Did You Read the 2025 QSR 50 Article? We Did. Here’s What Matters.

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QSR Magazine recently released their 2025 QSR 50 list. You probably didn’t read it. That’s fine. We did, and uncovered some really interesting trends that matter to CRE pros now. 

Let’s skip the headlines you already know (McDonald’s = $130B in worldwide sales; Chick-fil-A = Monster AUVs) and dig into what the data really reveals.

Raising Cane’s = Not Playing Chicken

Revenue increased by 32% YoY ($3.76 billion vs. $4.96 billion), while maintaining an average unit volume over $6.5 million with 828 units. They are not just scaling, they’re dominating.

Wingstop = Digital Juggernaut

Same store sales up 20%, 50M+ users on their MyWingstop platform (14.5% of the US population!), and 72% of all orders now coming through digital channels. If you own a strip center, Wingstop is a gold standard food tenant.

Dutch Bros = In Starbucks’ Shadow (Not Anymore)

With 5.4 million rewards members and 71% of total orders tied to loyalty accounts, Dutch Bros is future-proofing their business model and have become a top-tier tenant. Their digital sales mix is still just 8%, but that’s changing fast. Brokers report landlords in many markets are already prioritizing Dutch Bros over Starbucks.

Yum = Still Here

Digital sales at Yum Brands concepts (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Habit) are 57% of systemwide sales, seven percentage points higher than the prior year. Run for the Border.

Chipotle = Digital DNA

Chipotle continues to set the fast casual standard: 35% of sales come via digital and AUV is up to $3.2M. With 315-345 new stores planned in 2025, Chipotle is anchoring its growth strategy around digital orders (80% of new stores will feature the Chipotlane - a drive-thru-enabled digital kitchen with $4M+ potential per site).

Wendy’s = Sleeper Tenant, Big Implications

They’re planning 1,000 new stores globally (300 U.S. & 700 international) by 2028. While the AUV doesn’t top any lists, their coming demand for sites should.

McDonald’s = Scale with Limits

Global sales over $130B; over $53B from U.S. stores; AUV = $4M over 13,559 U.S. locations. According to a recent thread on X, McDonald’s intentionally caps sales volumes for their operators. When a unit nears $6M in sales, corporate opens a nearby store to split the traffic. Now you know why they won’t pay the high rents we see from the Big Three.

In-N-Out = Double Double for the Win

AUVs are stated to be $5.24M, which sounds modest, until you realize they still operate plenty of old, smaller-format locations. Once you factor in newer prototypes? Different story. Many stores are rumored to have sales well north of $12M. We’d bet the highest-volume fast food drive-thru in the U.S. has two crossed palm trees in the parking lot.

Bottom Line:

If a tenant can’t do $2M+ in sales (at the absolute minimum), they’re not going to be in the running for top sites. If a tenant isn’t supercharging their revenue through digital channels and building robust loyalty programs, they’re dead, they just don’t know it…..yet!

Data is just data, unless you can make it actionable.

DealGround turns data into dollars.

LFG!

DealGround

P.S. If you missed our On The Ground special edition last Tuesday. Read the analysis here.