Even though Popeyes’ hefty chicken sandwich made headlines this past year, Georgia’s own Chick-fil-A has made its way to the top with another metric — cold, hard cash.
Once ranking at just No. 7 on the 2020 list “Top 500 On Chain Restaurant Report,” the Hapeville-based chain managed to climb to the No. 3 spot in 2019 and 2020 as the second highest-grossing fast-food chain in the U.S. McDonald’s which boasts triple the number of restaurants is the only fast-food chain to outperform the chicken franchise. Starbucks, which is considered a coffee chain, took the No. 2 spot on the overall list. It serves up coffee and baked goods at more than 15,000 locations across the country.
Chick-fil-A surpassed Taco Bell for the No. 3 spot. The Tex-Mex franchise had previously been named the third-highest grossing, and it also has several more restaurants, nearly 4,000 more, than Chick-fil-A.
“Popeyes may well have tapped into a unique social media frenzy. But observers have long known about the draw of chicken, in particular boneless chicken, which consumers can eat while walking or driving,” read an excerpt from Restaurant Business’ report.
Restaurant Business has compiled the list of the top restaurant chains since 1974.
It measures the most prominent restaurants by sales based on the results from the previous calendar year. Relevant information is accrued using a combination of public company financial filings, franchise disclosure documents and other factors.
The food business firm notes that Chick-fil-A added dine-in mobile ordering, eliminated antibiotics from its chicken and added its first new permanent menu item in three years −mac and cheese− in 2019.
Chick-fil-A major chicken sandwich competitor last year, Popeyes, came in at No. 19 on the list. The two chicken champions have a similar number of locations nationwide, with Chick-fil-A serving at 2,470 and the Louisiana-inspired chicken chain serving at 2,476 spots.
Since 2013, Chick-fil-A has increased its system sales by 126%, despite facing protests over CEO Dan Cathy’s previous comments on gay marriage and the company funding some anti-LGBT charities.
That strong run continued in 2019, seemingly unperturbed by the rise of Popeyes. System sales rose 13% last year, while unit count grew by 5% to 2,470. The chain’s average unit volumes are among the highest in the fast-food business at more than $4.5 million.
All this, and it’s continued its tradition of closing its doors on Sundays.
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