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BY THE NUMBERS
The restaurant business always has been about growth. Beginning in the latter half of the 20th century, however, expansion really fired up. Past Top 100 studies reveal a period of explosive growth in systemwide sales and unit counts beginning in the early 1970s and running through the millennium. More recently, though, that growth has slowed, reflecting a more mature period.
NUMBER OF YEARS McDONALD'S HAS BEEN RANKED NO. 1: 39
TOTAL UNITS FOR KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN, THE NO. 1 CHAIN IN 1973: 4,402
TOTAL SALES FOR NO. 1 KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN IN 1973: $1.2 BILLION
SYSTEMWIDE SALES RANK FOR KFC IN 2013: 11
NUMBER OF TOP 10 CHAINS FROM 1973 NO LONGER IN THE TOP 10: 8
NUMBER OF TOP 10 CHAINS FROM 1973 THAT ARE LARGELY A MEMORY: 3 Howard Johnson Burger Chef Royal Castle
NUMBER OF CHAINS IN THE 2013 TOP 20 THAT DID NOT EXIST OR WERE TOO SMALL TO MAKE THE LIST IN 1973: 13
NUMBER OF UNITS NOW-DEFUNCT BURGER CHEF HAD AT ITS PEAK: 1,200
NUMBER OF CHAINS TO STAY IN THE TOP 10 ALL 40 YEARS: 2 McDonald's Burger King
10 BYGONE BRANDS
Achieving success in the restaurant industry is difficult, but maintaining it over time may be harder. The history of the business is littered with chains that blazed briefly and then faded away. Some of those, such as Burger Chef and Sambo's, had more than 1,000 outlets at one time. Today, you'd be hard pressed to find even one. Even cultural icons, like the orange-roofed Howard Johnson, largely disappeared, making chains such as McDonald's that have grown and prospered over the years even more remarkable.
Sambo's: In the 1980s the full-service chain had more than 1,100 units. But publicity over its racist-sounding name - actually a contraction of its two owners' names - helped to hasten its demise. One unit still operates in California.
Burger Chef: Once owned by General Foods Corp., the fast feeder had about 1,200 units at its...