At the beginning of the pandemic, consumers became more aware of the cleanliness of a restaurant, making it one of the most important — if not the most important — qualities in a chain.
Cleanliness is one quality that market research firm Datassential polls consumers on for the annual Consumer Picks report.
Here, Nation’s Restaurant News has pulled out the 12 cleanest restaurant chains, according to consumers. The percentages correlate to the number of consumers rating the brands “best in class” or “above average” on cleanliness.
The restaurants on this list are pretty evenly split between segments, with five being limited service and seven being full service.
Compared to last year’s list, two chains fell off: Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and McAlister’s Deli. And while there was a three-way tie for first place in 2021, one of those brands became a clear winner this year, with 84% of consumers rating it “best in class” or “above average,” compared to 80% for the second-place chain.
Click through to see the cleanest chains, and read the full Consumer Picks report here.