--- title: "Technomic Top 500: Take aways, trends, and surprises from ranking of biggest restaurant chains" url: https://burnaze.com/article/51d3f8a4-0342-4222-84a5-ef8298af68ce source: "Nation's Restaurant News" original_url: https://www.nrn.com/top-500-restaurants/technomic-top-500-take-aways-trends-and-surprises-from-ranking-of-biggest-restaurant-chains author: "Sam Oches, Jonathan Maze" category: "Restaurants" industry: "Restaurants" published: 2026-06-16T17:30:53.000Z modified: 2026-06-16T19:45:19.057Z image: https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/bltea7aee2fca050a19/bltdd807417f735183c/6a3189d472211500081cb490/Quick_Bites_Top_500.jpg?width=720&quality=80&disable=upscale --- # Technomic Top 500: Take aways, trends, and surprises from ranking of biggest restaurant chains **TL;DR:** The Technomic Top 500 ranks the largest restaurant chains in the U.S. by systemwide sales, with editors from Nation's Restaurant News and Restaurant Business discussing the latest rankings and trends. The rankings show warning signs in sales trends among the biggest chains, with sectors like coffee, beverages, and snacks, and chicken thriving. *By Sam Oches, Jonathan Maze, originally published in Nation's Restaurant News on 2026-06-16. [Read the original](https://www.nrn.com/top-500-restaurants/technomic-top-500-take-aways-trends-and-surprises-from-ranking-of-biggest-restaurant-chains).* ## Story - Top 500 Restaurants - Finance Technomic Top 500: Take aways, trends, and surprises from ranking of biggest restaurant chains Top editors for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Business discuss the most recent rankings in the latest episode of Quick Bites. .jpg?width=100&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)[](https://www.nrn.com/author/jonathan-maze) Sam Oches, Jonathan Maze June 16, 2026 LinkedinFacebookTwitterRedditEmail In this special episode of Quick Bites, join Nation’s Restaurant News editor in chief Sam Oches and Restaurant Business editor in chief Jonathan Maze as they debate the latest Technomic Top 500, which ranks the largest restaurant chains in the U.S. by systemwide sales. In this episode of Quick Bites, Oches and Maze offer their top take-aways from the data, including warning signs in sales trends among the biggest chains; what to watch in the beverage boom; why Chili’s and 7 Brew are two of the most impressive chains in America; and why the chicken and pizza categories should be worries. For more on these Top 500 stories: - The Technomic Top 500: Another tough year for chain restaurants - There’s a new No. 2 brand in casual dining - QSR pizza sales turned negative in 2025 Click here to return to the Top 500 landing page. All data courtesy Technomic Ignite company. Looking for more data? Click here to access the complete Technomic Top 500. Related: 2026 Top 500: The 50 biggest restaurant chains in America LinkedinFacebookTwitterRedditEmail About the Authors .jpg?width=400&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale) Sam Oches Editor in Chief Sam Oches is an award-winning Editorial Director with Informa Connect Foodservice and editor in chief of Nation's Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. A graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, Sam previously served as Editorial Director of Food News Media, publisher of QSR and FSR magazines. He’s a past president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC) and a past board member with the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). His foodservice insights have been shared in national media outlets such as the New York Times, USA Today, National Public Radio, and CNBC. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife and three kids. See more from Sam Oches [](https://www.nrn.com/author/jonathan-maze) Jonathan Maze Editor in Chief, Restaurant Business Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze is a longtime industry journalist who writes about restaurant finance, mergers and acquisitions and the economy, with a particular focus on quick-service restaurants. He writes daily about the factors influencing the operating environment, including labor and food costs and various industry trends such as technology and delivery. Jonathan has been widely quoted in media publications such as the New York Times and the Washington Post and has appeared on CNBC, Yahoo Finance and NPR. He writes a weekly finance-focused newsletter for Restaurant Business, The Bottom Line, and is the host of the weekly podcast “A Deeper Dive.” See more from Jonathan Maze Subscribe Nation's Restaurant News Newsletters Get the latest breaking news in the industry, analysis, research, recipes, consumer trends, the latest products and more. 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Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/51d3f8a4-0342-4222-84a5-ef8298af68ce).