THE TOP 10 FAST CASUAL RESTAURANT CHAINS Fast casuals were also among the fastest growers with Chipotle, Wingstop and Jersey Mike’s adding more than 100 units last year.
Source: Technomic’s Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report
ranean brand grew sales more than 33% to $954 million, with a 19% increase in unit count to 367 at the end of the year. Unlike most chains in the fast-casual seg- ment, Cava has kept menu price increases to a minimum and consumers see the brand as a “port in the inflationary storm,” as CEO Brett Schulman likes to say. But Cava, of course, does not franchise. Perhaps riding on the swell of interest in Mediterranean cuisine is the 64-unit Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, a franchise brand that also graduated to the Top 500, with sales growth of more than 44% last year. It should be noted that former Panera Bread CEO Ron Shaich chairs Cava’s board and has been a key factor in the chain’s growth as a category-defining brand. Shaich, who sold Panera Bread to JAB Holding Co. in 2017, is also creating change in the bak- ery-café niche. Tatte Bakery & Café, which is owned by Shaich’s Act III Holdings, is quietly creeping up the bottom rungs of the Top 500 list, with sales growth of more than 31% last year to $67.7 million, and a nearly 30% increase in units to 44.
Like Panera, Tatte offers a full menu alongside pastries and bread. But Tatte is more elevated, with scratch kitchen cooking and an Israeli-inspired menu that includes dishes like shakshuka, braised short rib and eggplant couscous, or roasted salmon on jas- mine rice with asparagus and fava beans, as well as cakes and pastries. Meanwhile, after a few years of turbu- lence, Panera saw sales sink more than 5% last year as the chain struggled to find its footing. Panera overhauled its menu and there have been multiple board shifts. This year brought a new CEO with Paul Carbone taking the helm and plotting a turnaround with a (mostly) all-new board. Other legacy bakery café chains also suf- fered in 2024. Corner Bakery, Great Harvest Bakery Café and Kneaders Bakery & Café all saw sales decline and unit counts shrink. Another legacy brand hoping for turn- around is Noodles & Company, which saw sales decline 2.4% last year. CEO Drew Mad - sen launched a menu overhaul that appears to be gaining traction, with a focus on jazzed up mac and cheese—alongside the planned closure of 13 to 17 underperforming compa-
ny restaurants and another four franchised units. But no category within fast casual suf- fered as much as a group as fast-casual pizza. Washington, D.C.-based &Pizza’s sales declined 15% and the company closed 13 restaurants, even as it announced a push into franchising this year. Similarly, MOD Pizza’s sales were down more than 13% in 2024 and the chain is also leaning into franchising under new owner Elite Restaurant Group. About 44 restau - rants closed prior to the deal last year after MOD reportedly flirted with bankruptcy. Pieology Pizza was down more than 10% in 2024. And even Blaze Pizza, once owned by many of the same investors that success- fully grew Dave’s Hot Chicken, saw sales de- cline 2.6% last year, though Blaze launched a rebranding and menu upgrade. &Pizza CEO Mike Burns earlier this year said “fast-casual pizza in its current state is dead. It was 70% dine-in before COVID, now it’s 70% carryout.” It remains to be seen whether the niche can survive the post-COVID-19 shift to off-premise sales.
JULY 2025 RESTAURANT BUSINESS
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