Fast food restaurants rose to fame during the 1950s and 60s during the advent of the American highway system. The pairing seemed like a match made in heaven: Traversing long open roads for hours on end take a lot of energy, and few options feel better than a pit stop at a fast food restaurant along the way.
Satiating the U.S.’s on-the-go lifestyle and car-centric infrastructure were the likes of McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, and others. In recent years, some Americans have grown more conscious of just how unhealthy some fast food options are. Newer options have cropped up to meet new demand for cleaner, healthier fast food. Rather than hoping for people to change their minds and return to their greasy burgers and salty fries, legacy restaurants pivoted to introduce healthier, plant-based options, often to rousing success.
Recommended Videos
[TRENDING: Merritt Island homecoming king gives crown, sash to classmate | Orlando radio station to play nonstop Christmas music. Here’s when it starts | Enter to win tickets to ICE! at Gaylord Palms | Become a News 6 Insider]
Stacker compiled a list of the most common fast food chains in Florida using data from the Friendly City Lab at Georgia Tech. Note that chains are ranked by the number of locations in Florida in 2021. Since many restaurants have shuttered during the pandemic, these figures are expected to differ from the current actual count. Fast food, fast casual, and coffee chains were considered for the list. Data was available for 48,235 restaurants in Florida, of which 20,000 are chain restaurants.
Check out the Florida Foodie podcast. You can find every episode in the media player below:
Deutschlandreform // Shutterstock
#20. Jersey Mike's Subs
- Locations: 158
Ken Wolter // Shutterstock
#19. Little Caesars
- Locations: 163
Billy F Blume Jr // Shutterstock
#18. Arby's
- Locations: 165
Larry & Teddy Page // Flickr
#17. Hungry Howies Pizza
- Locations: 171
Phillip Pessar // Wikimedia Commons
#16. Tropical Smoothie Cafe
- Locations: 189
Jonathan Weiss // Shutterstock
#15. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
- Locations: 191
Helen89 // Shutterstock
#14. Panera Bread
- Locations: 193
Vadym Shapran // Shutterstock
#13. Chipotle Mexican Grill
- Locations: 201
Ken Wolter // Shutterstock
#12. Chick-fil-A
- Locations: 213
KULLAPONG PARCHERAT // Shutterstock
#11. KFC
- Locations: 260
Ken Wolter // Shutterstock
#10. Papa Johns Pizza
- Locations: 273
Cassiohabib // Shutterstock
#9. Domino's Pizza
- Locations: 451
JJava Designs // Shutterstock
#8. Taco Bell
- Locations: 457
Jonathan Weiss // Shutterstock
#7. Pizza Hut
- Locations: 477
4028mdk09 // Wikicommons
#6. Starbucks
- Locations: 481
Ken Wolter // Shutterstock
#5. Wendy's
- Locations: 529
Jonathan Weiss // Shutterstock
#4. Burger King
- Locations: 538
Ken Wolter // Shutterstock
#3. McDonald's
- Locations: 850
TonelsonProductions // Shutterstock
#2. Dunkin
- Locations: 967
QualityHD / Shutterstock
#1. Subway
- Locations: 1,415