Top 10 Fastest-Growing Burger Chains: In-N-Out Burger, Jack in the Box, The Habit Burger Grill, and More

Jack in the Box, In-N-Out Burger, and The Habit Burger Grill are among the top 10 fastest-growing burger chains in the U.S., each planning significant expansions.

From large, internationally recognized chains like McDonald's and Burger King to more local, beloved spots like In-N-Out and Culver's, burger joints are an integral aspect of American life.

While opening new locations is a common sign of growth for burger chains, each brand has a unique way of expanding its client base, making the growth journey fascinating.

Speaking of growth, food, nutrition, and health authority, Eat This, Not That compiled a list of the fastest-growing burger chains in the United States.

Shake Shack

Shake Shack, the fast-food burger joint, is on the upswing. With encouraging quarterly results, Shake Shake is gearing up to open 80 additional sites in 2024, a 15% increase in its footprint. The Chicago suburbs and North Brunswick, New Jersey, are just two examples of new eateries popping up. Pittsburgh and several other cities in California will welcome new locations this year.

In-N-Out Burger

If you check out In-N-Out Burger's website, you can see that at least five new sites are "opening soon" in California, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah.

Late in April, Today quoted In-N-Out President Lynsi Snyder saying that the business is also growing in Washington State, New Mexico, and Tennessee. Just so you know, there won't be any In-N-Out restaurants opening up on the East Coast any time soon. "Probably never," Snyder stated during his appearance on the NBC morning show.

Jack in the Box

As reported by CoStar, More Jack in the Box restaurants are in the planning stages in Michigan and Florida. Those are among the ninety-one development partnerships that the brand has so far. The long-term goal of Jack in the Box is to add 400 restaurants to its chain in the coming years.

McDonald's

Fast food behemoth McDonald's is poised for massive expansion in 2024, which is hard to fathom given how enormous it already is. Worldwide, more than 2,000 outlets are in the works, with about 500 in America. McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski says the expansion directly results from the rising population. McDonald's goal is to reach 50,000 locations globally by 2027.

Wayback Burgers

An article by QSR Magazine claims that Wayback Burgers saw double-digit same-store sales growth in the first quarter of 2024. Wayback is now capitalizing on this trend by opening additional sites and increasing its footprint. In 2024, 25–30 restaurants will open around the U.S., with exciting new locations in cities like New Orleans, New York, and Missouri.

Culver's

Culver's is going to hit 1,000 stores soon. At the end of 2023, the Wisconsin-based business has 944 locations, with an additional 51 scheduled to open in 2024. They are famed for their ButterBurgers and the notorious CurderBurger. At least one new Culver's restaurant will open across a large portion of the Southeast and Midwest this year, with even more significant expansions in the works for Florida and Indiana.

Freddy's Steakburgers

A major expansion is imminent for the Kansas-based chain. Last year, Freddy's added 62 locations, and by 2026, the company aims to have more than 800 locations.

The Habit Burger Grill

Yelp has just named The Habit Burger Grill as one of the top ten fastest-growing restaurant chains for 2024, indicating that its popularity is skyrocketing. Listed as a "challenger brand," the California-based chain experienced a 29% surge in customer interest from 2022 to 2023.

As of the end of 2023, the company will have 378 restaurants spread out around the beaches, thanks to the addition of more than 100 sites in the previous four years, as reported by the Food Institute.

Smalls Sliders

A relatively new burger franchise called Smalls Sliders debuted in 2019 and now has around a dozen spots across Mississippi and Louisiana. Smalls Sliders plans to launch 40 stores this year, with hundreds more in the works.

According to QSR Magazine, Smalls Sliders is getting ready to build facilities in various cities and suburbs in North Carolina as part of a nine-unit franchise arrangement. This expansion is just one example of how the company is growing and entering new markets.

Odd Burger

The vegan burger restaurant from Canada is cooking down south. Around 40 Odd Burger locations are currently planned to open in Florida. Although Odd Burger has yet to make it to the U.S., some planned sites, including 20 in Washington State, are set to open between now and 2031.

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