Casual dining spans large multi-brand operators, full-service concepts, and restaurants built around dine-in occasions, takeout, or limited operating hours. The figures below show how restaurant counts, comparable sales, guest traffic, average checks, and unit economics differed across major companies in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 reporting periods.
Table of contents
- Industry scale and restaurant portfolios
- Darden’s multi-brand footprint
- Texas Roadhouse growth and guest behavior
- The Cheesecake Factory portfolio
- Brinker, BJ’s, and Red Robin performance
- First Watch and the operating day
Industry scale and restaurant portfolios
The largest reported restaurant bases in this comparison came from Darden Restaurants, Brinker International, and Texas Roadhouse. Their counts include different combinations of company-owned and franchised restaurants, so the figures describe scale rather than a directly comparable measure of owned operations.
Darden operated 2,159 restaurants as of May 25, 2025. Brinker owned, operated, or franchised 1,624 restaurants as of December 25, 2024. Brinker’s base consisted of 1,164 company-owned restaurants and 460 franchised restaurants. Texas Roadhouse reported 784 total restaurants as of December 31, 2024, including 666 company restaurants and 118 franchise restaurants.
| Company | Restaurant count | Measurement date or period | Ownership detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darden | 2,159 | May 25, 2025 | Operator total |
| Brinker | 1,624 | December 25, 2024 | 1,164 company-owned; 460 franchised |
| Texas Roadhouse | 784 | December 31, 2024 | 666 company; 118 franchise |
| First Watch | 572 | End of 2024 | System-wide |
| Red Robin | 505 | 2024 | North America |
Source labels: Darden FY2025 10-K; Brinker FY2025 Q1 10-Q; Texas Roadhouse FY2024 10-K; First Watch 2024 shareholder letter; Red Robin Q1 2024 release.
Geographic reach also varied. Texas Roadhouse operated in 49 states, one U.S. territory, and 10 foreign countries as of December 31, 2024. The company opened 31 company restaurants during 2024. First Watch ended 2024 with 572 system-wide restaurants, while Red Robin had 505 locations in North America during 2024.
The reported figures indicate several different expansion models. A company-owned network emphasizes direct operating control, a franchised network extends reach with a different capital structure, and a system-wide count combines both. Those distinctions matter when comparing growth, sales, and investment statistics.
Darden’s multi-brand footprint
Darden’s 2,159 restaurants were distributed across brands with different menus, price points, and dining occasions. As of May 25, 2025, Darden owned 935 Olive Garden restaurants and 591 LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants. It also owned 181 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen restaurants, 108 Chuy’s restaurants, and 88 Yard House restaurants.
Its smaller reported brand groups included 82 Ruth’s Chris Steak House restaurants, 71 The Capital Grille restaurants, 43 Seasons 52 restaurants, 29 Eddie V’s Prime Seafood restaurants, 28 Bahama Breeze restaurants, and 3 The Capital Burger restaurants. These counts are brand-level holdings on the stated date, not estimates of industry-wide locations.
| Darden brand | Restaurants as of May 25, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Olive Garden | 935 |
| LongHorn Steakhouse | 591 |
| Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen | 181 |
| Chuy’s | 108 |
| Yard House | 88 |
| Ruth’s Chris Steak House | 82 |
| The Capital Grille | 71 |
| Seasons 52 | 43 |
| Eddie V’s Prime Seafood | 29 |
| Bahama Breeze | 28 |
| The Capital Burger | 3 |
Source label: Darden 2025 10-K snippet.
Darden’s fiscal 2025 total sales rose 6.0% to $12.1 billion. Blended same-restaurant sales increased 2.0% during the same fiscal year. The brand results were uneven: Olive Garden same-restaurant sales increased 1.7%, while LongHorn Steakhouse same-restaurant sales increased 5.1%.
The fiscal 2025 fourth quarter was stronger on the reported measures. Darden’s total sales increased 10.6% to $3.3 billion, and blended same-restaurant sales increased 4.6%. Olive Garden same-restaurant sales increased 6.9% in the quarter, while LongHorn Steakhouse same-restaurant sales increased 6.7%.
Source label: Darden FY2025 earnings release. Fiscal-year and fourth-quarter figures cover different reporting periods; the quarterly increases should not be treated as a replacement for the full-year rates.
Texas Roadhouse growth and guest behavior
Texas Roadhouse provides a detailed view of how traffic, checks, comparable sales, and to-go demand can move together. In 2024, guest traffic counts increased 4.4%, the per-person average check increased 4.1%, and comparable restaurant sales grew 8.5%.
The company’s 2024 sales mix also included a substantial to-go component. To-go sales represented 12.8% of restaurant sales, and average weekly to-go sales were $19,940. These measures describe the company’s reported restaurant activity for 2024 and are not a forecast of future takeout demand.
Texas Roadhouse planned average capital investment of about $8.6 million for each restaurant opening scheduled for 2025. That planned investment figure is separate from the 31 company restaurants opened during 2024. The distinction separates a historical opening count from a forward-looking capital plan.
The company’s reported footprint at December 31, 2024 included 666 company restaurants and 118 franchise restaurants. Its 784 total locations covered 49 states, one U.S. territory, and 10 foreign countries. This combination of domestic and international reach gives the restaurant count a wider geographic definition than a U.S.-only chain count.
Source label: Texas Roadhouse FY2024 10-K.
The traffic and check figures also illustrate why comparable sales are not the same as guest growth. A 4.4% increase in guest traffic and a 4.1% increase in average check were reported alongside 8.5% comparable restaurant sales growth. Each statistic measures a different part of the sales equation, so one should not be substituted for another.
The Cheesecake Factory portfolio
The Cheesecake Factory reported 352 restaurants in the United States and Canada as of December 31, 2024. Its portfolio included 215 The Cheesecake Factory locations, 43 North Italia locations, 38 Flower Child locations, and 49 additional FRC portfolio locations. It also had 34 licensed international restaurants.
The company opened 23 restaurants in fiscal 2024. The Cheesecake Factory concept reported average sales per restaurant operating week of $237,349, with 11,214 concept operating weeks during fiscal 2024. Its annual unit volumes reached $12.3 million in 2024.
North Italia comparable sales increased approximately 2% in fiscal 2024. Flower Child sales increased 13.7% to $145.0 million. Flower Child sales per restaurant operating week increased 5.8% to $84,351, while total operating weeks increased 7.5% to 1,719.
These measures show why a restaurant portfolio can contain different performance profiles. North Italia’s reported figure is a comparable-sales rate, while Flower Child’s figures include total sales, sales per operating week, and operating weeks. Growth in operating weeks can reflect a larger operating base, while sales per week provides a different view of unit productivity.
Source labels: Cheesecake Factory FY2024 10-K; Cheesecake Factory FY2024 annual report.
Brinker, BJ’s, and Red Robin performance
Brinker’s fiscal 2024 fourth-quarter company sales were $1,196.5 million, and comparable restaurant sales increased 13.5%. Within the portfolio, Chili’s comparable restaurant sales increased 14.8%, while Maggiano’s comparable restaurant sales increased 2.5% in the same fiscal 2024 fourth quarter.
For fiscal 2024, Brinker reported average annual sales per Maggiano’s restaurant of $9.8 million and average revenue per Maggiano’s meal of about $35.65 per guest. The meal figure is a per-guest measure, whereas annual sales per restaurant is a unit-level annual measure; they describe different dimensions of performance.
Source labels: Brinker FY2024 earnings release; Brinker FY2024 10-K.
BJ’s Restaurants reported fiscal 2024 total revenues of $1.4 billion, an increase of 1.8%. Comparable restaurant sales increased 1.2%, including a $15.1 million lift from comparable restaurant sales. BJ’s opened one new restaurant in the first half of 2024 and planned two additional openings in the second half.
Source labels: BJ’s Restaurants FY2024 10-K; BJ’s Restaurants 2024 Q2 release. The opening figures refer to different points in the 2024 calendar and should not be combined into a single completed-opening total.
Red Robin had 505 North American locations in 2024. Its comparable restaurant revenue decline was driven by a 5.9% decrease in guest count, while the average guest check increased 4.6% in fiscal 2024. Dine-in sales represented 77.0% of total food and beverage sales in fiscal 2024. Comparable restaurant revenue increased 2.6% for franchise restaurants.
Source labels: Red Robin Q1 2024 release; Red Robin FY2024 10-K.
The Red Robin figures show how a higher average check can coexist with lower guest counts. They also separate the overall comparable-restaurant trend from the franchise-restaurant result and distinguish dine-in sales from total food and beverage sales.
First Watch and the operating day
First Watch reported more than $1.0 billion in total revenue in 2024 and $1.2 billion in system-wide sales. Restaurant-level operating profit rose to $201.8 million. The company ended 2024 with 572 system-wide restaurants, and average unit volume was $2.2 million per restaurant.
First Watch operated for only 7.5 hours per day on average in 2024. That operating schedule is notable when read beside its revenue, system-wide sales, restaurant count, and average unit volume: it describes a restaurant model that concentrates service into a defined part of the day rather than operating continuously from morning through late night.
Source labels: First Watch 2024 shareholder letter; First Watch FY2024 10-K.
Across these reported figures, casual dining performance is best read through several measures at once: restaurant count shows network scale, comparable sales show performance against a prior comparable base, traffic shows guest volume, average check shows spending per guest, and operating-week or operating-hour measures add context about how sales are produced. Dates and definitions differ by company, so each statistic remains tied to its stated reporting period and geography.