The 10 Best QSR Franchise Opportunities in USA for 2023

Update: 03.04.2023

The Best QSR Franchise Opportunities in USA for 2023

QSR franchise also known as Fast Food Restaurant is a business that specializes in providing fast food and requires not much table service. This type of restaurant is highly popular and offers fast return on investments. The list of products and services of the brands operating in the industry is quite long. The best QSR opportunities of franchising can be found in serving pizza, burgers, snacks, coffee, salads, and a lot of other dishes of casual dining. The services also vary including takeaway, drive thru, delivery, mobile ordering and a lot of others. QSR franchises are the most popular on the market. But despite tough competition, they are always in high demand. If you want to choose a strong business to own which will be successful and run smoothly, we`d recommend you choosing one of the top QSR franchises for sale here. It contains only profitable and well-recognized brands which can stand you in good stead.

Here is top 10 QSR franchise businesses in USA

Golden Chick

Founded in: 1967
Franchising since: 1972
Franchise units: 199
Initial investment: $915,370 - $1,438,000
Franchise Fee: $30,000
Royalty Fees: 4%

At Golden Chick we have almost 50 years’ experience in serving an exceptional product to our guests in a fast and friendly environment. Our chain began in 1967 in San Marcos, Texas. Serving great chicken to millions of people is our passion. We continue to quietly make people happy and also earn a respectable profit. Further, we practice what we preach so we don’t just dictate to franchisees how they should run the business; rather, we also operate our own Golden Chick restaurants, so we have firsthand knowledge of your issues and potential opportunities. In fact, we have company officers who are also Golden Chick Franchisees. Whether you’ve been seeking a QSR franchise opportunity to help you break into the industry, or to expand your existing holdings, Golden Chick has what you’ve been looking for.

A&W Restaurants

Founded in: 1919
Franchising since: 1921
Franchise units: 917
Initial investment: $276,000 - $1,454,750
Franchise Fee: $15,000 - $30,000
Royalty Fees: 5%

Home of the frosty mug of root beer and the Papa Burger, A&W Restaurants have been attracting families and American fast-food lovers for nearly a century. A&W is one of the earliest, maybe the earliest food franchise company in the world. The simple, attractive restaurants, for decades distinguished by their drive-up, car service, first opened in 1919 and began franchising in 1921. Today, A&W has locations all over the world, serving all-American fast food, such as a variety of hamburgers and French fries, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, kid’s cruisers, and of course, its world-renowned delicious root beer.

Pizza Hut

Founded in: 1958
Franchising since: 1959
Franchise units: 16,535
Initial investment: $367,000 - $2,063,500
Franchise Fee: $25,000
Royalty Fees: 6%

Pizza Hut, Inc., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) is the world's largest pizza restaurant company with more than 6,200 restaurants in the United States and more than 4,000 restaurants in 100 other countries. Pizza Hut has been making pizza America loves for 50 years, serving Pan Pizza, Thin and Crispy®, Veggie Lovers®, Meat Lovers® and more. As America's first national pizza chain, Pizza Hut has never stopped growing, creating and innovating to bring customers even more reasons to love Pizza Hut pizza.

Wendy's

Founded in: 1969
Franchising since: 1972
Franchise units: 6,830
Initial investment: $2,000,000 - $3,700,000
Franchise Fee: $50,000
Royalty Fees: 4%

The Wendy’s company offers a wide range of fast food menu selection, from Bacon Deluxe, Chicken Wraps, Salads, Boneless Wings, Frosty Shakes, Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty, Baked Potatoes and Deli Sandwiches to French Fries. Kids and adults alike adore the menu, The Wendy’s restaurant offers. It’s an exciting time to join and grow with The Wendy’s Company. With over 6,800 locations globally and growing, we are always looking for new franchisees to join our family. Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy’s® restaurant in 1969 and we continue to follow his sound principles to ensure we build upon our position as a quality leader in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

Founded in: 1997
Franchising since: 1997
Franchise units: 989
Initial investment: $257,500 - $560,500
Franchise Fee: $30,000
Royalty Fees: 6%

What clearly distinguishes Tropical Smoothie Cafe from the competition is our balanced mix of smoothies and food, serving multiple dayparts: breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and snack and multiple revenue streams like dine-in, drive-thru, delivery, and catering. That mix helps drive our average ticket sales and average net revenues of $1,079,747 for the top 50% of our Franchise Owners. Our Cafes are easier to operate, so you can connect with your guests and mentor a team that’s young, high-energy, and passionate about the brand. Our guests love our Cafes, and our employees enjoy the atmosphere, which helps you attract and retain high-quality team members. We’re dedicated to your success and will pair you with a trusted Franchise Business Leader that will help guide and support you along the way.

Subway

Founded in: 1965
Franchising since: 1974
Franchise units: 41,600
Initial investment: $140,050 - $342,400
Franchise Fee: $15,000
Royalty Fees: 8%

In the fast food industry, Subway is an extremely well-established licensor of its sandwich stores. In fact, Subway is the largest fast food company in the world in terms of store count. It is one of the most popular businesses to franchise and is also known to have among the lowest franchising costs. Subway has a long history in the fast food business. It is a privately owned company that opened its first restaurant in Connecticut by founder Fred DeLuca in 1965 under the name "Peter's Super Submarines." Its deep roots have allowed the company to build a strong strategic brand around its sandwiches and the overall fast food experience.

Captain D's

Founded in: 1969
Franchising since: 1969
Franchise units: 246
Initial investment: $709,300 - $1,231,400
Franchise Fee: $35,000
Royalty Fees: 4,5%

Captain D’s does more than stand out. We stand alone. As the nation’s leading fast-casual seafood restaurant, we offer a tasty alternative to burgers, pizza, and chicken with no direct competitors. From site selection and prototype options to ongoing training and marketing support, we give you all the tools you need to help make your Captain D’s a success. Thanks to the versatility of our product, we are able to keep our menu interesting and in line with consumer preferences without adding kitchen complexity or cost for Franchise Owners. Become part of a proven franchise model that weathers the storms and saw strong growth in 2020.

Charleys Philly Steaks

Founded in: 1986
Franchising since: 1991
Franchise units: 588
Initial investment: $258,470 - $739,250
Franchise Fee: $24,500
Royalty Fees: 6%

Are you ready to build your Philly cheesesteak empire? Charley’s Philly cheesesteak franchise, the world’s largest Philly cheesesteak chain, is ready to help you turn your dream into reality. Since our founding in 1986, Charleys Philly Steaks has served the No. 1 Cheesesteak in the World, and over 30 years later, Charleys has more than 630 locations open in the United States and around the world. As a franchise opportunity, Charleys Philly Steaks can’t be beaten. With a chic, new restaurant design, the addition of wings to our menu, streamlined operations, and exceptional training, Charleys Philly Steaks is ready for national expansion. If you want to own a QSR business that specializes in a hard-to-get and much-loved comfort food and you want a business that can handle drive-through, third party delivery, and contactless curbside pickup, Charley’s is a smart investment to make!

Chicken Salad Chick

Founded in: 2008
Franchising since: 2012
Franchise units: 140
Initial investment: $572,000 - $759,000
Franchise Fee: $50,000
Royalty Fees: 5%

While there are many restaurants that strive to offer a welcoming neighborhood feel, Chicken Salad Chick takes it to the next level. If you have experience in the restaurant industry, you’re probably already aware that it’s not so much the quality of the food as it is the experience that keeps customers coming back. Not only do we create a one-of-a-kind experience for our guests, but we also provide them with delicious meals that our gracious staff prepares in house every day. By investing in our unique franchise opportunity, you will receive the resources you need to avoid many of the struggles even the best entrepreneurs face when opening a business on their own. You can immediately benefit from having the continuous support of an experienced team of professionals and a brand that people already know and love.

DoubleDave's Pizzaworks

Founded in: 1984
Franchising since: 1997
Franchise units: 40
Initial investment: $132,500 - $565,500
Franchise Fee: $15,000 - $25,000
Royalty Fees: 5 - 6%

DoubleDave’s Pizzaworks isn’t your run-of-the-mill pizza place, because we’re not just pizza, we’re the whole pizzaworks. We believe in quality products and exemplary service, not just the bottom line. If you’ve been to a DoubleDave’s Pizzaworks restaurant, you know our dough is made fresh daily, our ingredients are responsibly sourced, and our culture rocks! Before your store opening, you’ll receive intensive in-person training from our franchise experts. Thereafter, quality assurance visits from our team will help you take care of issues before they escalate. As a DoubleDave’s Pizzaworks franchisee, you’re never alone. Our team is continually working on strategic alliances and thinking up fresh new ways to help our franchisees succeed.

Conclusion

To summarize, we can say any of the listed above QSR franchises is worth buying. But there is a lot to consider while choosing the best one for you. Pay attention to the reputation of the brand, what training and support are offered, check if the other franchisees are successful. But the main thing you need to do is to align your budget with investment requirements of the brand. In order to ease the challenge, we have made the comparison flowchart of the best QSR franchises in the USA for you. It shows the minimum estimated initial investment and initial franchise fee of each brand. By using it, you can figure out the difference in financial requirements for each franchise, and decide which one fits you the most.

View all QSR franchises

Want to advertise your franchise with us and successfully boost your business?

Please send us your request and we will get back to you shortly!