Company lists · Data refreshed September 2026

Top 25 Restaurant franchise operators based in the United States

RevenueBase identified 302 restaurant franchise operators headquartered in the United States as of September 2026 and tracks 313,017 professional contacts across them, including 8,787 with verified work emails. Atlanta is the largest hub.

This list covers restaurant franchise operators headquartered in the United States, matched on what each company actually does as described in its own words. Ranked by team size, largest first. Every row shows the company's own description, its RevenueBase Smart Search rating, and when it was last checked. Data refreshed September 21, 2026.

Published by RevenueBase, a B2B data infrastructure company. This list was built with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search RevenueBase customers use to build their own targeted lists and unlock verified emails and direct dials at the companies on them. How these lists are built and judged.

How to read this list HQ checked on every row RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row Refreshed Sep 21, 2026 86% judged on-target in blind review
302Companies
313,017Contacts tracked
8,787Verified emails
Explore this list → Free signup · no credit card · 500 free credits

The 25 largest restaurant franchise operators based in the United States

Ranked by team size
Top 25 of 302 restaurant franchise operators based in the United States, ranked by team size, largest first. Data refreshed Sep 21, 2026. RevenueBase Smart Search rates how each company's information relates to restaurant franchise operators: strong evidence (its own description names it), partial (names part of it), indirect (matched on the rest of its profile rather than the description shown). Click a contact count to view that company's people.
#CompanyRevenueBase Smart SearchHeadquartersEmployeesContacts
1Indirect evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 202610001+201,294 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with over locations in over 100 countries.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
2Indirect evidenceAtlanta, GA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026n/a44,395 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Chick-fil-A, Inc.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
3Indirect evidenceCanton, MA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026n/a19,997 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Dunkin' Brands Inc.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
4Indirect evidencePlano, TX, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 202610001+13,864 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“KFC Corporation, based in Plano, Texas, is one of the few brands in America that can boast about having a rich, 60-year history of success and innovation.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
5Indirect evidenceLouisville, KY, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 20261,001-5,00010,143 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Yum!”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
6Strong evidenceIndependence, OH, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 202610001+1,332 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Founded by Greg Flynn in Flynn Group has grown from a small Applebee's operator and developer in Washington State into the world's largest franchise operator and one of the 20…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
7Partial evidenceMilford, OH, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026n/a1,268 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Penn Station East Coast Subs is a 40-year-old sandwich brand with 320+ locations, built on a simple philosophy: when franchise owners succeed, the brand grows.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
8Partial evidenceFranklin, TN, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 20265,001-10,0001,265 contacts →

Partial evidence

“About CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
9Indirect evidenceAtlanta, GA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 202610001+875 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Atlanta-based platform company GoTo Foods (formerly known as Focus Brands) is a leading developer of global multi-channel foodservice brands.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
10Partial evidenceColumbus, OH, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 20261,001-5,000845 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Founded by Cameron Mitchell in 1993, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, LLC (CMR) has built a diverse portfolio of varied concepts, ranging from multi-location upscale destinations to…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
11Partial evidenceOverland Park, KS, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 202610001+754 contacts →

Partial evidence

“KBP is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchise groups in the U.S.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
12Indirect evidenceSalt Lake City, UT, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 202610001+677 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Sizzling Platter began in 1963 as a Mom and Pop with a Sizzler location in Sugar House, Utah, and a dream to be more.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
13Indirect evidenceTulsa, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 20261,001-5,000623 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“A privately held company that has been in business since 1961.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
14Strong evidenceCypress, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 202610001+418 contacts →

Strong evidence

“WKS Restaurant Group is a licensed franchisee of El Pollo Loco, Denny's, Wendy's, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and Blaze Pizza.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
15Strong evidenceHouston, TX, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 20265,001-10,000407 contacts →

Strong evidence

“SPB Hospitality is the leading operator and franchisor of full-service dining restaurants, spanning a national footprint of hundreds of locations.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
16Partial evidenceVancouver, WA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 202610001+391 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Welcome to our Restaurant Family.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
17Partial evidenceNashville, TN, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026501-1,000379 contacts →

Partial evidence

“SHONEYS is a restaurants company based out of 226 S Pike W, Sumter, South Carolina, United States.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
18Partial evidenceScottsdale, AZ, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026201-500374 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Sparked by the vision of one entrepreneur opening a single smoothie and juice bar over two decades ago, to today - Kahala Brands is one of the fastest-growing franchising…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
19Partial evidenceColumbia, MD, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026501-1,000335 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Authority Brands' companies include 15 leading home service franchisors.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
20Indirect evidenceMishawaka, IN, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 20265,001-10,000329 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“At Quality Dining, we believe in serving each guest with pride and enthusiasm.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
21Indirect evidenceSpringfield, MO, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 20265,001-10,000256 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Hamra Enterprises is a people-forward organization that develops leaders, owned and founded in 1975 by the Hamra family.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
22Indirect evidenceWarren, OH, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 202610001+210 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Covelli Enterprises operates nearly 300 Panera Bread bakery-cafes spanning eight states.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
23Partial evidenceOklahoma City, OK, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026201-500207 contacts →

Partial evidence

“The Jimmy’s Egg Franchise Systems, LLC (Jimmy’s Egg) is part of the fast growing Breakfast and Lunch segment.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
24Strong evidencePalm Coast, FL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026n/a196 contacts →

Strong evidence

“We Sell Restaurants has carved an unparalleled niche in the industry as the nation's leading and only business broker franchise focused on restaurants.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
25Strong evidenceBeverly Hills, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 202651-200187 contacts →

Strong evidence

“FAT Brands (NASDAQ: FAT) is a leading global franchising company that strategically acquires, markets and develops fast casual and casual dining restaurant concepts around the…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026

Showing 25 of 302 restaurant franchise operators based in the United States

See the full list, filter by size, metro and specialty, and get verified emails and direct dials for all 8,787 reachable decision-makers.

Free signup · no credit card

View the full list →

Restaurant franchise operators based in the United States at a glance

As of Sep 21, 2026
2.8%Verified-email coverage
1036.5Average contacts per company
201-500Median size (employees)
4.3%Largest-city concentration · Atlanta
Sep 21, 2026Page data refreshed

Companies by employee count

1-10
41
11-50
59
51-200
41
201-500
38
501-1,000
27
1,001-5,000
58
5,001-10,000
18
10001+
18

Email recency for this list is measured worldwide rather than for United States, so it is reported there. Company counts and contact totals on this page are exact for United States, over 302 companies.

How this list was built

Company categories are rarely black and white. RevenueBase reads each company's own description of its business to decide whether it belongs among restaurant franchise operators, so some rows will be adjacent to the category rather than pure plays. The description and RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row are there so you can check each match yourself.

Source
The RevenueBase company graph: 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts resolved from primary sources, queried with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search available to every RevenueBase user.
What qualifies
Companies headquartered in the United States whose own description of what they do matches “restaurant franchise operators”. Matching reads each company's description, not its industry code or its name.
RevenueBase Smart Search
RevenueBase Smart Search is how this list is assembled and how each row is rated. RevenueBase's data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to a category defined in a user's own words. Each row is rated strong evidence (its own description names restaurant franchise operators), partial evidence (it names part of the category) or indirect evidence (the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile). The description supporting each rating is quoted on the row.
What we exclude
Companies whose own description does not clearly place them among restaurant franchise operators, and records with no verified work email. Companies headquartered outside United States are excluded even when they keep an office there.
Match quality
In blind human judging of this matching method, 86% of matched companies were on target. Expect roughly 1 in 7 rows to be adjacent to the category rather than a pure play. Every row shows the company's own description and its RevenueBase Smart Search rating so you can judge each match yourself. Read the full methodology: how the lists are built, how the judging worked, and what the figure means.
Ranking
Team size, largest first: companies are ordered by the number of professionals RevenueBase tracks at each one. Employee ranges shown are reported bands, for context.
Verification
Every listed company carries at least one verified work email, 8,787 across the full list. Contacts re-verify on a rolling cadence, and each contact's own verification date is shown inside RevenueBase.
Refresh
This page's figures were pulled from the company graph on September 21, 2026. Lists refresh periodically as the graph is re-checked.
Corrections
Wrong category, wrong headquarters, or a company that has closed? Use “Report an issue” on any row. Reports go to the RevenueBase Data Team and feed back into the company graph.

Frequently asked

What is RevenueBase Smart Search?

RevenueBase Smart Search is how RevenueBase decides which companies belong on this list and how strongly each one fits. Its data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to the category the list is about. Each row is rated strong evidence when the company's own description names restaurant franchise operators, partial evidence when it names part of the category, and indirect evidence when the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile.

How many restaurant franchise operators are there based in the United States?

RevenueBase identified 302 restaurant franchise operators headquartered in the United States as of September 2026, matched on each company's own description of what it does rather than its industry code.

What is the largest company on this list?

Mcdonald's, headquartered in Chicago, tops this list with the largest team on record.

Which city has the most restaurant franchise operators?

Atlanta leads with 13 headquartered companies, followed by Houston (9) and Dallas (8).

How do I get contact information for these companies?

A free RevenueBase account lets you run this exact search and work the top results, verified emails and direct dials included. Upgrading unlocks all 8,787 verified decision-maker contacts tracked across these 302 companies.

How current is this list?

The list refreshes periodically as the company graph is re-checked. This page's figures were pulled on September 21, 2026.

Ready to reach these companies? Verified emails and direct dials for all 302 restaurant franchise operators based in the United States. Start with a free account, no credit card.

Download this list →

Related lists

About this data

RevenueBase is a B2B data infrastructure company. Its company graph covers 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts, with emails verified on a rolling cadence rather than scraped once and left to decay. These company lists are generated directly from that graph with RevenueBase Smart Search, the same natural-language company search every RevenueBase user has: describe a market in plain words, get the companies that match, and add verified emails and direct dials for the people at them. It is the same data that powers RevenueBase's B2B data products, and a free account includes 500 credits to start. How these lists are built and judged.