Starbucks Just Keeps Expanding

Last year, Subway’s US store tally fell by almost 450 locations, as the sandwich giant shut more American restaurants than it opened for the 8th year in a row. Although that drop was actually the least steep it’s been since 2016, it was still nearly 200 more closures than second place Burger King.

At the other end of the table, a few restaurants that aren’t yet household names are growing rapidly. Jersey Mike’s — a sub rival that’s gained traction with a simple set of sandwiches that spotlight the freshness of their meats and cheeses — is expanding at breakneck speed, adding 287 units last year. Chicken connoisseurs Wingstop also added more than 200 restaurants, and Gen Z’s increasing love for Tropical Smoothie Cafe, which mostly sells what its name suggests, has driven the chain to report its 12th straight year of positive same-store sales growth.

Starbucks, meanwhile, was also closing the gap on Subway again last year, taking the fastest-growing fast food chain crown for the second year in a row by adding some 473 stores nationwide in 2023 — proving US expansion to be a pretty significant part of the chain’s efforts to open the equivalent of 8 stores around the world every single day until 2030.

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