Summer Foods: Burger, Pizza, and Ice Cream BOOMs & BUSTs

As the temperatures heat up, so does the popularity of the “foods of summer.”  Families gather, and people take road trips. This year domestic vacations are on the upswing. Along with those adventures come spending at c-stores, roadside restaurants including MULO (multi-location) brands, and retailers.

According to Statista, French fries, fried chicken, and hamburgers are the most popular American dishes in the United States. Last year, consumers spent $20B on pizza. Additionally,  ice cream is a ubiquitous summer treat and summer sales of the frozen stuff comprise about 40 percent of the year-round consumption.

Despite the popularity of these summer delights, some brands are thriving and others are struggling to survive.

Here is a summary of some of the summer-y BOOMs and BUSTs in these categories.

BOOMs

• Red Robin is thriving. The management team has experience from Jamba, Carrabba, Texas Roadhouse, Torchy’s Tacos, and California Pizza Kitchen. The updates they’ve made to the strategy and menu seem to be paying off.
• Yelp just revealed the top 25 MULO hamburger brands in the U.S. As we well know, popularity and good reviews are not always a predictor of financial success.The leaders (top five) are:
  • In-N-Out Burger
  • The Habit Burger Grill
  • Shake Shack
  • Culver’s
  • Islands Restaurants
• Among the brands seeing strong financial performance are:
  • Chick-fil-A
  • Raising Cane’s
  • McDonald’s
  • Subway
  • Taco Bell
  • Chipotle
  • Wingstop
  • Jersey Mike’s
  • Freddy’s
  • Bojangles
• As for pizza taking a slice of summer profits, Domino’s, Pizza Hut, and Little Caesars remain in the top three.  Like many MULO brands, these brands lean into loyalty programs, deals, and tech-powered food prep and delivery options to operate efficiently and earn consumer love.
• As for sweet treats, Baskin-Robbins remains a popular choice among cone enthusiasts. Although the company is 80 years old, its flavor varieties and distribution strategy have kept it from melting. Some emerging brands are entering the ice cream scene, too.

BUSTs

Sadly, the sun is not always shining on MULO brands, despite the surge in summer travel and dining. We know that bankruptcy filings do not necessarily mean a brand is doomed, but consumers often take note when a company is struggling. Like a bad sunburn, the sufferer may heal, but it can leave long-lasting damage.

Among the brands noted above, some franchisees have also struggled. Just because a parent brand is succeeding, that doesn’t necessarily mean that all operators are thriving.

Among the “fun food” brands that have faced financial hardships or closed multiple locations are:

• East Coast pizza brand Bertucci’s
• Friendly’s ice cream, which once had more than 800 locations
• Wahlburgers, TGI Fridays, and Almost Famous. But keep in mind that store closings may just be indicative of streamlining operations and not necessarily complete demise.

Get Summer-Ready

Whether your brand is on the BOOM or BUST list, prepping for the months ahead means you have to stay fresh with your menu offers, keep your local listings up-to-date, and ensure that your human team (as opposed to the front-of-house and back-of-house tech) is ready to delight consumers who are coming from near and far!

Speaking of summer delight, be sure to reserve your ticket for Street Fight LIVE 2025. Learn about the trends that will impact your business all year round!