The results are in: One hometown entry is at the top for the ninth consecutive year while another is in second place and closing the gap.
Another hometowner, however, is near the bottom.
College Park-based Chick-fil-A is Number One — again — while Jimmy John’s, owned by Inspire Brands, is not far behind, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a high-profile collector of consumer and corporate data that is often used as an industry indicator.
Sonic, also owned by Inspire, came in 21st out of 23 restaurants named.
Among full-service restaurants, Inspire’s Buffalo Wild Wings chain finished seventh out of 14. Highest-ranking full-service restaurant was Outback Steakhouse, which is owned by Bloomin’ Brands, also the owner of Bonefish Grill and Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
Chick-fil-A did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning. The company is one of very few that does not open restaurants on Sunday.
James North, brand president for Jimmy John’s, said in a statement that the chain’s success is due to a combination of employees’ hard work and the apt use of technology. “We are glad to see our obsessive attention to detail in everything we do is paying off for our guests.”
Chick-fil-A has about 2,600 stores. Restaurants owned by Inspire Brands have about 32,000 outlets. Both companies are privately held and do not publicly announce earnings.
The overall ACSI survey, based on interviews with 16,250 customers, comes with an industry emerging from several years of unprecedented challenges, including the pandemic, a consumer rebound, a shortage of workers, a bout of inflation and rising interest rates.
Yet consumer ratings for restaurants are high, said Forrest Morgeson, ACSI director of research, in a statement. “Fast food outlets have rebounded to within a point of their 2019 score.”
In mid-2022, a recession this year was widely predicted. But hiring has been steady, inflation has fallen dramatically and consumer spending has held up well so far.
Earlier this month, the Commerce Department reported that retail sales grew in May. Spending in bars and restaurants was 8% higher than a year earlier, but hospitality has recovered more slowly than the overall economy.
According to researchers at Harvard, consumer spending in Georgia is 22.2% higher than it was before the pandemic, compared to spending in restaurants and bars, which is only 12.8% higher.
ACSI’s annual survey provides grades for different industries and brands. According to ACSI, this year’s ranking and ratings were based respondents who were chosen at random and contacted via email.
ACSI said customers were asked to evaluate recent experiences with companies that held the most market share.
The ACSI is a 29-year-old project begun by researchers at the University of Michigan, the American Society for Quality and the CFI Group.
Restaurant ratings
Fast-food chain restaurants, top 10
Score* Change from last year
1. Chick-fil-A*** 85 up 2
2. Jimmy John’s** 84 up 6
3. KFC 81 up 4
4. Papa John’s 80 up 5
5. Domino’s 78 none
6. Five Guys 78 up 3
7. Pizza Hut 78 up 1
8. Starbucks 78 up 1
9. Arby’s** 77 up 1
10. Dunkin’** 77 up 4
...
21. Sonic 72 down 3
Full-service chain restaurants, top 10
1. Outback Steakhouse 83 up 8
2. Cracker Barrel 82 up 5
3. LongHorn Steakhouse 82 up 3
4. Texas Roadhouse 82 up 3
5. Olive Garden 80 up 4
6. Applebee’s 79 up 8
7. Buffalo Wild Wings** 79 up 7
8. Red Lobster 79 up 5
9. The Cheesecake Factory 78 up 3
10. Chili’s 77 up 1
*Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 100
**Owned by Atlanta-based Inspire Brands
***Based in Atlanta
Source: American Customer Satisfaction Index, Restaurant Study 2022-2023
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