Fastest Declining Fast Food Chains
July 1, 2026 | 5 min to read
Off the back of the recent news that Pizza Hut will be sold, a new analysis by a new analysis by business debt relief specialists Delancey Street has tracked U.S. location counts for some of America’s biggest fast food chains. The study compared store locator data from approximately one year ago against current figures to reveal which brands are growing, which are retreating, and by exactly how much.
US Fast Food Location Changes: ~May 2025 vs May 2026
- Battle of the burgers: In the past 12 months, McDonalds opened 190 locations, Burger King closed 46.
- Chipotle is America’s fastest growing fast food chain, opening more locations than any other brand at 359.
- Perfect Pie: Dominos beats Pizza Hut, adding 134 locations over the past year, compared to Pizza Hut, which saw a drop of 426.
US Fast Food Location Changes: ~May 2025 vs May 2026
| Rank | Chain | Number of StoresMay 2025* | Number of StoresMay 2026 | Change(Stores) | % Change |
| 1 | Pizza Hut | 6,663 | 6,237 | -426 | -6.4% |
| 2 | Subway | 20,456 | 20,054 | -402 | -2.0% |
| 3 | Wendy’s | 5,964 | 5,654 | -310 | -5.2% |
| 4 | Starbucks | 17,015 | 16,875 | -140 | -0.8% |
| 5 | KFC | 4,110 | 3,986 | -124 | -3.0% |
| 6 | Burger King | 6,638 | 6,592 | -46 | -0.7% |
| 7 | Denny’s | 1,344 | 1,299 | -45 | -3.3% |
| 8 | Papa John’s | 3,215 | 3,189 | -26 | -0.8% |
| 9 | Five Guys | 1,524 | 1,517 | -7 | -0.5% |
| 10 | In-N-Out Burger | 418 | 435 | +17 | +4.1% |
| 11 | Jack in the Box | 2,108 | 2,130 | +22 | +1.0% |
| 12 | Popeyes | 3,145 | 3,179 | +34 | +1.1% |
| 13 | Domino’s | 6,971 | 7,105 | +134 | +1.9% |
| 14 | Taco Bell | 8,098 | 8,241 | +143 | +1.8% |
| 15 | Chick-fil-A | 3,236 | 3,413 | +177 | +5.5% |
| 16 | Dunkin’ | 9,843 | 10,026 | +183 | +1.9% |
| 17 | McDonald’s | 13,637 | 13,827 | +190 | +1.4% |
| 18 | Chipotle | 3,687 | 4,046 | +359 | +9.7% |
Sources: Store locator data cross-referenced with Wayback Machine snapshots taken closest to May 2025 for each chain. Snapshot dates vary by chain. Current figures sourced from ScrapeHero and individual chain store locators, May 2026. *Jack in the Box “before” figure sourced from November 2025 snapshot; represents approximately six months of change rather than a full year.
What the data shows
Pizza Hut has lost more US locations than any other chain in this study over the past year, shedding 426 restaurants, a 6.4% contraction. Parent company Yum! Brands confirmed plans to close 250 underperforming US locations in the first half of 2026, with the data suggesting closures were already well underway before that announcement.
Wendy’s is down 310 locations, a 5.2% decline. The company confirmed it would close up to 350 locations in the first half of 2026 as part of its “Project Fresh” turnaround plan, after US same-restaurant sales fell 5.6% for the full year and 11.3% in Q4 2025 alone.
Denny’s, KFC and Subway round out the biggest losers by percentage, with the sit-down diner sector and legacy sandwich chains both showing sustained pressure.
Subway, despite remaining America’s largest chain by location count, has shed 402 sites over the period, continuing a retreat from its 2015 peak of over 27,000 US restaurants.
Starbucks, Papa John’s and Burger King are each down less than 1% in percentage terms, but the direction of travel is the same.
The contrast with the chains that are growing is stark. Chipotle added 359 US locations over the same period, a 9.7% increase, making it the fastest-growing chain in the dataset by both volume and percentage. Chick-fil-A grew by 177 locations, McDonald’s by 190, and Dunkin’ crossed the 10,000 US location milestone during the period.
Methodology:
To determine which American fast food chain has opened or closed the most stores in the 12-months (from May 2025 to May 2026), this study analysed each brand’s store locator page and then compared it to the internet archive’s caches page. Chains where the data was unavailable were omitted from this study. If data for May 2025 was unavailable, the closed dated page was used. The fast food brands were then ranked in accordance with the overall number of locations for these time periods.
Sources
Store locator data cross-referenced with Wayback Machine snapshots taken closest to May 2025 for each chain. Snapshot dates vary by chain. Current figures sourced from ScrapeHero and individual chain store locators, May 2026. *Jack in the Box “before” figure sourced from November 2025 snapshot; represents approximately six months of change rather than a full year.