--- title: "2020 Dominators" url: https://burnaze.com/article/29e167d8-d9ba-4e53-8890-eabfcfc4cddd source: "Franchising.com" original_url: https://www.franchising.com/articles/2020_dominators.html author: "Multi-Unit Franchisee" category: "Franchise Industry" industry: "Franchise Industry" topics: ["Development & multi-unit"] published: 2020-10-25T07:00:00.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T02:33:24.791Z image: https://imgs.franchising.com/art/articles/5610_plate.jpg --- # 2020 Dominators **TL;DR:** Multi-unit and multi-brand operators continue to grow, with some experiencing accelerated growth during the Covid-19 pandemic. The largest franchisees in the US have been ranked by state and region. *By Multi-Unit Franchisee, originally published in Franchising.com on 2020-10-25. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/articles/2020_dominators.html).* ## Story Multi-unit and multi-brand operators continue to grow—and they’re getting bigger every year as these “dominators” grow their portfolios through acquisitions, new unit buildouts, refranchising, and scooping up successful units from retiring franchisees. This trend has only accelerated during Covid-19 as smaller and weaker operators sell to larger and stronger ones. That’s why we have to provide an “asterisk” to the rankings this year: they were compiled from pre-Covid FDDs, so are as representative as usual, as franchisees both large and small divest units, file for Chapter 11 protection (NPC International), or simply decide it’s time to retire or get out of the business. On the upside, there are franchisees who quickly adapted, were deemed “essential businesses,” or whose business model accommodated the new normal (drive-thru, delivery, carry-out, no-contact, etc.) Banking on their good credit, solid infrastructure, and proven track record, these dominators are creating historically large franchisee organizations. Even during these tough times, they are still creating jobs by the thousands, hiring young employees and providing a career path for them to grow. They do business with local suppliers—lots of them! And they give back to their communities on a large scale, encouraging their employees to support local organizations and charities—especially now. No franchisee gets to the top without years of hard work, sacrifice, perseverance, and an unwavering desire to be the best. So congratulations to this year’s Dominators! Largest Franchisees by State STATE (and D.C.) Largest Franchisee Units Alabama NPC INTERNATIONAL 123 Alaska SUBWAY DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA 23 Arizona DESERT DE ORO FOODS 170 Arkansas K-MAC ENTERPRISES 87 California G & M OIL 285 Colorado HARMAN MANAGEMENT 91 Connecticut CANTINA HOSPITALITY 36 Dist. of Columbia PANKAJ SETH; TEAM WASHINGTON (tie) 9 Delaware MITRA QSR 14 Florida SUMMIT RESTAURANT GROUP 213 Georgia GPS HOSPITALITY 100 Hawaii KAZI MANAGEMENT 36 Idaho NPC INTERNATIONAL 36 Illinois DHANANI GROUP 189 Indiana CARROLS GROUP 90 Iowa NPC INTERNATIONAL 49 Kansas ROTTINGHAUS 165 Kentucky FOURTEEN FOODS 61 Louisiana GPS HOSPITALITY 123 Maine SUBWAY DEVELOPMENT OF MAINE 25 Maryland NPC INTERNATIONAL 98 Massachusetts HK ENTERPRISES 70 Michigan VISION GROWTH PARTNERS /SUPER C GROUP 67 Minnesota FRESH ALTERNATIVES 89 Mississippi NPC INTERNATIONAL 146 Missouri FLYNN RESTAURANT GROUP 140 Montana MERIDIAN RESTAURANTS UNLIMITED; GRAND MERE CAPITAL (tie) 21 North Carolina SPEEDWAY 184 North Dakota FARMERS UNION OIL 23 Nebraska CARPENTER CONCEPTS 44 Nevada TERRIBLE HERBST 85 New Hampshire PETER NAPOLI 32 New Jersey BRIAD RESTAURANT GROUP 74 New Mexico BOBBY MERRITT 69 New York METRO FRANCHISING COMMISSARY 145 Ohio THE COVELLI FAMILY LIMITED PARTNERSHIP 139 Oklahoma WING FINANCIAL SERVICES (tie) 97 Oregon AMBROSIA QSR OREGON 58 Pennsylvania CARROLS GROUP; NPC INTERNATIONAL (tie) 62 Rhode Island THE JAN COMPANIES 24 South Carolina CIRCLE K STORES 47 South Dakota CAVE ENTERPRISES OPERATIONS 23 Tennessee SW DEVELOPMENT OF EAST TN 94 Texas SUN HOLDINGS 521 Utah SIZZLING PLATTER 81 Vermont VERMONT DONUT ENTERPRISES 16 Virginia BODDIE-NOELL ENTERPRISES 177 Washington EMERALD CITY PIZZA 92 West Virginia LITTLE GENERAL STORE 47 Wisconsin CAVE ENTERPRISES OPERATIONS 95 Wyoming GRAND MERE CAPITAL 22 Entire U.S. **(50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands)** MSA FRANCHISED UNITS LOS ANGELES-RIVERSIDE-ORANGE COUNTY, CA 19,639 NEW YORK-NORTHERN NEW JERSEY-LONG ISLAND, NY-NJ-CT-PA 18,927 CHICAGO-GARY-KENOSHA, IL-IN-WI 11,433 WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE, DC-MD-VA-WV 11,280 DALLAS-FORT WORTH, TX 10,289 HOUSTON-GALVESTON-BRAZORIA, TX 9,053 ATLANTA, GA 8,557 SAN FRANCISCO-OAKLAND-SAN JOSE, CA 8,132 BOSTON-WORCESTER-LAWRENCE, MA-NH-ME-CT 7,495 PHILADELPHIA-WILMINGTON-ATLANTIC CITY, PA-NJ-DE-MD 7,082 DETROIT-ANN ARBOR-FLINT, MI 6,622 PHOENIX-MESA, AZ 5,965 SEATTLE-TACOMA-BREMERTON, WA 5,340 DENVER-BOULDER-GREELEY, CO 4,857 MINNEAPOLIS-SAINT PAUL, MN-WI 4,843 MIAMI-FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 4,685 TAMPA-SAINT PETERSBURG-CLEARWATER, FL 4,458 SAN DIEGO, CA 3,995 SAINT LOUIS, MO-IL 3,841 CHARLOTTE-GASTONIA-ROCK HILL, NC-SC 3,736 ORLANDO, FL 3,620 PORTLAND-SALEM, OR-WA 3,415 CLEVELAND-AKRON, OH 3,388 SAN ANTONIO, TX 3,060 SACRAMENTO-YOLO, CA 3,041 LAS VEGAS, NV-AZ 3,040 CINCINNATI-HAMILTON, OH-KY-IN 3,018 KANSAS CITY, MO-KS 3,017 AUSTIN-SAN MARCOS, TX 2,973 RALEIGH-DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL, NC 2,971 INDIANAPOLIS, IN 2,969 NASHVILLE, TN 2,929 NORFOLK-VIRGINIA BEACH-NEWPORT NEWS, VA-NC 2,859 PITTSBURGH, PA 2,736 COLUMBUS, OH 2,582 MILWAUKEE-RACINE, WI 2,382 JACKSONVILLE, FL 2,269 SALT LAKE CITY-OGDEN, UT 2,215 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 2,069 RICHMOND-PETERSBURG, VA 1,965 WEST PALM BEACH-BOCA RATON, FL 1,929 HARTFORD, CT 1,920 GREENSBORO-WINSTON-SALEM-HIGH POINT, NC 1,864 GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG-ANDERSON, SC 1,845 NEW ORLEANS, LA 1,664 LOUISVILLE, KY-IN 1,622 MEMPHIS, TN-AR-MS 1,613 KNOXVILLE, TN 1,526 GRAND RAPIDS-MUSKEGON-HOLLAND, MI 1,507 BIRMINGHAM, AL 1,488 OMAHA, NE-IA 1,467 DAYTON-SPRINGFIELD, OH 1,325 TULSA, OK 1,314 CHARLESTON-NORTH CHARLESTON, SC 1,299 SARASOTA-BRADENTON, FL 1,222 COLUMBIA, SC 1,176 ALBUQUERQUE, NM 1,174 LITTLE ROCK-NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR 1,167 TUCSON, AZ 1,159 BUFFALO-NIAGARA FALLS, NY 1,150 FRESNO, CA 1,145 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 1,121 DES MOINES, IA 1,102 FORT MYERS-CAPE CORAL, FL 1,093 BOISE CITY, ID 1,069 BATON ROUGE, LA 1,049 ROCHESTER, NY 1,046 MOBILE, AL 1,011 ALBANY-SCHENECTADY-TROY, NY 992 MADISON, WI 951 HARRISBURG-LEBANON-CARLISLE, PA 948 LEXINGTON, KY 948 CHATTANOOGA, TN-GA 926 WICHITA, KS 925 BAKERSFIELD, CA 916 HONOLULU, HI 905 EL PASO, TX 903 PROVIDENCE-FALL RIVER-WARWICK, RI-MA 880 ALLENTOWN-BETHLEHEM-EASTON, PA 869 STOCKTON-LODI, CA 844 AUGUSTA-AIKEN, GA-SC 842 MELBOURNE-TITUSVILLE-PALM BAY, FL 834 DAYTONA BEACH, FL 824 Largest Franchisees by Region East (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, WV) Units CARROLS GROUP 217 NPC INTERNATIONAL 172 METRO FRANCHISING COMMISSARY 145 BRIAD RESTAURANT GROUP 131 MUY BRANDS 126 Midwest (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) Units DHANANI GROUP 285 CARROLS GROUP 281 KBP FOODS 205 BORDER FOODS 169 MUY BRANDS 157 Mountain West (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY) Units NPC INTERNATIONAL 144 SIZZLING PLATTER 125 HARMAN MANAGEMENT 119 FLYNN RESTAURANT GROUP 117 GRAND MERE CAPITAL 81 NEW ENGLAND (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) Units DHANANI GROUP 99 HK ENTERPRISES 87 FLYNN RESTAURANT GROUP 63 PR RESTAURANTS 63 DE FOODS 57 Plains (IA, KS, MO, NE, ND, OK, SD) Units FLYNN RESTAURANT GROUP 317 ROTTINGHAUS 316 NPC INTERNATIONAL 259 LOVES TRAVEL STOPS & COUNTRY STORES 153 K-MAC ENTERPRISES 151 South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, IA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA) Units NPC INTERNATIONAL 1,100 SUN HOLDINGS 667 MUY BRANDS 475 KBP FOODS 435 ARAMARK 376 Southwest (AZ, NV, NM) Units DESERT DE ORO FOODS 179 BOBBY MERRITT 119 TERRIBLE HERBST 85 STINE ENTERPRISES 80 SUBWAY DEVELOPMENT OF LAS VEGAS 65 West (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) Units G & M OIL 285 HARMAN MANAGEMENT 264 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PIZZA 250 FLYNN RESTAURANT GROUP 196 TARGET 177 **Note:** Data based on most current FDDs. ## Entities - Franchising.com (publication) - unit expansion (topic) - Franchise Industry (sector) - Multi-Unit (company) - Subway (company) - Multi-Unit Franchisee (person) - covid-19 impact (topic) - multi-unit operators (topic) - Sun Holdings (company) - Aramark (company) - Circle K (company) - NPC International (company) --- Originally reported by Multi-Unit Franchisee, Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/articles/2020_dominators.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/29e167d8-d9ba-4e53-8890-eabfcfc4cddd).