38 Franchise Times | August 2018

In the world of restaurant franchising, bigger is almost always better, as shown in our annual ranking of the 200 largest

U.S. restaurant franchisees. Reasons vary, but “scale” usually tops the list.

Large multi-unit and, often, multi-brand franchisees get more attention from their franchisors, bankers, vendors and real estate developers. In some cases franchisees are real estate developers, sometimes develop-ing strip centers and becoming landlords to other franchisees.

“It’s not a priority, but sometimes we have to buy a larger site and develop a strip center,” says Sun Holdings (No. 8) CEO Guillermo Perales, adding in the process he has had to turn down offers for non-restaurant fran-chises. “I don’t know anything about those businesses,” he says with a laugh.

High-stakes navigationThis has been a trend for years for a lot

of reasons. Restaurant franchising is compli-cated enough considering the operators on this list often navigate among brand cultures,

landlords, local governments and labor markets. Yet once at scale, they can wield their biggest advantage over smaller rivals: leverage. The sharpest continue to use it to swell their pipelines, access technology and satisfy store re-imaging requirements.

The fastest grower on the Restaurant 200, GPS Hospitality (No. 13), is happy to take tired loca-tions and revive them. According to CEO Tom Garrett, the company spent much of 2017 painting and taking care of deferred maintenance on the 193 restaurants it acquired in the final days of 2016. It slowed things down some, but still meant GPS grew sales by more than 70 percent.

“I would say 2017 was a retrenching year for us,” says Garrett. “But as we moved through 2017, we began to really accelerate, and that has pushed all the way to date in

2018.” Like many big operators that become bigger, that growth means more cash flow and more opportunity for further growth.

Three of the Restaurant 200 companies grew sales by more than 50 percent, and the largest continue to grow and evolve. At

the top, Flynn Restaurant Group out of San Francisco stays comfortably in the No. 1 position but saw some changes as well. The company grew annual sales by $34 million but contin-ued refocusing its efforts, selling off 11 Applebee’s restaurants and adding 33 Panera Bread locations and 16 Taco Bells.

That shift demonstrates another power of scale: Brands want sophis-ticated operators to drive the business forward. So having that massive scale means they can tap into the trendy, money-making brands and they have the access to capital necessary to outbid smaller competitors for

Big operators show power of scale

Ranking the biggest franchised restaurant owners in the U.S.

Articles by David Farkas and Nicholas UptonResearch by Matt Haskin and Nick Weis

38 Franchise Times | August 2018

ever-larger collections of restaurants that hit the market.

Overall, the Restaurant 200 grew by $1.6 billion in 2017 to $39.1 billion, up from $37.5 billion the year before. That growth marks a deceleration of more than $1 billion for the group overall compared to the aver-age $2.7 billion added in the past five years of the Restaurant 200. That isn’t altogether surprising, since 2017 was a tricky year for restaurants.

Last year “got a little challenging from a competitive standpoint. You saw commodi-ties bump a little bit, you saw discounting bump up a little bit, too,” says Garrett.

The overall growth trends also show an ongoing industry preference to award acqui-sitions and development deals to the very largest companies. The Restaurant 200 grew by 1,112 restaurants, bringing the average number of locations in the group to 141 restaurants, up six from last year. The top 25 companies added 839 restaurants, and the top 10 companies added 753 out of those locations, a 12 percent growth in units, outpacing the overall group.

With those additional restaurants, the top 25 companies added more than $1.25 billion while the top 10 added $773 million. The other 175 companies added less than half of that, growing by $345 million in 2017, sharply down from the four-year average of $1.4 billion. That may look like a worry-ing trend for smaller operators, or a year of frenzied M&A and smart strategy at the top to others.

The selloutsAll the M&A across the group means

someone is getting smaller, and there were a lot of companies selling off a few restau-rants here and there. But a whopping 10 Restaurant 200 companies left the list completely, selling off a total of 857 restau-rants accounting for $1.3 billion in annual restaurant sales.

Wendy’s was especially busy. Across the system represented in our rankings, 700 restaurants changed hands. Three Wendy’s operators got out completely: No. 23 in last year’s rankings, Cedar Enterprises unloaded 215 restaurants, No. 45 DavCo sold off 145, Valenti Management (No. 53) sold 119 and

Pennant Foods sold 87. Yum operators were active, too as OCAT,

No. 120 in last year’s rankings, sold 56 Taco Bell restaurants—the entirety of its opera-tions—in a complex deal that ensured all back-office employees kept their jobs. And No. 126 sold its two Taco Bells and 84 KFC restaurants.

Different approachesThe strategies for those large compa-

nies differ from year to year and company to company. We asked two CEOs of two growth-oriented franchisee companies to explain how they avoid over-leveraging their empires given easy accessibility to the vari-ous treasure chests filled with growth capital.

“I always look at the historical cash flow and never at future cash flow,” explains Anil Yadav of Fremont, California-based Yadav Enterprises (No. 12). “If you have to invest a lot of money back into the brand, you have to back that into the model and cash flow before you purchase locations.” The company has been adding to its stable of Denny’s, Jack in the Box and TGI Fridays over the past year; it also has been acquiring resort properties in California.

Yadav says it’s crucial today to use leverage carefully, citing rising gas prices, minimum wage increases and government regulations that crimp EBITDA (gross earn-ings) margins and potentially limit returns.

“That is something we don’t want to see. So the right leverage is always key and cash flow is the biggest determinant,” he adds.

Dallas-based Sun Holdings, which oper-ates about 600 restaurants—most are Burger King—throughout Texas and Florida, likes to own land. “Today, I feel we are very under-leveraged,” Perales says. “We pay down debt and grow every year. What has helped over the years is that we own real estate.”

Of 30 restaurants now under construc-tion, for instance, the company owns the land underneath 28. The company will add 17 Arby’s (its latest portfolio brand) this year in Houston and Florida. “Then we will reload with Arby’s,” he adds.

Sale/leasebacks are out of the question for Perales, despite the fact they could help him maintain less debt.

“But it leaves a huge 15- to 20-year debt and uses your cash flow,” he says. Private equity? Nope. “I’ve been in this space for 20 years. If I’d brought in private equity, I’d probably be on my fourth or fifth partner,” he says. Sun Holdings would probably be a smaller entity, too.

“Every time you’re changing partners,” he says, referring to private equity firms, “you have to slow down and think about how you’re investing your cash and agree with them on how to invest. So you lose time.”

He added investors who base every move on returns may at times decline to invest in remodeling or building new restaurants.

“That is all we do. We invest our cash in remodels and new builds,” he says.

Wells Fargo Restaurant Finance provides financing to corporate restaurant brands, restaurant franchisees, experienced commercial real estate investors who own restaurant properties, private equity firms, and other investors in restaurant concepts. Our loan products include: syndicated corporate senior financing, fixed and floating rate term loans, acquisition facilities, sale-leaseback financing, bridge/development financing, working capital revolvers, and interest rate risk management. For more information, visit www.wellsfargo.com/restaurants.

SPONSORED BY:

$39.1 BILLION IN REVENUE 28,109 RESTAURANTS 4 FIRMS MAKE BILLION-DOLLAR CLUB

THE TOP 200 OPERATORS COMMAND:

August 2018 | Franchise Times 39

$275-$375 MILLION

FRANCHISE TIMES RESTAURANT 200: TOP 20

For the seventh year running, Flynn Restaurant Group tops the list. The

San Francisco opera-tor, however, slowed

some in 2017. It grew sales by $34 million compared

to $167 million last year as it unloaded 11 Applebee’s and added another 16 Taco Bell units to the mix. It also acquired 33

Panera units. Founder and CEO Greg Flynn said scale and the

group’s active role in its franchise systems didn’t save any money,

but helped influ-ence who to “pick on the margin,” mean-ing which operators the franchisor would

choose as buyers.

Welcome Carrols Restaurant Group to

the three-comma club. The largest Burger

King operator grew to $1 billion in annual sales as it added

54 restaurants. The company now oper-

ates 807 Burger King restaurants and is one of just three top-20 operators that stick with a single brand.

1 Flynn Restaurant Group San Francisco, CA $1,857,412,000 474 Applebee’s 248 Taco Bell 130 Panera Bread

2 NPC International Overland Park, KS $1,334,697,000 1144 Pizza Hut 384 Wendy’s

3 Dhanani Group Sugar Land, TX $1,249,000,000 515 Burger King 271 Popeyes 27 La Madeleine

4 Carrols Restaurant Group Syracuse, NY $1,088,532,000 807 Burger King

5 MUY! Companies San Antonio, TX $938,931,000 364 Pizza Hut 312 Wendy’s 79 Taco Bell

6 Manna Louisville, KY $856,000,000 261 Wendy’s 125 Chili’s 23 Golden Corral

7 Summit Restaurant Group Richardson, TX $820,000,000 300 IHOP 122 Applebee’s

8 Sun Holdings Dallas, TX $725,000,000 300 Burger King 131 Popeyes 84 Arby’s

21 United States Beef Corp. Tulsa, OK 362 Arby’s 6 Taco Bueno

22 RMH Franchise Holdings Atlanta, GA 167 Applebee’s

23 Falcon Holdings Dallas, TX 150 Church’s Chicken 45 Long John Silver’s

24 Harman Management Corp. Los Altos, CA 121 KFC 177 YUM! Multi

25 JAE Restaurant Group Pompano Beach, FL 213 Wendy’s

26* D.L. Rogers Corp. Grapevine, TX 229 Sonic Drive-In

27 Quality Dining Mishawaka, IN 162 Burger King 45 Chili’s

9 KBP Foods Overland Park, KS $720,000,000 597 KFC 91 Taco Bell

10 Covelli Enterprises Warren, OH $680,000,000 287 Panera Bread 9 Dairy Queen 6 O’Charley’s

11 Pacific Bells Vancouver, WA $584,000,000 215 Taco Bell 66 Buffalo Wild Wings

12 Yadav Enterprises Fremont, CA $575,865,000 221 Jack in the Box 73 TGI Friday’s 36 Denny’s

13 GPS Hospitality Atlanta, GA $541,194,000 384 Burger King 19 Popeyes

14 The Briad Group Livingston, NJ $472,797,000 112 Wendy’s 56 TGI Friday’s 15 Zinburger

15 Doherty Enterprises Allendale, NJ $455,070,000 100 Applebee’s 41 Panera Bread 3 Quaker Steak

16 K-Mac Enterprises Fort Smith, AR $453,818,000 271 Taco Bell 14 YUM! Multi 6 Golden Corral

17 Tacala Birmingham, AL $431,035,000 288 Taco Bell

18 Boddie-Noell Enterprises Rocky Mount, NC $429,243,000 340 Hardee’s

19 Ampex Brands Dallas, TX $427,404,000 187 KFC 126 Pizza Hut 53 Long John Silver’s

20 Sizzling Platter Murray, UT $382,905,000 256 Little Caesars 41 Wingstop 32 Dunkin’ Donuts

40 Franchise Times | August 2018

* Denotes revenue estimate

$225-$275 MILLION

$175-$225 MILLION

MUY Companies moved up two spots from No. 7 to No. 5 as it added $135 million in annual

sales with the addi-tion of 41 Pizza

Huts, 53 Wendy’s and two Taco Bells. It supplanted two close

peers in a year of extreme competition at the very top of the

rankings.

KBP Foods grew sales by a huge margin as it added 255 KFCs,

partly from other oper-ators and partly from a major refranchising push by Yum, continu-ing the company trend of growing unit counts very fast. Why? CEO Michael Kulp says to get the best talent

means offering equity and keeping that

talent means growing that equity.

28 Border Foods New Hope, MN 183 Taco Bell 2 Au Bon Pain

29 Meritage Hospitality Group Grand Rapids, MI 247 Wendy’s

30 WKS Restaurant Group Lakewood, CA 61 El Pollo Loco 52 Wendy’s

31 FMI Woodstock, NB, Canada 107 Pizza Hut 97 KFC

32 Desert de Oro Foods Kingman, AZ 146 Taco Bell 65 Pizza Hut

33 Cotti Foods Corp. Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92 Wendy’s 82 Taco Bell

34 American West Restaurant Group Orange, CA 298 Pizza Hut

39 Starboard Group Coral Springs, FL 185 Wendy’s

40 ADF Companies Fairfield, NJ 260 Pizza Hut 15 Panera Bread

41 Wendy’s of Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 148 Wendy’s 8 Golden Corral

42* Cerca Trova Restaurant Concepts San Diego, CA 107 Outback Steakhouse

43* Manna Development Group Encinitas, CA 134 Panera Bread

44* Gold Coast Holdings Coral Gables, FL 76 TGI Friday’s 15 Wendy’s

45* HAZA Foods Sugar Land, TX 165 Wendy’s

46* WendPartners Cortland, NY 158 Wendy’s

47 Ghai Management Services Livermore, CA 123 Burger King 31 Taco Bell

48* Fugate Enterprises Wichita, KS 169 Pizza Hut 75 Taco Bell

58 SSCP Management Dallas, TX 65 Applebee’s 51 Sonic Drive-In

59 BurgerBusters Virginia Beach, VA 102 Taco Bell 10 Steak ‘n Shake

60* Rottinghaus Co. La Crosse, WI 380 Subway

61* Palo Alto Denver, CO 143 Taco Bell 32 Pizza Hut

62 Apple Gold Group Raleigh, NC 123 Applebee’s

63* Northwest Restaurants Woodinville, WA 94 Taco Bell 37 KFC

64 PR Restaurants Newton, MA 63 Panera Bread

65* Caspers Company Tampa, FL 54 McDonald’s

35 Mitra QSR Dallas, TX 179 KFC 28 YUM! Multi

36 Sailormen Miami, FL 138 Popeyes 23 Burger King

37* Charter Foods Morristown, TN 173 Taco Bell 45 Long John Silver’s

38* Hamra Enterprises Springfield, MO 89 Wendy’s 56 Panera Bread

49 Fourteen Foods Minneapolis, MN 207 Dairy Queen

50* Sundance Brighton, MI 165 Taco Bell 1 KFC

51 MarLu Management Co. Elk Grove, CA 52 Arby’s 38 Church’s Chicken

52 PJ United Birmingham, AL 194 Papa John’s

53 TA Restaurant Group Westlake, OH 67 Popeyes 56 Godfathers Pizza

54 JRN Columbia, TN 137 KFC 17 YUM! Multi

55 Cambridge Franchise Holdings Bartlett, TN 150 Burger King

56 Romulus Restaurant Group Phoenix, AZ 106 IHOP 2 Slim Chickens

57 Apple Investors Group Chino Hills, CA 73 Burger King 47 Applebee’s

August 2018 | Franchise Times 41

66 TOMS King Services Palatine, IL 131 Burger King

67* Century Management Memphis, TN 68 McDonald’s

68 Celebration Restaurant Group Celebration, FL 130 Pizza Hut 34 Taco Bell

69 The Rose Group Newtown, PA 57 Applebee’s 7 Corner Bakery Cafe

70 TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants Livonia, MI 65 Applebee’s 8 MOD Pizza

71 AFC Brands Greenwich, CT 67 Taco Bell 50 Applebee’s

72 Diversified Restaurant Holdings Southfield, MI 65 Buffalo Wild Wings

73 Retzer Organization Greenville, MS 69 McDonald’s

74 Carolina Restaurant Group Charlotte, NC 90 Wendy’s

75 Luihn Four Morrisville, NC 96 Taco Bell 9 KFC

76 T.L. Cannon Management Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 62 Applebee’s

$150-$175 MILLION

RMH Franchise Holdings took a

tumble in sales this year, a big one, slip-ping from No. 17 to No. 22. Annual sales for the company sank by $44 million, the loss leader in sales for the group. The

company also parted with eight Applebee’s.

The company that controlled 8 percent of the Applebee’s system

has since filed for bankruptcy protection and is in the middle

of a legal dispute with Applebee’s.

GPS Hospitality made a big jump this year to No. 13, up from

No. 28. The acquisi-tive growth company spent much of the year updating the

whopping 193 restau-rants it acquired at the tail end of 2016. The company topped the list of both overall

sales and percent-age sales growth,

adding $229 million in annual sales, a 73

percent jump.

77 QK Holdings Phoenix, AZ 92 Denny’s 9 Del Taco

78 Metro Corral Partners Winter Park, FL 32 Golden Corral 4 Krispy Kreme

79* Cafua Management Methuen, MA 232 Dunkin’ Donuts 7 DD/BR

83 Meridian Restaurants South Ogden, UT 89 Burger King 10 Chili’s

84* Carlisle Corp. Memphis, TN 97 Wendy’s

85 Four Foods Group American Fork, UT 54 Little Caesars 47 Kneaders Bakery

86 Potomac Family Dining Group Herndon, VA 68 Applebee’s

87 Restaurant Management Co. Wichita, KS 132 Pizza Hut 6 KFC

88* DORO Eau Claire, WI 115 Hardee’s 4 Taco John’s

89 AJP Enterprises Fife, WA 49 Arby’s 47 Jack in the Box

90 Janco Cranston, RI 88 Burger King 1 Krispy Kreme

94* Lemek Elkridge, MD 59 Panera Bread

95 Southern Rock Restaurants Franklin, TN 73 McAlister’s Deli

96 Paradigm Investment Group Carlsbad, CA 95 Hardee’s 9 Blaze Pizza

97 Pizza Properties El Paso, TX 47 Peter Piper Pizza

98 Golden Gate Bell Pleasanton, CA 82 Taco Bell

99 Primary Aim Zanesville, OH 74 Wendy’s

100* PacPizza San Ramon, CA 156 Pizza Hut

$135-$150 MILLION$125-$135 MILLION

80 B & G Food Enterprises Morgan City, LA 99 Taco Bell 6 YUM! Multi

81 The RC Group Annapolis, MD 64 Taco Bell 23 YUM! Multi

82 The Saxton Group Dallas, TX 75 McAlister’s Deli

91* Apple-Metro Harrison, NY 34 Applebee’s 2 Pizza Studio

92 Southern Multifoods Jacksonville, TX 82 Taco Bell 13 YUM! Multi

93 SERVUS! Jasper, IN 76 Long John Silver’s 34 Wendy’s

42 Franchise Times | August 2018

The top 5 fastest-growing operators added more than $697 million collectively.

CompanyRestaurant 200 Sales Y/E 2017

2017 Sales Growth

Growth %

GPS Hospitality 541,194,573 229,101,661 73.4%

WKS Rest. Group 286,705,151 104,022,598 56.9%

Manna Dev. Group 250,000,000 88,000,000 54.3%

Pacific Bells 584,000,000 190,000,000 48.2%

Cotti Foods Corp. 280,923,778 86,579,682 44.5%

SIX OPERATORS ON THE RESTAURANT 200 ADDED $100 MILLION OR MORE IN REVENUE YEAR-OVER-YEAR.

The average revenue for a Restaurant 200 operator is now $195.5 million—that’s up by more than $8 million this year.The additional six locations on average helps grow revenue; the average operator now has 141 locations.

The Franchise Times Restaurant 200 keeps growing.

Legacy brands are the favorite for the Franchise Times Restaurant 200, and large operators are the favorites of legacy brands. Rank Brand Companies # of Units Franchise %

1 Pizza Hut 30 4,085 55%

2 Burger King 25 3,319 46%

3 Taco Bell 38 3,311 57%

4 Wendy’s 27 3,041 56%

5 Applebee's 20 1,626 91%

6 KFC 18 1,589 39%

7 Panera Bread 12 901 81%

8 Arby’s 12 874 40%

9 Hardee’s 8 746 43%

10 Popeyes 9 726 33%

This table shows a breakdown of the most popular brands by the number of companies in the top brands, the number of locations operated by the Restaurant 200 and the relative percentage of those locations to the franchised locations.

The group now owns just over 28,000 restaurants and commands $39.1 billion in revenue.

Revenue (In Millions)

Locations

2007

16,915

$21.5

2008

16,489

$21.3

2009

16,715

$21.8

2010

17,887

$23.2

2011

18,408

$23.9

2012

20,331

$26.3

2013

21,831

$28.7

2014

23,177

$31

2015

25,176

$34.6

2016

26,993

$37.5

2017

28,109

$39.1

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

$143.5

109

$155

116

$173

126

$187.5

135

$195.5

141

Avg. Revenue (In Millions) Avg. Units

BULKING UP: THE RESTAURANT 200 IN NUMBERS

August 2018 | Franchise Times 43

101* Paradise Companies Natchez, MS 41 Applebee’s 16 IHOP

111 Strang Corp. Cleveland, OH 41 Panera Bread

112* McClain Sonics Ridgeland, MS 89 Sonic Drive-In

113 America’s Pizza Company Lafayette, LA 126 Pizza Hut

114 KC Bell Wichita, KS 35 Taco Bell 16 Freddy’s

115 Stine Enterprises Phoenix, AZ 86 Jack in the Box

116 JEM Restaurant Group Daniel Island, SC 75 Pizza Hut 35 Taco Bell

117 R.E.E. Beaumont, TX 45 McDonald’s

118 Den-Tex Central San Antonio, TX 81 Denny’s

119 Hospitality Restaurant Group Traverse City, MI 48 Taco Bell 21 Pizza Hut

120 Wendy’s of Bowling Green Bowling Green, KY 57 Wendy’s

121* BAJCO Group Canfield, OH 127 Papa John’s

131 Marwaha Group Anaheim, CA 147 Subway 4 Yogurtland

132 Hallrich Stow, OH 132 Pizza Hut

133 Friendly Franchisees Corp. La Palma, CA 71 Carl’s Jr.

134 The Kades Corp. Pasadena, TX 38 McDonald’s

WKS Restaurant Group jumped a

few of its fast-grow-ing counterparts in

2017. The California-based operator added

52 Wendy’s loca-tions, growing annual

company sales by 56.9 percent or $104 million.

California-based Manna Development Group and CEO Paul Saber grew company

sales by 54 percent as it acquired and built 60 Panera locations. Company sales grew from $162 million

to $250 million and jumped 30 spots in

our rankings. Despite the phone calls from private equity and other investors, the family company has grown to this scale

without giving up any equity.

102 Quality Restaurant Concepts Birmingham, AL 60 Applebee’s

103* Summit Restaurant Group, LLC Blue Springs, MO 127 Pizza Hut 12 Long John Silver’s

104 Brodersen Management Corp. Milwaukee, WI 60 Popeyes 15 Wendy’s

105 Kazi Management St. Croix Frederiksted, VI 58 KFC 24 Burger King

106 TD Food Group Honolulu, HI 44 Pizza Hut 37 Taco Bell

107 Serazen Newport Beach, CA 72 Papa John’s 51 Hardee’s

108* Emerald City Pizza Mukilteo, WA 104 Pizza Hut

109* Jackmont Hospitality Atlanta, GA 39 TGI Friday’s

110 Wisconsin Hospitality Group Waukesha, WI 72 Pizza Hut 33 Applebee’s

$115-$125 MILLION

$100-$115 MILLION

122 Fowler Foods Jonesboro, AR 73 KFC 14 YUM! Multi

123* Hielan Management Highland Village, TX 43 Chili’s

124 Rucker Restaurant Holdings Austin, TX 60 Jack in the Box 10 Denny’s

125 SD Holdings Fort Collins, CO 71 Sonic Drive-In 6 MOD Pizza

126 Branded Management Group Worcester, MA 87 Dunkin’ Donuts

127 Benton Properties Springdale, AR 69 Sonic Drive-In

128 Rackson Restaurants Bridgewater, NJ 54 Burger King

129 Great American Chicken Corp. Los Angeles, CA 60 KFC 11 YUM! Multi

130 Daland Corp. Wichita, KS 106 Pizza Hut

$90-$100 MILLION

135 Platinum Corral Jacksonville, NC 26 Golden Corral

136* Boj of WNC Arden, NC 59 Bojangles

$80-$90 MILLION

44 Franchise Times | August 2018

* Denotes revenue estimate

137* JK&T Wings Shelby Charter Township, MI 31 Buffalo Wild Wings 1 Smashburger

138* Schuster Enterprises Columbus, GA 67 Burger King

139* Cowabunga Alpharetta, GA 104 Domino’s

140 Genesh Lenexa, KS 57 Burger King 17 Denny’s

141* Southeast Restaurant Group New Orleans, LA 26 Taco Bell 19 TGI Friday’s

142 Wenspok Companies Spokane, WA 43 Wendy’s 148* Howley Bread Group

Westlake, OH 28 Panera Bread

149 Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group Allentown, PA 21 Red Robin

150* Hoover Foods Suwanee, GA 49 Wendy’s 5 Zaxby’s

151* Oerther Foods Orlando, FL 24 McDonald’s

152* United Restaurant Group Glen Allen, VA 26 TGI Friday’s

153 McEssy Investment Co. Lake Forest, IL 25 McDonald’s

154 Denco Family Whittier, CA 25 Denny’s 8 Subway

155 BMW Management Temecula, CA 23 Sizzler

156 Carisch Wayzata, MN 66 Arby’s

157 Verlander Enterprises El Paso, TX 10 Applebee’s 10 Village Inn

158* Capitol Dough Westlake, OH 29 Panera Bread

159* Kergan Bros. Sonic Lafayette, LA 56 Sonic Drive-In

160 Parrish Restaurants Dallas, TX 21 McDonald’s

161* DMAC81 Van Wert, OH 44 McAlister’s Deli 4 Dunkin’ Donuts

162* Hishmeh Enterprises Ventura, CA 82 Domino’s

163 Janjer Enterprises Silver Spring, MD 32 Popeyes

Our annual Restaurant 200 franchi-see research, prepared by sister publi-cation Restaurant Finance Monitor,

includes questionnaires, phone surveys, and in some cases, a review of public docu-ments such as annual reports, 10Ks and FDDs. We sincerely thank the companies that responded to our surveys, as most of the top 200 companies in this year’s rank-ing provided us with their complete data.

Our report consists of ranking compa-nies according to revenue generated by the company’s franchised restaurants. If the company happens to operate a restau-rant concept that is not franchised, or is the franchisor of another concept, we will not include that number in the overall reve-nue or unit count. In some cases where an acquisition took place during the year, we

derive pro-forma revenue in calculating the company’s ranking.

For companies that did not respond to our survey, we confirmed the number of units operated by their company, and then estimated the revenue. In the case of a tie in the amount of total revenue, we settled the tie in favor of the company with the most units.

If you believe your company might make the Restaurant 200 list or we’ve missed you (or you know of another company that should be listed), please contact Liz Olson at (612) 767-3200 or lolson@franchise-times.com.

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

What’s the impact of a brand on its great operators? Major, as

Rottinghaus Company demonstrates. The largest Subway fran-chisee shed 15 loca-tions, slimming down to 380 restaurants as the parent company continues to hone its strategies. It’s a good reminder why the larg-est operators hedge their bets with multi-

ple brands.

$70-$80 MILLION

$60-$70 MILLION

143 MRCO Brentwood, TN 36 Taco Bell 13 YUM! Multi

144 High Plains Pizza Liberal, KS 86 Pizza Hut

145 Ansara Restaurant Group Farmington Hills, MI 22 Red Robin 3 Twin Peaks

146 Bullard Restaurant Group Raleigh, NC 30 Moe’s SW Grill 19 Burger King

147 DRM Omaha, NE 76 Arby’s

August 2018 | Franchise Times 45

164 S-Group Companies Sandusky, OH 34 Wendy’s

165 RoHoHo Charleston, SC 54 Papa John’s 11 Jersey Mike’s

166 Ocedon Denver, CO 60 Burger King

167* Apple Core Enterprises Minot, ND 23 Applebee’s

168 S & L Companies Portage, WI 24 Culver’s

169 Wendco Group Pensacola, FL 45 Wendy’s

170* Fourjay North Little Rock, AR 47 Wendy’s

171 VKC Group Sugar Land, TX 100 Subway 15 Great Am. Cookies

174 AB Enterprises Redding, CA 13 Burger King 11 Applebee’s

175* Creative Foods Corp. Garden City, NY 28 Burger King

176 Great Circle Family Foods Long Beach, CA 17 Krispy Kreme 8 The Coffee Bean

177 Brumit Restaurant Group Asheville, NC 50 Arby’s

178 Tria Company East Grand Rapids, MI 35 Burger King 5 Arby’s

179* Beavers Fort Walton Beach, FL 48 Arby’s

180 U.S. Restaurants Blue Bell, PA 32 Burger King

181* PJ Holdings KY Lexington, KY 57 Papa John’s

182 Elbardi Group of Companies Miami, FL 55 Charleys Philly Stks 2 Gyu-Kaku

183 Century Fast Foods Los Angeles, CA 33 Taco Bell

$50-$60 MILLION

172* Westaco Scottsdale, AZ 43 Taco Bell 3 YUM! Multi

173 PT Management Tampa, FL 44 Hardee’s

46 Franchise Times | August 2018

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184* RCO Limited Columbus, OH 20 Raising Cane’s

188 Rawson Foodservice Rocky Hill, NJ 20 Wendy’s

189* Trigo Hospitality Stevensville, MI 30 Pizza Hut 9 Sonic Drive-In

190 Northcott Hospitality Chanhassen, MN 22 Perkins 3 Houlihan’s

191 North Texas Bells Grapevine, TX 34 Taco Bell

192* STP JJ Team I Oakdale, MN 56 Jimmy John’s

193* FOR Northwest Mercer Island, WA 38 Burger King

194 Tetra Management Wichita, KS 41 Pizza Hut 3 Freddy’s

195* Apple Gilroy San Jose, CA 14 Applebee’s

196 Heartland Beef Bloomington, IN 34 Arby’s

197 Blue Ribbon Restaurants Walled Lake, MI 18 Famous Dave’s 6 Penn Station

198 HNI Houston, TX 34 Hardee’s 16 Carl’s Jr.

199 Vasari Irving, TX 49 Dairy Queen

200 Lunan Corporation Chicago, IL 39 Arby’s

$37-$50 MILLION

185 Ponder Enterprises Donalsonville, GA 37 Hardee’s

186* Roaring Fork Restaurant Group Milwaukee, WI 55 Qdoba Mexican Eats

187* Staab Management Co. Grand Island, NE 62 Pizza Hut

August 2018 | Franchise Times 47

Company ......................................RankAB Enterprises ................................174ADF Companies ................................40AFC Brands ...................................... 71AJP Enterprises ................................ 89America’s Pizza Company ................ 113American West Restaurant Group ....... 34Ampex Brands .................................. 19Ansara Restaurant Group ................. 145Apple Core Enterprises .....................167Apple Gilroy ................................... 195Apple Gold Group ............................. 62Apple Investors Group ....................... 57Apple-Metro ..................................... 91B & G Food Enterprises .....................80BAJCO Group ..................................121Beavers ......................................... 179Benton Properties........................... 127Blue Ribbon Restaurants ..................197BMW Management ......................... 155Boddie-Noell Enterprises .................. 18Boj of WNC .................................... 136Border Foods ................................... 28Branded Management Group ........... 126Brodersen Management Corp. .......... 104Brumit Restaurant Group ..................177Bullard Restaurant Group ................ 146BurgerBusters .................................. 59Cafua Management ........................... 79Cambridge Franchise Holdings ........... 55Capitol Dough ................................ 158Carisch .......................................... 156Carlisle Corp. ................................... 84Carolina Restaurant Group ................. 74Carrols Restaurant Group .................... 4Caspers Company ............................. 65Celebration Restaurant Group ............68Century Fast Foods ......................... 183Century Management ........................ 67Cerca Trova Restaurant Concepts ....... 42Charter Foods .................................. 37Cotti Foods Corp............................... 33Covelli Enterprises ............................ 10Cowabunga .................................... 139Creative Foods Corp. ....................... 175D.L. Rogers Corp. ............................. 26Daland Corp. .................................. 130Den-Tex Central .............................. 118Denco Family ................................ 154Desert de Oro Foods ......................... 32Dhanani Group ................................... 3Diversified Restaurant Holdings ......... 72

DMAC81 ........................................161Doherty Enterprises .......................... 15DORO .............................................88DRM ..............................................147Elbardi Group of Companies ............ 182Emerald City Pizza .......................... 108Falcon Holdings ............................... 23Flynn Restaurant Group....................... 1FMI ..................................................31FOR Northwest............................... 193Four Foods Group ............................. 85Fourjay .......................................... 170Fourteen Foods ................................ 49Fowler Foods .................................. 122Friendly Franchisees Corp. ............... 133Fugate Enterprises ............................48Genesh.......................................... 140Ghai Management Services ............... 47Gold Coast Holdings ......................... 44Golden Gate Bell .............................. 98GPS Hospitality ................................ 13Great American Chicken Corp. ......... 129Great Circle Family Foods ................ 176Hallrich ......................................... 132Hamra Enterprises ............................ 38Harman Management Corp. ............... 24HAZA Foods ..................................... 45Heartland Beef ............................... 196Hielan Management ........................ 123High Plains Pizza ............................ 144Hishmeh Enterprises ....................... 162HNI ............................................... 198Hoover Foods ................................. 150Hospitality Restaurant Group ........... 119Howley Bread Group ....................... 148Jackmont Hospitality ....................... 109JAE Restaurant Group ....................... 25Janco ..............................................90Janjer Enterprises ........................... 163JEM Restaurant Group .................... 116JK&T Wings .................................... 137JRN ................................................. 54K-Mac Enterprises ............................ 16Kazi Management St. Croix .............. 105KBP Foods ......................................... 9KC Bell ...........................................114Kergan Bros. Sonic ......................... 159Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group ........ 149Lemek ............................................. 94Luihn Four ....................................... 75Lunan Corporation ..........................200Manna ............................................... 6

Manna Development Group ................ 43MarLu Management Co. .....................51Marwaha Group ...............................131McClain Sonics .............................. 112McEssy Investment Co. ................... 153Meridian Restaurants ........................ 83Meritage Hospitality Group ................ 29Metro Corral Partners ........................ 78Mitra QSR ........................................ 35MRCO ........................................... 143MUY! Companies ................................ 5North Texas Bells ............................191Northcott Hospitality ...................... 190Northwest Restaurants ...................... 63NPC International ............................... 2Ocedon ......................................... 166Oerther Foods .................................151Pacific Bells ......................................11PacPizza ....................................... 100Palo Alto .......................................... 61Paradigm Investment Group .............. 96Paradise Companies ........................101Parrish Restaurants ........................ 160Pizza Properties ............................... 97PJ Holdings KY ................................181PJ United ......................................... 52Platinum Corral .............................. 135Ponder Enterprises ......................... 185Potomac Family Dining Group ............ 86PR Restaurants ................................ 64Primary Aim ..................................... 99PT Management ............................. 173QK Holdings .................................... 77Quality Dining .................................. 27Quality Restaurant Concepts............ 102R.E.E. ............................................117Rackson Restaurants ...................... 128Rawson Foodservice ....................... 188RCO Limited .................................. 184Restaurant Management Co. .............. 87Retzer Organization .......................... 73RMH Franchise Holdings ................... 22Roaring Fork Restaurant Group ........ 186RoHoHo ........................................ 165Romulus Restaurant Group ................ 56Rottinghaus Co. ................................60Rucker Restaurant Holdings ............ 124S & L Companies ............................ 168S-Group Companies ........................ 164Sailormen ........................................ 36Schuster Enterprises ....................... 138SD Holdings ................................... 125

ALPHABETICAL LISTING

Serazen ..........................................107SERVUS! ......................................... 93Sizzling Platter ................................. 20Southeast Restaurant Group .............141Southern Multifoods ......................... 92Southern Rock Restaurants ............... 95SSCP Management ...........................58Staab Management Co. ................... 187Starboard Group ............................... 39Stine Enterprises ............................ 115STP JJ Team I ................................ 192Strang Corp. ...................................111Summit Restaurant Group ................... 7Summit Restaurant Group, LLC ........ 103Sun Holdings ..................................... 8Sundance ........................................50T.L. Cannon Management .................. 76TA Restaurant Group ......................... 53Tacala ..............................................17TD Food Group ............................... 106TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants .... 70Tetra Management .......................... 194The Briad Group ............................... 14The Kades Corp. ............................. 134The RC Group ................................... 81The Rose Group ................................ 69The Saxton Group ............................. 82TOMS King Services ......................... 66Tria Company ................................. 178Trigo Hospitality ............................. 189U.S. Restaurants ............................ 180United Restaurant Group ................. 152United States Beef Corp. ................... 21Vasari ............................................ 199Verlander Enterprises .......................157VKC Group ......................................171Wendco Group ................................ 169WendPartners .................................. 46Wendy’s of Bowling Green ............... 120Wendy’s of Colorado Springs ...............41Wenspok Companies ....................... 142Westaco ........................................ 172Wisconsin Hospitality Group ............ 110WKS Restaurant Group ..................... 30Yadav Enterprises ............................. 12

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48 Franchise Times | August 2018