7 Restaurant Chains You're Going to See Everywhere in 2023
With a few notable exceptions, the past few years have been terrible for folks in the restaurant business. While a few chains thrived during the height of the COVID-19 years, such as Domino's, which saw business boom during the pandemic, per QSR Magazine, most restaurants suffered greatly. And in fact, tens of thousands of restaurants did close down permanently due to the impact COVID-19 had on business, according to The Washington Post.
Looking ahead, though, the days look brighter for the American restaurant scene. For many people, that means a return to regular dining out (or takeout or ordering in, of course). With the resurgence of customer demand, many restaurant chains are looking to grow. Here are 7 restaurants chains that are planning to expand in 2023.
Shake Shack
Known for fancy burgers, rich shakes, and elevated prices that match its elevated fare—$6.19 for a plain hamburger, at last check—this burger chain is headed for an expanded footprint next year. Shake Shack will be opening as many as 70 new locations in 2023, which will bring the chain to around 430 locations, given the current count of some 360 units, per data from Zippia.
The Cheesecake Factory
Coming off a couple of rough years and with growth still sluggish in 2022—in fact, the chain delayed several new restaurant openings this year—The Cheesecake Factory looks to be back in a growth mode for 2023. Per Nation's Restaurant News, analysts with restaurant industry experience forecast a growth rate of 7% for the chain next year, while a representative from the company said that as many as 25 new Cheesecake Factory locations were possible in 2023.
Chipotle
According to Chain Store Age, the burrito size won't be the only big thing related to Chipotle next year—there's also the growth. The upscale Mexican fast-food chain has designs on adding between 250 and 285 new units in 2023, which would greatly expand its already impressive system of more than 3,060 units.
Marco's Pizza
Marco's Pizza has big plans for growth in 2023. Early in 2022, the chain announced plans to add 200 locations to its then extant 1,000 units, and, per Chain Store Age, the company aims to reach an impressive 1,500 locations by the end of 2023. The pizza joint's growth involves both expansion into new markets and saturation of others, as with a plan for six new units in Lubbock, TX alone, per Verdict Food Service.
Checkers/Rally's
Known alternately as Checkers or Rally's (depending on location), these two burger chains are one and the same company. And it's a company that's expanding its footprint in 2023. According to Verdict Food Service, the company will expand by dozens of locations in the next year, likely by just more than 70 new units.
Quiznos
Quiznos is likely to add dozens of new locations systemwide in 2023, per a press release from the company. It is planning 30 new Quiznos units for the state of Arizona alone, in fact, according to the Phoenix Business Journal. Most notable about this growth is that it follows years of contraction—once a glowing success story with some 5,000 locations in America, the Great Recession of the late 2000s decimated the chain, which at one point fell below 200 units.
Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
Despite a notable absence from the New England region (and a few other states eastern, as well as including Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington), Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is already a sizable chain, with some 460 locations nationwide. And per a press release the chain put out in the fall of 2022, in 2023 Freddy's plans to expand past 500 units.
