Chain Store Guide’s Business Leads | Market Research 2nd Annual Fastest Growing Restaurant Operators Report Chain Store Guide | www.ChainStoreGuide.com | 800.927.9292 | Outside USA 813.627.6800 www.ChainStoreGuide.com Chain Store Guide’s mission: To be the leading provider of high quality business solutions and intelligence to the retail and foodservice markets. Industries Served: Chain Store Guide | www.ChainStoreGuide.com | 800.927.9292 | Outside USA 813.627.6800 Chain Store Guide’s 2nd Annual Fastest Growing Restaurant Operators Report Based on Three-Year Unit-Growth Percentage. Companies must have at least 50 locations currently in operation. Prepared by Linda Helman, Senior Editor, and Natasha Perry, Research Editor Chain Store Guide | www.ChainStoreGuide.com | 800.927.9292 | Outside USA 813.627.6800 Chain Store Guide | www.ChainStoreGuide.com | 800.927.9292 | Outside USA 813.627.6800 INTRODUCTION At this time last year, the economy was just beginning to show signs of life but the unem- ployment rate was still very high with no relief in sight, the broken wellhead was still spew- ing oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the housing market was still in freefall, and businesses were still struggling to make payroll and keep their workforces employed. Now, in the spring of 2011, the economy is a little healthier, consumer sentiment is on the rise, and more people are fi nding jobs. While certainly not back to pre-recession status, things are looking up, and there are lessons to be learned from companies who are still in the game. Once again, Chain Store Guide has dug into its database and discovered chain restaurant operators that have not only survived the brutal past few years but have actually thrived. This report presents profi les of ten such companies, providing details about them, their op- erations, and what makes them unique in their marketplace. The 2010 list refl ected the growth rate of companies with at least 20 locations over a fi ve- year span. When the same analysis is done using current data, pretty much the same com- panies appear: Which Wich, Five Guys, Salad Creations, Southeast QSR, and Freddy’s still comprise the top fi ve. For readers who are interested in reading these profi les, please visit the Chain Store Guide homepage at www.chainstoreguide.com to download a free copy. In order to provide our readers with new insight, this year’s report uses somewhat different criteria. The focus for 2011 is on slightly larger companies (at least 50 locations at the time of last update) and their growth over a three-year time span, refl ecting the strength of their concepts during the heart of the recession. Which Wich and Five Guys made the list this year as well, but it also includes eight other vibrant operations. The list includes only original concepts, and thus excludes franchisees. As the reader will see, the top 10 is dominated by companies that offer ‘affordable luxuries.’ Premium burgers and gourmet yogurt restaurant operators account for half of the top 10. Sandwiches are represented as are Buffalo-style chicken wings. Nowhere on the list are companies primarily offering pizza, cheap hamburgers, fried chicken, tacos, or classic American food. Here then are ten of the fastest growing restaurant concepts in the United States today: Chain Store Guide | www.ChainStoreGuide.com | 800.927.9292 | Outside USA 813.627.6800 Yogurtland Franchising Inc. ( +3600% ) 1911 E Wright Cir Anaheim CA 92806 714 939-7737 www.yogurt-land.com Year Founded: 2006 Current Units: 111 Menu Type: Snacks Foodservice Type: Fast Casual Inspired by the idea that people enjoy an active involvement with the products and brands they love, Yogurtland was started by Philip Chang in 2006. Yogurtland is a franchise restau- rant chain based in Anaheim, California, that offers self-serve frozen yogurt. Customers mix and combine fl avors in their cups by pulling on spigots that control the yogurt containers. There are 16 fl avors that rotate regularly. It’s known for its wide variety of fl avors and top- pings as well as its low price. Yogurtland customers ultimately determine what they pay. All dispense-your-own goods are 30 cents per ounce. The yogurt chain is popular partly due to its self-serve format, and also because it is relatively inexpensive compared to other yogurt businesses such as Pinkberry. Another attraction has been the "Tokidoki" character designs on spoons which are collect- ible. Its unique create-your-own approach, low prices and late hours have combined to make Yogurtland wildly popular among teens and twentysomethings. Its ambience emphasizes a bright, clean and minimalist design, achieved in part by its inset, wall-mounted frozen yogurt dispensers. Yogurtland also appeals to a new generation through its environmental responsi- bility by using paper containers instead of Styrofoam or plastic and its recycling and conser- vation efforts. Yogurtland has continued to expand. There are now 111 locations in 14 states in the United States and in Mexico and Japan, up from just 3 in 2008. Typically located in regional neigh- borhood and lifestyle centers, strip malls, and entertainment venues with some locations in heavily traffi cked malls, Yogurtland has also found success in a variety of non-traditional sites. By 2015, the chain plans to have more than 550 total. Chain Store Guide | www.ChainStoreGuide.com | 800.927.9292 | Outside USA 813.627.6800 Red Mango Franchising Company ( +1070% ) 2811 McKinney Ave Dallas TX 75204 214 302-5910 www.redmangousa.com Year Founded: 2007 Current Units: 117 Menu Type: Snacks Foodservice Type: Fast Casual Red Mango is one of the fastest-growing retailers of authentic nonfat frozen yogurt. Red Mango received a 2009 Nation’s Restaurant News’ "Hot Concepts!" award. It's part of a na- tional trend in popularity for the cold treat, which is widely seen as a healthier dessert option. Red Mango gets its name from the color of a mango just before it reaches its ripest state and turns yellow, and its authentic fermentation process is what gives its yogurt its tart taste. The fi rst U.S. store opened in July 2007 in Los Angeles, California. Within two years, the company grew to nearly 60 locations nationwide. Red Mango announced record franchise development during the fi rst quarter of 2009. Development deals with existing and new fran- chisees resulted in 128 new Red Mango stores to be added to the franchise network over several years. In December 2009 Red Mango began expanding its franchise offerings to include kiosk, co-branded and self-serve concepts in addition to the full-service stores. These options en- able a wide range of real estate platforms including shopping malls, lifestyle centers, captive audience venues, free-standing pads, and traditional strip mall and inline street destinations. In 2010, the company awarded agreements for 147 new locations, opened 62 new stores, entered 12 new states and grew the network to 102 total open stores across 25 states. In addition, the company has already opened more than 15 locations in 2011 and plans to double the size of the network by the end of the year. In keeping with its young, active customer base, the company relies heavily on its web pres- ence and maintains pages on Facebook and Twitter. Red Mango has done very well on the West Coast and in Texas and stores that are located near college campuses. Red Mango has defi ed the odds and grown into a national chain in a down economy. The company fore- casts 500 locations by 2015. Chain Store Guide | www.ChainStoreGuide.com | 800.927.9292 | Outside USA 813.627.6800 Smashburger Master LLC (+900%) 1515 Arapahoe St, Ste 1000 Denver CO 80202 303-633-1500 www.smashburger.com Year Founded: 2007 Current Units: 100 Menu Type: Hamburger Foodservice Type: Fast Casual Named for its cooking process of smashing a ball of meat and grilling it on a hot griddle, the smashburger concept has grown from just three locations at the end of 2007 to more than 90 at the end of 2010, earning the company third place on this year’s Chain Store Guide list of fastest-growing restaurant operating companies. It recently celebrated the opening of restaurant #100. The company was founded in 2007 as Icon Burger Development Company by foodservice veteran Tom Ryan, and two years later the company received a large infusion of cash from private equity fi rm, Consumer Capital Partners, the same year it was named a Hot Concept by Nation’s Restaurant News. Business information provider Inc.com selected it as one of the most promising franchises for 2011, and in the spring of 2011, eater.com named it a ‘Mega-Chain in the Making.” It’s also won numerous “Best of” awards around the country. As one reviewer noted: “This is the opposite of a burger cooked in a George Foreman Grill … all of the fat stays in through a ‘smash’ cooking process on an extra-thick grill … [resulting] in a product nearly unmatched in taste and texture.” (Las Vegas Weekly, May 27, 2010) Using 100% Angus beef on artisan rolls, the restaurants also offer Haagen-Dazs shakes, root beer fl oats, and bottled beer and wine, as well as smashchicken sandwiches, smash- fries, veggie frites, and haystack onions. The company also touts the availability of localized burgers based on regional favorite fl avors, such as the Twin Cities smashburger developed for the Minneapolis market with melted Cheddar bar cheese, Swiss cheese and garlic- grilled onions or the Sin City smashburger in Las Vegas topped with a fried egg, applewood smoked bacon, American cheese, grilled onions, and haystack onions.