2020 Dominators
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 |
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.
Source: FRANdata
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Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine: Issue 4, 2020
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