Top 500 U.S. Chains Sales Rebound 3.4% in 2011

CHICAGORenewed consumer spending helped improve performance for the 500 largest U.S. restaurant chains that recorded an estimated $242 billion in sales last year, up more than $8 billion over 2010, according to the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report (2011).

In total, the top 10 fastest-growing chains sales accounted for $8.2 billion, a 22% increase over 2010.  

Among limited-service restaurants, growth came from the coffee and tea, other sandwich and Mexican categories with Starbucks, Subway and Chipotle Mexican Grill posting 2011 estimated sales growth of 7.5%, 7.5% and 23.4%, respectively. McDonalds, the largest U.S. restaurant chain, boosted sales 5.5% in 2011, with total annual sales of $34.2 billion. Subway continues as the second-largest restaurant chain in the U.S., followed by Starbucks, Wendys and Burger King.

Limited-service restaurants saw a sales increase of 3.7%. Bakery café chains, which grew 7.1%, represented another limited-service subsegment with above-average sales growth. Within this group, Panera grew 10.1% with 2011 sales of $3.3 billion. Other fast casual chains also contributed to stronger 2011 performance. A standout in the fast casual burger segment was Five Guys Burgers and Fries with sales growth of 32.8%.

Full-service restaurants experienced a 2.8% sales increase in 2011, following a flat year. The full-service seafood and steak categories showed healthy growth, with increases of 5.2% and 5.1%, respectively. Red Lobster, the category leader among seafood restaurants, outperformed the average, with a 6.2% sales increase. Among steak chains, LongHorn Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse drove sales with increases of 13.1% and 9.2%, respectively.

The 10 fastest-growing chains with sales over $200 million were: