With more restaurants reopening and consumer demand surging in 2021, franchise operators on the Franchise Times Restaurant 200 saw revenue rebound and then some, surpassing even 2019 levels.
After total revenue fell from $42.1 billion in 2019 to $41.8 billion in 2020, the Restaurant 200 made a comeback, with an increase to $48.2 billion in sales last year. The top 10 operators alone accounted for $2 billion of the increase, with $13.1 billion in 2021, up from $11.1 billion in 2020.
At the top of the list for another year is San Francisco-based Flynn Restaurant Group, recording revenue of $3.7 billion. Not only did CEO Greg Flynn’s company retain the No. 1 spot, it also acquired most restaurants owned by last year’s No. 2 company, NPC International, adding 937 Pizza Hut and 194 Wendy’s restaurants in the process.