News

Restaurants dominate Franchise 500 list

Forty-three QSRs made Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 rankings for 2015, along with 40 fast casual and 14 pizza concepts.

December 30, 2014

Entrepreneur has released its Franchise 500 rankings for 2015, and once again, restaurant concepts dominate the list.

Quick-service restaurants dominated the top 500, with 43 landing on the list. Ranking near the top was perennial favorite Subway, which has bounced around the top three since 2010. Subway was also named the fastest growing franchise in 2014. Subway is 100-percent franchised, with no company-owned units. The sandwich giant has 26,617 units in the U.S., 3,117 in Canada and 12,493 internationally.

Also of note, Jack in the Box made its first appearance on the list, debuting at number four. The burger chain has 1,786 franchise units and 465 company-owned units in the U.S., and is seeking to expand in the Southeast.

Jack in the Box has steadily increased its number of franchise units over the last several years – up from 1,250 in 2011 – while decreasing its company-owned units dramatically. Since 2011, the number of company-owned units has dropped from 956 to 465.

All quick service concepts that made the list:

3. Subway

4. Jack in the Box

11. Dunkin' Donuts

14. McDonald's

16. KFC Corp.

17. Hardee's

19. Taco Bell

24. Sonic Drive-In Restaurants

34. Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels

43. Baskin-Robbins

46. Church's Chicken

49. Carl's Jr. Restaurants

54. Cold Stone Creamery

56. Dairy Queen

65. Cinnabon

84. Rita's Italian Ice

85. Culter Franchising System Inc.

87. Kona Ice

93. Bojangles' Restaurants Inc.

110. Carvel

119. Chester's

136. Del Taco Inc.

145. Great American Cookies

151. Nathan's Famous Inc.

160. Wetzel's Pretzels

209. Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp.

212. Golden Chick

213. Freddy's frozen Custard LLC

224. Captain D's

239. Doc Popcorn

258. TacoTime

261. Marble Slab Creamery

264. Pretzelmaker

282. Ben & Jerry's

294. Philly Pretzel Factory

299. Blimpie Subs & Salads

327. Groucho's Deli

359. Bahama Buck's Original Shaved Ice Co.

416. The Haagen-Dazs Shoppe Co. Inc.

456. TCBY and Mrs. Fields

461. Cousins Subs

468. Bruster's Real Ice Cream

499. Checkers and Rally's Restaurants Inc.

Fast casual concepts weren't far behind their QSR brethren, with 40 earning a spot on the list. The top ranking fast casual concept was Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, which held down the number six spot for the second year in a row. Jimmy John's currently has 2,043 franchised units in the U.S., and 38 company-owned stores. It's seeking to expand its footprint nationwide. Also on the list: 

6. Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches

61. Firehouse Subs

64. Jersey Mike's Subs

70. Wingstop Restaurants Inc.

78. Moe's Southwest Grill

79. Smoothie King

98. Charleys Philly Steaks

103. Qdoba Mexican Grill

111. Menchie's

123. Pita Pit Inc.

132. Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt

141. Schlotzsky's

152. Penn Station East Coast Subs

161. McAlister's Deli

162. Which Wich Superior Sandwiches

168. Yogurtland Franchising Inc.

179. Great Harvest Franchising Inc.

245. Pinkberry Ventures Inc.

256. Zaxby's Franchising Inc.

278. Capriotti's Sandwich Shop Inc.

284. Fatburger North America Inc.

300. Great Wraps

304. Corner Bakery Cafe

306. Togo's Franchisor LLC

309. Zoup! Systems LLC

322. Billy Sims BBQ

347. Sub Zero Ice Cream

350. Elevation Burger

355. Sweet Frog Premium Frozen Yogurt

362. HuHot Mongolian Grills

368. Hurricane Grill & Wings

400. Deli Delicious Franchising Inc.

407. Taste of Mediterranean

408. Tropical Smoothie Cafe

419. Red Mango – Yogurt Café & Juice Bar

438. Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees & Smoothies

453. Nrgize Lifestyle Café

454. Golden Krust Franchising Inc.

467. Big Apple Bagels/My Favorite Muffin

488. Robeks Fresh Juices & Smoothies

A total of 14 pizza franchises made the list, with Pizza Hut coming in the highest at number nine. The pizza giant has added more than 200 international franchise units in 2014, a trend it's hoping continues in 2015. Current counts are 7,355 U.S. franchise stores;  5,601 international units; and 2,011 company-owned stores.

Pizza concepts on the list include:

9. Pizza Hut Inc.

30. Papa John's

32. Papa Murphy's

80. Hungry Howie's Pizza & Subs

95. Marco's Franchising LLC

129. Jet's Pizza

191. Pizza Ranch

269. CiCi's Pizza

305. Rosati's Pizza

342. Fox's Pizza Den

364. Toppers Pizza

445. Ledo Pizza

474. Pizza Factory Inc.

495. Flippin' Pizza

Rankings are based primarily on financial strength, stability, growth rate and size of the system. Entrepreneur also considers the number of years a company has been in business, the number of years it's been franchising, startup costs, litigation, percentage of terminations and whether the company provides financing.

To be considered, concepts must have a minimum of 10 units with at least one franchise in the United States or Canada. Companies must be seeking new franchisees in the U.S. and cannot be in Chapter 11.