2021 Dominators
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2021 Dominators

2021 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 build-outs, 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 again this year: they were compiled from FDDs created before and during the pandemic—and thus are not as representative as in the past as franchisees both large and small divest units, file for Chapter 11 protection, no longer exist (NPC International), or simply decide it’s time to retire or get out of the business.

On the upside, there are franchisees and brands that quickly adapted, were deemed “essential,” or whose business model accommodated the new normal (drive-thru, delivery, carryout, no contact, etc.). Banking on their good credit, solid infrastructure, and proven track record, these dominators are moving forward and creating historically large franchisee organizations that are changing the face of franchising.

Even during these pandemic 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 wide 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

TACALA

109

ALASKA

MICHAEL DAVIDSON; SUBWAY DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA (tie)

21

ARIZONA

DESERT DE ORO FOODS

171

ARKANSAS

K-MAC ENTERPRISES

91

CALIFORNIA

G&M OIL CO

296

COLORADO

FLYNN RESTAURANT GROUP

92

CONNECTICUT

WENDPARTNERS FRANCHISE GROUP

44

D.C.

TEAM WASHINGTON

9

DELAWARE

MICHAEL A MEOLI

16

FLORIDA

NPC INTERNATIONAL

178

GEORGIA

GPS HOSPITALITY

101

HAWAII

KAZI MANAGEMENT

37

IDAHO

NPC INTERNATIONAL

30

ILLINOIS

DHANANI GROUP

204

INDIANA

CARROLS GROUP

89

IOWA

MERCHANT INVESTMENTS

40

KANSAS

ROTTINGHAUS

150

KENTUCKY

FOURTEEN FOODS

63

LOUISIANA

GPS HOSPITALITY

120

MAINE

FQSR (DBA KBP FOODS)

27

MARYLAND

NPC INTERNATIONAL

97

MASSACHUSETTS

HK ENTERPRISES

77

MICHIGAN

VISION GROWTH PARTNERS/SUPER C GROUP

69

MINNESOTA

BORDER FOODS

84

MISSISSIPPI

NPC INTERNATIONAL

131

MISSOURI

FLYNN RESTAURANT GROUP

125

MONTANA

MERIDIAN RESTAURANTS

21

NEBRASKA

DHANANI GROUP

39

NEVADA

TERRIBLE HERBST

85

NEW HAMPSHIRE

PETER NAPOLI

32

NEW JERSEY

BRIAD RESTAURANT GROUP

58

NEW MEXICO

BOBBY MERRITT

69

NEW YORK

METRO FRANCHISING COMMISSARY

140

NORTH CAROLINA

CARROLS GROUP

150

NORTH DAKOTA

HOLLAND INVESTMENT GROUP

21

OHIO

CARROLS GROUP

116

OKLAHOMA

LOVE’S TRAVEL STOPS & COUNTRY STORES

101

OREGON

AMBROSIA QSR OREGON

56

PENNSYLVANIA

CHARTER FOODS

72

RHODE ISLAND

THE JAN COMPANIES

24

SOUTH CAROLINA

CAROLINA RESTAURANT GROUP

53

SOUTH DAKOTA

CAVE ENTERPRISES OPERATIONS

23

TENNESSEE

SW DEVELOPMENT OF EAST TN

93

TEXAS

SUN HOLDINGS

481

UTAH

SIZZLING PLATTER

62

VERMONT

VERMONT DONUT ENTERPRISES

15

VIRGINIA

BODDIE-NOELL ENTERPRISES

178

WASHINGTON

EMERALD CITY PIZZA

89

WEST VIRGINIA

LITTLE GENERAL STORE

47

WISCONSIN

CAVE ENTERPRISES OPERATIONS

93

WYOMING

GRAND MERE CAPITAL

20

ENTIRE U.S.
(50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands)

MSA

FRANCHISED UNITS

LOS ANGELES-RIVERSIDE-ORANGE COUNTY, CA

18,463

NEW YORK-NORTHERN NEW JERSEY-LONG ISLAND, NY-NJ-CT-PA

18,185

CHICAGO-GARY-KENOSHA, IL-IN-WI

11,226

WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE, DC-MD-VA-WV

10,476

DALLAS-FORT WORTH, TX

10,311

HOUSTON-GALVESTON-BRAZORIA, TX

8,991

ATLANTA, GA

8,426

SAN FRANCISCO-OAKLAND-SAN JOSE, CA

7,637

BOSTON-WORCESTER-LAWRENCE, MA-NH-ME-CT

7,237

PHILADELPHIA-WILMINGTON-ATLANTIC CITY, PA-NJ-DE-MD

6,654

DETROIT-ANN ARBOR-FLINT, MI

6,315

PHOENIX-MESA, AZ

5,897

SEATTLE-TACOMA-BREMERTON, WA

4,918

DENVER-BOULDER-GREELEY, CO

4,675

MINNEAPOLIS-SAINT PAUL, MN-WI

4,615

MIAMI-FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

4,486

TAMPA-ST. PETERSBURG-CLEARWATER, FL

4,260

SAN DIEGO, CA

3,808

ST. LOUIS, MO-IL

3,694

CHARLOTTE-GASTONIA-ROCK HILL, NC-SC

3,675

ORLANDO, FL

3,476

CLEVELAND-AKRON, OH

3,274

PORTLAND-SALEM, OR-WA

3,228

LAS VEGAS, NV-AZ

3,042

INDIANAPOLIS, IN

3,018

CINCINNATI-HAMILTON, OH-KY-IN

3,005

SAN ANTONIO, TX

2,964

RALEIGH-DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL, NC

2,919

AUSTIN-SAN MARCOS, TX

2,917

KANSAS CITY, MO-KS

2,869

SACRAMENTO-YOLO, CA

2,865

NASHVILLE, TN

2,812

NORFOLK-VIRGINIA BEACH-NEWPORT NEWS, VA-NC

2,682

PITTSBURGH, PA

2,623

COLUMBUS, OH

2,520

MILWAUKEE-RACINE, WI

2,347

JACKSONVILLE, FL

2,239

SALT LAKE CITY-OGDEN, UT

2,098

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK

2,022

WEST PALM BEACH-BOCA RATON, FL

1,909

RICHMOND-PETERSBURG, VA

1,853

HARTFORD, CT

1,814

GREENSBORO-WINSTON-SALEM-HIGH POINT, NC

1,794

GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG-ANDERSON, SC

1,769

LOUISVILLE, KY-IN

1,658

MEMPHIS, TN-AR-MS

1,597

NEW ORLEANS, LA

1,590

KNOXVILLE, TN

1,506

GRAND RAPIDS-MUSKEGON-HOLLAND, MI

1,488

BIRMINGHAM, AL

1,428

OMAHA, NE-IA

1,413

TULSA, OK

1,280

CHARLESTON-NORTH CHARLESTON, SC

1,270

DAYTON-SPRINGFIELD, OH

1,256

SARASOTA-BRADENTON, FL

1,192

LITTLE ROCK-NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR

1,124

COLUMBIA, SC

1,117

TUCSON, AZ

1,116

BUFFALO-NIAGARA FALLS, NY

1,098

ALBUQUERQUE, NM

1,084

FRESNO, CA

1,081

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

1,080

FORT MYERS-CAPE CORAL, FL

1,046

BOISE CITY, ID

1,043

BATON ROUGE, LA

1,021

DES MOINES, IA

995

ROCHESTER, NY

993

MOBILE, AL

979

LEXINGTON, KY

973

ALBANY-SCHENECTADY-TROY, NY

963

HARRISBURG-LEBANON-CARLISLE, PA

916

MADISON, WI

915

CHATTANOOGA, TN-GA

914

EL PASO, TX

900

WICHITA, KS

895

BAKERSFIELD, CA

888

HONOLULU, HI

861

PROVIDENCE-FALL RIVER-WARWICK, RI-MA

849

AUGUSTA-AIKEN, GA-SC

838

ALLENTOWN-BETHLEHEM-EASTON, PA

827

DAYTONA BEACH, FL

817

STOCKTON-LODI, CA

806

MELBOURNE-TITUSVILLE-PALM BAY, FL

792

JACKSON, MS

781

TOLEDO, OH

769

LAKELAND-WINTER HAVEN, FL

765

FAYETTEVILLE-SPRINGDALE-ROGERS, AR

763

HUNTSVILLE, AL

739

PENSACOLA, FL

738

LARGEST FRANCHISEES BY REGION

WEST (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) UNITS

G&M OIL CO

296

HARMAN MANAGEMENT

249

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PIZZA

235

TARGET

160

TEAM CAR CARE

150

MOUNTAIN WEST (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY) UNITS

NPC INTERNATIONAL

125

FLYNN RESTAURANT GROUP

119

HARMAN MANAGEMENT

106

SIZZLING PLATTER

96

ALVARADO CONCEPTS

79

SOUTHWEST (AZ, NV, NM) UNITS

DESERT DE ORO FOODS

180

BOBBY MERRITT

118

TERRIBLE HERBST

85

STINE ENTERPRISES

79

QUALITY BRAND GROUP

63

PLAINS (IA, KS, MO, NE, ND, OK, SD) UNITS

ROTTINGHAUS

285

FLYNN RESTAURANT GROUP

275

NPC INTERNATIONAL

215

LOVE’S TRAVEL STOPS & COUNTRY STORES

163

K-MAC ENTERPRISES

153

SOUTH (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, IA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA) UNITS

NPC INTERNATIONAL

937

SUN HOLDINGS

624

MUY BRANDS

468

FQSR (DBA KBP FOODS)

407

ARAMARK

334

MIDWEST (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) UNITS

DHANANI GROUP

304

CARROLS GROUP

272

FQSR (DBA KBP FOODS)

225

BORDER FOODS

172

MUY BRANDS

156

EAST (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, WV) UNITS

CARROLS GROUP

229

NPC INTERNATIONAL

167

METRO FRANCHISING COMMISSARY

140

MUY BRANDS

129

HMSHOST

120

NEW ENGLAND (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) UNITS

DHANANI GROUP

100

HK ENTERPRISES

94

FLYNN RESTAURANT GROUP

62

WENDPARTNERS FRANCHISE GROUP

57

CHARTER FOODS

52



Note: Data based on most current FDDs.

Source: FRANdata

Published: January 8th, 2022

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