The Top 20 Fast-Food Franchises of 2016 Where does your favorite chain rank?
By Carly Okyle
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Every year, Entrepreneur ranks the top 500 franchises. While the 2016 list features restaurants galore, we've paired it down to give you the top 20 chains in the buzzy, fast-moving world of fast food.
The companies you see below were judged on their financial strength and stability, size and growth over the last two years. Also considered were the costs associated with opening one of these franchises and the length of time the company has been operating. We've provided some of that data, plus a few fun facts, to give you a whole picture of what the franchise is all about.
Now that we've chewed over the details and digested the information, check out the results below. Did your favorite place make the cut?
Jimmy John's
Year began: 1983
Franchising since: 1993
Number of franchised units in 2015: 2,238
Startup costs: $323 K - $544 K
Fun fact: Jimmy John's is the highest-ranked franchise among the entire Franchise 500 for 2016, climbing from the number six slot in 2015. The company's founder, Jimmy John Liautaud, started out by handing out free sandwiches to college students in Mattoon, Ill., in the 1980s.
Related: What's Hot in Franchising? The Big Takeaways From Our Franchise 500 Ranking.
Subway
Year began: 1965
Franchising since: 1974
Number of franchised units in 2015: 43,916
Startup costs: $116.6 K - $263.2 K
Fun fact: Subway announced in June 2015 that it would begin eliminating artifical colors, flavors and preservatives from its menu over the next 18 months.
McDonald's
Year began: 1955
Franchising since: 1955
Number of franchised units in 2015: 29,712
Startup costs: $989.4K - $2.2M
Fun fact: McDonald's, which has struggled to keep up with customers' demands for healthier, quality food, scored a win when it introduced all-day breakfast in 2015.
Dunkin Donuts
Year began: 1950
Franchising since: 1955
Number of franchised units in 2015: 11,460
Startup costs: $217.3K - $1.6M
Fun fact: The coffee excellence manager at Dunkin Donuts tastes an average of 200 cups of coffee a day.
Pizza Hut
Year began: 1958
Franchising since: 1959
Number of franchised units in 2015: 13,248
Startup costs: $297K - $2.1M
Fun fact: In 2015, Pizza Hut's longest-running restaurant closed its doors. It was 55.
Hardee's
Year began: 1961
Franchising since: 1962
Number of franchised units in 2015: 1,894
Startup costs: $1.3M - $1.9M
Fun fact: Hardee's began franchising internationally in the 1970s, starting in Australia and what was then West Germany.
Related: Are Flavored Buns The Next Fast Food Frontier?
Jack in the Box
Year began: 1951
Franchising since: 1982
Number of franchised units in 2015: 1,818
Startup costs: $1.3M - $2.4M
Fun fact: Jack in the Box was early to the bacon mashup trend, offering a bacon milkshake back in 2012.
Taco Bell
Year began: 1962
Franchising since: 1964
Number of franchised units in 2015: 5,272
Startup costs: $1.2M - $2.6M
Fun fact: This past November, the building that housed the first Taco Bell was transported from its birthplace in Downey, Calif., to Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, Calif. -- a 45-mile road trip.
Papa Murphy's
Year began: 1981
Franchising since: 1982
Number of franchised units in 2015: 1,369
Startup costs: $264.8K - $446.2K
Fun fact: Papa Murphy's got it's name because in 1995, Terry Collins decided to merge the two pizza chains he'd previously acquired -- Papa Aldo's Pizza, based in Oregon and Murphy's Pizza, based in California.
Sonic
Year began: 1953
Franchising since: 1959
Number of franchised units in 2015: 3,127
Startup costs: $1.1M - $1.97M
Fun fact: Sonic restaurants were almost named "Top Hat," but that name was already trademarked. Since the slogan for the company was "Service at the speed of sound," they renamed the venture Sonic.
Baskin-Robbins
Year began: 1945
Franchising since: 1948
Number of franchised units in 2015: 7,627
Startup costs: $90.4K - $396.1K
Fun fact: From the Baskin-Robbins website: "Baskin Robbins is the current Guinness World Record holder for the largest cup of ice cream. It was made on September 13, 2005, in celebration of its 60th birthday. This massive chunk of vanilla ice cream weighed 8,865 pounds!"
Related: Former Costco Executive Launches First Ever Certified Organic Fast-Food Chain
Papa John's
Year began: 1985
Franchising since: 1986
Number of franchised units in 2015: 3,993
Startup costs: $129.9K - $844.2K
Fun fact: John Schnatter started Papa John's with $1,600 worth of used restaurant equipment and operated out of a broom closet in his father's tavern.
Auntie Anne's
Year began: 1988
Franchising since: 1989
Number of franchised units in 2015: 1,602
Startup costs: $196.5K - $370.1K
Fun fact: During Auntie Anne's "Pretzel Rolling Olympics," a store manager from New Jersey named Jackie Neal was able to create a pretzel from dough in 3.5 seconds.
Dairy Queen
Year began: 1940
Franchising since: 1944
Number of franchised units in 2015: 6,529
Startup costs: $356.5K - $1.8M
Fun fact: Dairy Queen's former employees include celebrities such as Gwen Stefani, Martina McBride and Bonnie Hunt, as well as former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.
KFC
Year began: 1930
Franchising since: 1952
Number of franchised units in 2015: 14,162
Startup costs: $1.3M - $2.5M
Fun fact: Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, never earned the rank of colonel in the military. He was a Kentucky colonel, a title of honor awarded by the state of Kentucky.
Carl's Jr.
Year began: 1945
Franchising since: 1984
Number of franchised units in 2015: 1,257
Startup costs: $1.3M - $1.9M
Fun fact: Before breaking into the burger biz, Carl's Jr. founder Carl Karcher owned hot dog carts in Los Angeles.
Related:Chick-fil-A Just Swapped This 49-Year-Old Menu Item for a Kale Salad
Cinnabon
Year began: 1985
Franchising since: 1986
Number of franchised units in 2015: 1,306
Startup costs: $181.1K - $387.5K
Fun fact: The cinnamon used in Cinnabon's products comes from Indonesia and is called Makara cinnamon. Pillsbury also uses this specific source for its flavor.
Cold Stone Creamery
Year began: 1988
Franchising since: 1994
Number of franchised units in 2015: 1,224
Startup costs: $261.1K - $404.5K
Fun fact: Customers had the option to buy chocolate-covered crickets at Cold Stone locations in 2001 due to the popularity of the CBS reality show Survivor. Those who ate the insects scored free ice cream on their next visit.
Buffalo Wild Wings
Year began: 1982
Franchising since: 1991
Number of franchised units in 2015: 590
Startup costs: $1.4M - $3.6M
Fun fact: Jim Disbrow, a co-founder of the chain, was a professional figure skater in the 1960s and the president of the U.S. Figure Skating Association from 1998 to 2000. He got the idea for Buffalo Wild Wings when he was judging a figure skating competition in Ohio; he wanted some buffalo wings and there wasn't a restaurant in the area that served them.
Firehouse Subs
Year began: 1994
Franchising since: 1995
Number of franchised units in 2015: 870
Startup costs: $128.8K - $1.2M
Fun fact: Brothers Robin and Chris Sorensen were firefighters before they started Firehouse Subs. Before that, they held a variety of other jobs in real estate, music and Christmas tree farming.
