Placer.ai: Raising Cane's, Dave's Hot Chicken top QSR, fast-casual sectors in Q1
In the competitive world of quick-serve and fast-casual restaurants, select chains are outperforming the pack.
That’s according to the Q1 2025 Quick-Service and Fast-Casual Recap from retail data firm Placer.ai, which revealed that both QSR and fast-casual chain visits followed similar monthly patterns in Q1 2025 – rising in January, dropping in February, and then stabilizing in March.
On a quarterly basis, visits to QSR chains declined by 1.6% in the first quarter of 2025. However, select chains saw year-over-year growth, most notably Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers (+12.3%), which saw a double-digit increase compared to the first quarter of 2024. Taco Bell (+3.7%) also saw visit growth.
All other major QSR chains tracked by Placer.ai, including Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s, KFC, Wendy’s, and more, saw visits decrease over the first three months of 2025.
The report notes that the fast-casual sector is performing somewhat better, as visits to the category remained flat (+0.0%) in the first quarter. However, several major players posted positive results – including Chipotle (+4.6%), Panda Express (+3.8%), Jersey Mike’s Subs (+3.1%), and Qdoba Mexican Grill (+1.5%).
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Placer.ai’s report also shows that a few fast-casual chains with growing, but smaller footprints are seeing visits increase quickly. Dave’s Hot Chicken saw store visits surge by 59.3% year-over-year in the first quarter, while average visits per location increased 11.6%.
Health-focused chains Cava (19.7%) and Sweetgreen (11.2%) have also grown their footprints and audiences, which Placer.ai says is likely supported by the return-to-office trend and continued interest in "wholesome, convenient" dining options.
“All told, QSR and fast-casual brands held their own in Q1 2025,” said Lila Margalit, content manager at Placer.ai. “With some brands standing out through strategic value offerings, menu innovation, and expansion.”
