Chain Restaurants That Are Going To Be Everywhere In 2024

Chain restaurants have changed over the years, and we are here for it. Classic fast food joints like Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and McDonald's have offered quickness and convenience for decades. Today, the fast-casual restaurant concept has modern society in its grip — but that isn't a bad thing, because now there are more chains than ever to try out. Many of these places offer diverse cuisine options and tasty, quality food that falls outside the typical confines of greasy drive-thru eats or the expected fare of family restaurant chains. Best of all, several eclectic chains are poised for expansion in 2024.

All chain restaurants have to start somewhere, and expanding takes time, yet a crop of eateries have recently been popping up all over the U.S. — and are even opening abroad. Some are fairly new, and others have been around for decades. What they have in common is current growth, made possible through innovation, mass appeal, and a loyal customer following. We looked at current dining trends, sales growth percentages, expansion plans, and annual revenue data to determine what some of the biggest restaurant chains will be in the coming year. Keep an eye out for these places, they just might be headed to a street near you.

Frozen custard, steakburgers, and shoestring french fries with a secret dipping sauce are the kinds of foods high school kids in the 1950s craved, but you don't need a time machine to enjoy these fast food classics when there's a Freddy's nearby. Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers pays homage to the food and feel of mid-century America, but it's only been around since 2002. Freddy's began in Wichita, Kansas, founded by brothers Bill and Randy Simon and Scott Redler. The eatery is named for the Simons' father, a decorated World War II hero and 56-year veteran of the hospitality industry. Freddy Simon passed away in 2020 at the age of 95.

Freddy's built its brand on customer care, ensuring that every steakburger is cooked to order and seasoned to perfection. All-beef hot dogs, crispy chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, plus a collection of signature shakes, custards, and malts speak to the restaurant's retro inspiration, yet Freddy's recent spike in expansion shows that the company's eyes are on the future. Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers has exploded throughout the Midwest and South and is making its way up to the northern regions of both U.S. coasts and into Canada. In late 2020, the chain celebrated the opening of its 400th restaurant. By the summer of 2023, Freddy's announced it would be creating a National Training and Innovation Center in Wichita to allow for company-wide training seminars and the implementation of cutting-edge technology throughout its many locations.

If you have never visited a Tropical Smoothie Cafe, chances are you will come across one in 2024. Tropical Smoothie Cafe began as a single location on the beach in Destin, Florida in 1997 and expanded to Tallahassee the following year. Now, the franchise has hit the big time, opening 141 new storefronts by the third quarter of 2023, bringing its total chain restaurant number to 1,335 locations. This kind of success doesn't come from resting on your laurels. CEO Charles Watson has set his sights on upping the number of locations to a staggering 1,500 by the end of 2024.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe is currently one of the fastest-growing chains in America, bolstered by a menu full of unique, fresh-fruit smoothies (vitamin and mineral supplements are available as add-ons) and a line of somewhat health-conscious flatbreads, wraps, salads, and more. The power of franchising is a driving force behind Tropical Smoothie Cafe's admirable expansion — 70% of the new locations are being opened by franchisees who already own at least one of the chain's existing locations. Another is a knack for marketing, paired with a heart for the community. The café is behind some ongoing customer loyalty via holidays, like National Flip Flop Day, when every customer who enters the store wearing flip flops gets a free smoothie (psst, it's May 31st), and implementing a donation program to benefit No Kid Hungry, a nonprofit organization that helps fight child hunger in the U.S.

History has shown us that when Oprah thinks something is cool, everyone else gets into it too. So when the Mother of all Influencers became an investor, board member, and consultant for health-minded restaurant chain True Food Kitchen in 2018, the buzz was immediate. Fast forward a few years and the stylish eatery received another investment — this time $100 million — which would be used to expand True Food Kitchen's reach on a larger scale. True Food Kitchen is based in Phoenix, Arizona, and has amassed 45 locations since its founding in 2008 by holistic guru Dr. Andrew Weil. Organic foods that are ethically sourced and in-season are the name of the game here, and an open kitchen in each location shows off the preparation of scratch-made meals for guests. Alongside a recent declaration that only avocado and olive oil will be used in True Food Kitchen's recipes are plans to open a brand new restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina's upscale North Hills district in 2024. This will be the chain's first location in the state.

Vegan options, grass-fed beef burgers, and artisan pizzas with unexpected ingredients (think butternut squash or smoked gouda) are the kind of meals you can expect to see from True Food Kitchen. Consumer demand for healthy food that doesn't forgo flavor or creativity is sure to remain high in 2024, and True Food Kitchen's ethos is in step with the wave of the future.

It may be one of the newer chains of the group, but since starting in Jacksonville, Florida in December 2012, Maple Street Biscuit Company has never looked back. Biscuits made from scratch every day are something you can count on at all of Maple Street's 59 locations, but it's that extra touch of creativity that took business at Maple Street Biscuit Company to another level. In 2016, a biscuit sandwich called The Squawking Goat was shown on the Food Network show "Guilty Pleasures," and it brought Maple Street Biscuit Company exposure. The Squawking Goat is named as such due to the herbed goat cheese medallion and fried chicken slathered in pepper jelly.

Innovations like The Squawking Goat, Frittaffles (waffle iron baked omelets), and of course, homemade biscuits caught the attention of mega-chain Cracker Barrel, which purchased Maple Street Biscuit Company in 2019 for $36 million. Once under the Cracker Barrel umbrella, Maple Street nearly doubled its storefronts, with 26 new locations opening in less than four years. For now, Maple Street Biscuit Company is largely concentrated in the South, but with multiple locations popping up in Ohio, new ventures in other parts of the country seem probable.

A few years ago, Jersey Mike's Subs was still unknown in some areas, but that is rapidly changing. There are 2,659 Jersey Mike's Subs restaurants spread throughout all 50 states and Washington, D.C., plus international locations in Ontario, Canada and Guadalajara, Mexico. Submarine sandwiches were something of a novelty in 1956 when Mike's Subs (as Jersey's Mike's was called then) opened in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. The shop had been a fixture on the Jersy Shore for over a decade when an ambitious 14 year old named Peter Cancro was hired to wrap subs. When Mike's Subs went up for sale three years later, Cancro secured a loan with the help of his football coach and became the shop's new owner.

Cancro wasted no time opening additional Mike's Subs locations, putting emphasis on customer interaction and customizable subs. Jersey Mike's became so popular that franchising began in 1987. With high-quality meats and cheeses sliced to order, fresh-baked bread, and a menu that encourages customers to "get it the way you like it," we're not surprised Jersey Mike's has grown to the level it has. Cancro remains heavily involved in the business, setting up training programs for franchisees and helping raise millions for charity. When it comes to growth in 2024, Cancro has a sky's the limit approach, telling Entrepreneur magazine that Jersey Mike's could ultimately "open as many as 8,000 to 10,000 stores in the U.S."

A successful chain starts with a vision, and in the case of MOD Pizza, that vision is focused as much on people as it is on making good food. Based in Seattle, Washington, MOD Pizza opened in 2008 and was community-minded from the get-go. MOD is known for hiring and retaining employees who face disadvantages in their job search due to previous criminal convictions, intellectual and developmental disabilities, or other barriers. This inclusive hiring process is the force behind the MOD Opportunity Network (MOD O.N.), the company's national program that works with nonprofit organizations to connect employees with the relevant support systems they need to maintain long-term employment. MOD O.N. launched in the spring of 2023 and is implemented in 29 cities across 11 states. It is the first program of its kind in the chain restaurant industry.

MOD, which stands for "made on demand" allows patrons to customize their pizza with unlimited toppings at no extra cost. Options like salad, a side of garlic bread, dessert, and draft beer or wine round out the menu. From 2014 to 2016, MOD Pizza grew from 31 locations to 190 and is one of America's fastest-growing chain restaurants with over 550 locations in 29 states. Owners Ally and Scott Svenson plan to push MOD's total restaurant count to 1,000 units by 2024. As for MOD O.N., the Svensons aim to expand the program to no fewer than 21 states by 2024's end.