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It takes a lot of business success to make it onto NRN’s Top 200 list of the highest performing restaurant brands. As anyone reading this knows, the hospitality industry is not for those who don’t like competition. There are more places than ever selling food — more restaurants, more formats, more supermarkets, more c-stores, more more more.
That means that at NRN, we are always tracking not just the Top 200 restaurants, but the chains that are on the rise.
This month, as part of our ongoing Top 200 coverage, we highlight 15 brands that are making big moves and are on their way to cracking into the Top 200 restaurant list.
Ranging in annual domestic sales from $163 million to $75 million, these restaurants are growing — and fast.
We offer up a snapshot on each — who and what this brands is, as well as the essential financial details: total sales, total units, sales growth, estimated sales per unit.
Mountain Mike’s Pizza is knocking on the door to NRN’s Top 200 with its $163.4 million in estimated Latest-Year systemwide sales.
It’s certainly easier to grow a smaller brand by bigger percentages, but I wouldn’t count out these growth rates. What’s also exciting is the variety of concepts in this list.
The casual-dining category is well represented. Darden’s Eddie V’s Prime Seafood increased Latest Year sales by nearly 26%, increasing Estimated Sales Per Unit by 6% to $7.6 million in the meantime. Former NRN Hot Concept winner, Bubba’s 33 was founded by Texas Roadhouse in 2013, and is now bringing in $85 million in systemwide sales.
You’ll also note that two large restaurant companies are shepherding these up-and-coming brands.
Rock-and-roll made its mark in this year’s list. Rock & Brews, founded by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the band Kiss, is growing its unit count — up to 19 in the Latest Year — and steadily increasing sales.
You might think the burger and pizza markets are saturated, but BurgerFi, now with more than 100 units, continues to gain traction with almost 10% more locations in the latest year and $133 million in sales. And Newport Beach, Calif.’s Mountain Mike’s Pizza, with more than $163 million in domestic sales, looks to be the next in line for the Top 200.
Those are numbers not to ignore.