The Chain Restaurant That Makes More Per Location Than McDonald's (And Why It's So Successful)

When you envision the epitome of fast food success, it's likely that your mind is drawn to the Golden Arches. Even if you don't know how many McDonald's restaurants there are in the world (over 44,000!), you somehow know that the chain is ubiquitous, slinging golden fries and Big Macs to customers all over the world. However, it might surprise you to know that, for the last several years, one chain  — which is objectively a lot smaller than McDonald's — has been running circles 'round it when it comes to income per unit.

Chick-fil-A is tiny compared to McDonald's, currently boasting around 3,000 locations and being confined to North America, but sales are booming at those drive-thrus. It's estimated that each McDonald's restaurant pulls in an average of $2,670,320 annually. Every Chick-fil-A unit, however, is taking in around $8,500,000 apiece, with some locations even pulling in eight-figure numbers!

There are multiple reasons why Chick-fil-A inspires such impressive sales numbers. First of all, we are living in a time when Americans can't get enough fried chicken sandwiches, and Chick-fil-A has emerged as one of the top dogs in a crowded field that includes Popeye's, Zaxby's, and Raising Cane's, among many others. Also, many customers respond well to Chick-fil-A's corporate ethos, with employees being given Sundays off and extending that exceptional consideration to customers ... one reason why Chick-fil-A employees say "my pleasure" with every order.

Chick-fil-A has successfully expanded all across the United States (there are only two states without Chick-fil-A restaurants), Canada, and Puerto Rico, bringing its chicken and waffle fries to millions of happy customers. Chick-fil-A holds the claim of being the inventor of the fast food chicken sandwich — could it possibly be first and best in the category? Well, maybe — as well as the first fast food chain to open locations in shopping malls. Yes, the employees are exceptionally friendly, and, yes, perhaps it's true that having your location closed one day a week inspires you to eat up the other six days. But what, exactly, is the essence of the Chick-fil-A difference, if there is one? Perhaps the real story is the chain's emphasis on quality ... quality of service, quality of presentation, and quality of ingredients.

As the chain states, Chick-fil-A makes its chicken sandwiches, tenders, and nuggets from whole, real chicken that is never ground, separated, or augmented by fillers. All meat is hand-cut by employees at each location. Its hens are antibiotic-free as well. In a similar vein, the chain's classic lemonade is just water, real lemon juice, and sugar, and it's mixed up fresh every day. Likewise, the biscuits served for breakfast are baked fresh every morning as well. Chick-fil-A's food is, understandably, more expensive than McDonald's, but the quality of the products clearly makes an impression that has been readily demonstrated by CFA's impressive unit sales.