The world's 10 biggest restaurant companies, arranged by market capitalization—from McDonald's to Brinker International—are mostly chain operations.

The casual dining chain opened its first restaurant in Orlando in 1982. Sit down bar and grill chains from throughout the United States are included. Soon, the experience of having a meal at Pizza Hut will be nothing but a memory — because the chain is getting out of the sit-down restaurant business. At one time, it was the largest Mexican restaurant chain in the United States with 130 locations before bankruptcy forced sale of U.S. locations to Outback Steakhouse. And The Capital Grille was No. Restaurant chains offer a familiarity through their decor and menu throughout all of their locations. The following is a list of notable restaurant chains in the United States with at least fifteen locations. Subway is the largest fast food chain in the world. A list of bar & grill restaurant chains. But tastes are changing. 2012 Top 100: The following rankings are based on U.S. systemwide foodservice sales, including company-store and franchised-unit sales, for the latest full fiscal years ended closest to Dec. 2011. That could be the reason they won first place pizzeria and took the 10th spot for best chain restaurant overall. 1 on the list of medium chains with 51 to 100 locations, while Yard House was fourth. Nation's Restaurant News conducted a survey in 2018 called "Consumer Picks" that analyzed customer preference and restaurant brand strength.These 50 "chains had the highest True Loyalty scores, or the percentage of respondents who said they visit because of a real desire to experience the brand, as opposed to convenience." There's some speculation that the drop in sales is due to a decreasing interests in breasts in general, but Hooters is also plagued by the same issues that haunt other restaurant chains: stiff competition in the sit-down, casual dining market. As such, they tend to be most popular in areas where one would find travelers or tourists. Or why even chefs are once in a while inspired to create concepts based off their memories of eating fast-food chicken sandwiches. The World's Largest Fast Food Restaurant Chains. Whether you love the chains or loathe them, it can be comforting to order a meal thousands of miles from home and know exactly what to expect. Editorial credit: Azne Omar / Shutterstock.com. That may explain why under-the-radar chains consistently score higher on customer satisfaction surveys than OG powerhouses. A Subway restaurant in Malaysia. Among large chains, however, the list was diverse, including high-end concepts, large-volume casual diners, a highly regarded burger chain and a few fast-casual entrants, as well as a breakfast concept. Regional chains, after all, are less willing to compromise their core brand. It now operates 841 locations globally, earning almost $3.75 billion in sales last year. But … More consumers are demanding healthier meals made from locally grown food. While 2016 was a rough year for chain restaurants, more than half of the industry’s $521.9 billion still comes from the Top 500 chains—and nearly 94% of those dollars and 93% of those units are represented in the Top 250. Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant truly comes out as the underdog, with a sales growth of 30.42 percent in the past year. It's becoming a strictly carryout and delivery pizza chain, like Domino's and Papa John's. With 42,998 branches, Subway, an American-owned fast-food restaurant franchisee is the largest of its kind in the world.