Restaurant Business Reveals Future 50 Chains for 2026
The latest ranking highlights emerging restaurant brands that experienced notable growth throughout the 2025 calendar year.
Updated on Oct. 30, 2026 in Dining Out
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The Restaurant Business-Technomic ranking of 50 up-and-coming growth brands for 2026 shows a deceleration in expansion across the restaurant sector during 2025. This slowdown marks the slowest non-pandemic sales growth for the industry since the Great Recession.
Why it matters
The report highlights a broader cooling in consumer restaurant spending that pressured emerging chains. Despite this trend, smaller brands remain a key focus for tracking the evolution of the competitive landscape in the U.S. dining market.
Future 50 chains reported a median unit count growth of 19.1% in 2025, down from 32% the previous year. To qualify, brands must generate less than $50 million in annual sales and operate between five and 88 locations.
The players
PopUp Bagels
This Connecticut-based bagel chain was ranked as the fastest-growing restaurant brand in the United States for 2025.
Restaurant Business
This trade publication produces the annual Future 50 ranking in partnership with research firm Technomic.
Technomic
This food industry research and consulting firm provides the data analytics used to compile the Future 50 list.
The details
PopUp Bagels led the ranking with a 189% increase in system sales during 2025 as it capitalized on a franchising strategy launched in 2024. The chain expanded to 23 total locations by the end of the year, including opening 14 new shops in 2025 alone.
Timeline
PopUp Bagels was founded in 2020.
The brand began franchising in 2024 to support expansion.
The data period for these growth rankings covers the 2025 calendar year.
Culture Shift
This growth slowdown suggests a departure from the rapid expansion cycles that defined the post-pandemic era of dining. The sector is now comparing its current trajectory to the economic constraints last seen during the Great Recession.
Consumers may notice that high-growth chains are becoming more selective with new store openings following the sector-wide cooling in 2025. This could lead to fewer new dining options opening in local neighborhoods as emerging brands prioritize manageable growth over rapid expansion.
The takeaway
Emerging restaurant brands are feeling the pressure of a tightening economy that has forced a pivot toward more conservative expansion strategies. Investors and diners should monitor whether these brands maintain their growth momentum as market conditions evolve beyond the 2025 fiscal year.
Further reading
For more on the current state of the industry, see the Dining Out section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Restaurant Business.
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