace in Downey, Calif., to Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine,
Calif. -- a 45-mile road trip.
9. Papa Murphy's
Year began: 1981

Startup costs: $264.8K - $446.2K
Fun fact: Papa Murphy's got it's name because in 1995, Terry Collins decided to merge
the two pizza chains he'd previously acquired -- Papa Aldo's Pizza, based in Oregon and
Murphy's Pizza, based in California.
10. Sonic
Year began: 1953
Fun fact: Sonic restaurants were almost named "Top Hat," but that name was already
trademarked. Since the slogan for the company was "Service at the speed of sound,"
they renamed the venture Sonic.
11. Baskin-Robbins
Year began: 1945
Fun fact: From the Baskin-Robbins website: "Baskin Robbins is the current Guinness
World Record holder for the largest cup of ice cream. It was made on September 13,
2005, in celebration of its 60th birthday. This massive chunk of vanilla ice cream
weighed 8,865 pounds!"
12. Papa John's

Year began: 1985
Fun fact: John Schnatter started Papa John's with $1,600 worth of used restaurant
equipment and operated out of a broom closet in his father's tavern.
13. Auntie Anne's

Year began: 1988
Fun fact: During Auntie Anne's "Pretzel Rolling Olympics," a store manager from New
Jersey named Jackie Neal was able to create a pretzel from dough in 3.5 seconds.
14. Dairy Queen

Year began: 1940
Fun fact: Dairy Queen's former employees include celebrities such as Gwen Stefani,
Martina McBride and Bonnie Hunt, as well as former U.S. Attorney General John
Ashcroft.
15. KFC
Year began: 1930
Fun fact: Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, never earned the rank of colonel in the
military. He was a Kentucky colonel, a title of honor awarded by the state of Kentucky.
16. Carl's Jr.

Year began: 1945

Fun fact: Before breaking into the burger biz, Carl's Jr. founder Carl Karcher owned hot
dog carts in Los Angeles.
17. Cinnabon
Year began: 1985
Fun fact: The cinnamon used in Cinnabon's products comes from Indonesia and is
called Makara cinnamon. Pillsbury also uses this specific source for its flavor.
18. Cold Stone Creamery

Year began: 1988
Fun fact: Customers had the option to buy chocolate-covered crickets at Cold Stone
locations in 2001 due to the popularity of the CBS reality show Survivor. Those who ate
the insects scored free ice cream on their next visit.
19. Buffalo Wild Wings

Year began: 1982
Number of franchised units in 2015: 590

Fun fact: Jim Disbrow, a co-founder of the chain, was a professional figure skater in
the 1960s and the president of the U.S. Figure Skating Association from 1998 to 2000.
He got the idea for Buffalo Wild Wings when he was judging a figure skating
competition in Ohio; he wanted some buffalo wings and there wasn't a restaurant in the
area that served them.
20. Firehouse Subs

Year began: 1994
Number of franchised units in 2015: 870
Fun fact: Brothers Robin and Chris Sorensen were firefighters before they started
Firehouse Subs. Before that, they held a variety of other jobs in real estate, music and
Christmas tree farming.

The Top 20 Fast Food

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Top 20 Fast Food

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Top 20 Fast-Food Franchises of 2016

Franchising since: 1974

7. Jack in the Box

Startup costs: $1.3M - $2.4M

Franchising since: 1982

12. Papa John's

13. Auntie Anne's

14. Dairy Queen

16. Carl's Jr.

Franchising since: 1984

18. Cold Stone Creamery

19. Buffalo Wild Wings

Startup costs: $1.4M - $3.6M

20. Firehouse Subs

You might also like