Texas Roadhouse now out-sells every other sit-down chain in America, ahead of Chili’s and Olive Garden. Ranked by US sales for the most recent full year, using Technomic’s 2026 Top 500 report (2025 sales) where it is published and company filings where it is not.
Pictured: a news report on Texas Roadhouse overtaking Olive Garden, #1 with about $5.9 billion in 2025 US sales.
Rank
Chain
US sales ($ billions)
Data year
US units
Sales per unit ($ millions)
Parent company
Segment
1
Texas Roadhouse
5.9
2025 (Technomic)
about 684
8.7
Texas Roadhouse, Inc.
Steak
2
Chili’s Grill & Bar
5.5
2025 (Technomic)
1,206
4.6
Brinker International
American grill
3
Olive Garden
5.4
2025 (Technomic)
938
—
Darden Restaurants
Italian
4
Buffalo Wild Wings
4.1
2025 (Technomic, incl. BWW Go)
1,178
—
Inspire Brands
Sports bar
5
Applebee’s
just over 4.0
2025 (Technomic)
1,472
—
Dine Brands Global
American grill
6
LongHorn Steakhouse
about 3.3
2025 (Technomic)
590+
about 5.6
Darden Restaurants
Steak
7
Outback Steakhouse
2.7
2024 (Technomic)
about 666
4.0
Bloomin’ Brands
Steak
8
The Cheesecake Factory
2.7
FY2025 (company)
216
—
The Cheesecake Factory Inc.
Varied menu
9
Red Lobster
1.56
2025 (Technomic estimate)
500+
—
Private
Seafood
10
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
about 1.4
FY2025 (company)
200+
—
BJ’s Restaurants, Inc.
American grill
11
Red Robin
1.2
FY2025 (company)
475
—
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers
American grill
No matching rows.
What counts as casual dining. Full-service, sit-down restaurants with table service and mid-range prices, as Technomic and Restaurant Business classify them. Fast casual, quick-service, fine dining and family-dining diners are left out, as are entertainment venues; Cracker Barrel, for example, ranks just below Cheesecake Factory on the overall Top 500 but is classed as family dining.[1]Primary source and data year. Technomic’s 2026 Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, which covers calendar-year 2025 US systemwide sales (franchised plus company-owned); its published figures are rounded to the nearest $0.1 billion. Rows marked “company” use the chain’s own fiscal-2025 filings because no 2025 Technomic figure was publicly available: Cheesecake Factory is revenue of its namesake restaurants, BJ’s is total revenue, and Red Robin is total revenue (franchise sales are not included, so its figure is understated). Outback’s row is Technomic’s 2024 estimate, one year older than its neighbors, and is placed above Cheesecake Factory in line with the two chains’ order on the 2026 Top 500; treat ranks 7 and 8 as nearly tied. Buffalo Wild Wings’ sales include its BWW Go spin-off, which Technomic does not report separately, while its unit count is the main brand only. Applebee’s own parent reports a different, franchise-only figure ($4.12 billion). Unit counts are the latest published, not always year-end 2025, and rows marked “about” or “+” are approximate. Sales per unit is shown only where the chain or Technomic publishes it.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Global location counts for fast-food and coffee chains are a different ranking: see The Largest Restaurant Chains in the World by Number of Locations.
The Top 10
#1
Texas Roadhouse — about $5.9 billion
Technomic puts the steakhouse’s 2025 US systemwide sales at nearly $5.9 billion, up 7.2%, and its US sales have risen more than 65% since 2021.[2] It first topped the category in the 2024 data, passing Olive Garden at $5.5 billion.[2] Kent Taylor opened the first Texas Roadhouse in Clarksville, Indiana, in 1993.[12] With a company-restaurant average of about $8.7 million per Texas Roadhouse in 2025 and only 648 company-owned plus 36 franchised US restaurants of that brand, it earns far more per building than any rival here.[3]
#2
Chili’s Grill & Bar — $5.5 billion
Chili’s grew US systemwide sales 20.6% in 2025, to $5.5 billion, more than $900 million above 2024, and moved past Olive Garden into second place.[2] It did so without adding restaurants: it ended the year with 1,206 in the US, and average unit volume climbed from $3.8 million to $4.6 million.[2] Brinker International, the parent, is led by CEO Kevin Hochman.[12]
#3
Olive Garden — $5.4 billion
Olive Garden’s systemwide sales rose 5.6% to $5.4 billion in Technomic’s 2025 data, with 15 new restaurants taking it to 938.[2] Darden Restaurants, which reports on a fiscal year ending in May, booked $5.59 billion for Olive Garden in fiscal 2026 (a 53-week year) across about 949 locations, so its own number is not directly comparable to the calendar-year ranking.[4] The brand was founded in 1982.[12]
#4
Buffalo Wild Wings — $4.1 billion
Buffalo Wild Wings and its smaller BWW Go spin-off together reached $4.1 billion in 2025, up 1.2%.[5] The main brand ended the year with 1,178 US restaurants, 629 company-owned and 549 franchised, while BWW Go had about 219 units.[5] The chain began in 1982 in Ohio, started by Jim Disbrow and Scott Lowery, and is now part of Inspire Brands.[12]
#5
Applebee’s — just over $4.0 billion
Applebee’s US systemwide sales slipped 0.8% to just over $4 billion in 2025, and it ended the year with 1,472 restaurants, the most of any chain in this ranking.[6] Dine Brands, its parent, reports a franchise-system figure of $4.12 billion for 2025, on a different basis from Technomic’s.[6] The first Applebee’s opened in Decatur, Georgia.[12]
#6
LongHorn Steakhouse — about $3.3 billion
Technomic had LongHorn’s 2025 sales growing about 8.1% to roughly $3.3 billion; Darden’s own fiscal-2026 figure is $3.42 billion, a 13.1% jump that includes an extra week.[2][4] Its average annual sales per restaurant are about $5.6 million, and it had more than 590 restaurants at the close of Darden’s fiscal 2025.[4] LongHorn was founded in 1981 by George McKerrow Jr. and a friend, with the first restaurant in Atlanta; Darden bought it with RARE Hospitality in 2007, when it had 288 locations.[4][12]
#7
Outback Steakhouse — about $2.7 billion (2024)
Technomic’s latest published Outback figure is $2.72 billion in 2024 sales, from 675 US units, and the chain ranks one place above Cheesecake Factory on the 2026 Top 500.[7] Bloomin’ Brands reports a US average unit volume of about $4.0 million for 2025, essentially flat on 2024, and 666 US Outbacks at the end of the year (548 company-owned, 118 franchised).[7] The first Outback opened in Tampa, Florida, in 1988, co-founded by Tim Gannon.[12]
#8
The Cheesecake Factory — about $2.7 billion
The Cheesecake Factory restaurants brought in $2,688.8 million in fiscal 2025, from 216 company-owned restaurants, out of $3.75 billion in total revenue for a company that also runs North Italia, Flower Child and the Fox Restaurant Concepts brands.[8] David Overton opened the first one in Beverly Hills in 1978, and the menu now runs past 250 items.[12]
#9
Red Lobster — $1.56 billion
Technomic estimates Red Lobster’s 2025 systemwide sales at $1.56 billion, down 6.2%, from more than 500 US restaurants; it remains the largest seafood chain in the country.[9] Bill Darden opened the first Red Lobster in Lakeland, Florida, in 1968.[12]
#10
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse — about $1.4 billion
BJ’s reported fiscal-2025 revenue of about $1.4 billion, up 3.1%, with comparable restaurant sales up 2.0%, from more than 200 company-owned restaurants in 31 states.[10] The chain was founded in 1978 in Santa Ana, California, and is known for its Pizookie dessert and deep-dish pizza.[12] Red Robin follows at about $1.2 billion in revenue across 475 restaurants.[11]
Restaurant Business coverage of Technomic data on Applebee’s (2025 US systemwide sales down 0.8% to just over $4 billion; 1,472 restaurants); Dine Brands Global, fourth-quarter and fiscal 2025 results, February 25, 2026 (Applebee’s franchise system sales $4,124.8 million) — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49754/000119312526068524/d108405dex991.htm.
Company history and background drawn from YouTube video titles and descriptions: “Texas Roadhouse overtakes Olive Garden as largest casual dining chain in U.S.”; “How Chili’s Became the Hottest Restaurant Chain in America” and “Chili’s CEO Breaks Down the Changes That Turned the Restaurant Around”; “How Olive Garden Started”; “Buffalo Wild Wings - The Rise and Fall...And Rise Again”; “Applebee’s - The Rise and Fall...And Rise Again” and “Restaurant Tour: Applebee’s”; “Why Americans Are Obsessed With Texas Roadhouse And LongHorn Steakhouse”; “The History of Outback Steakhouse” and “Tim Gannon: From $37 to Co-Founding Outback Steakhouse”; “How The Cheesecake Factory Runs One Of America’s Biggest Menus” and “In 1978, David M. Overton opened a small restaurant”; “The Rise of Red Lobster: How Bill Darden Built a Seafood Empire”; BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse channel description. Founding dates and founders are from these descriptions and were not independently confirmed in a second source.
