Burgers Balloon

Five Guys Burgers and Fries ranked as the fastest-growing restaurant chain in the nation in 2009, according to data compiled by restaurant consulting firm Technomic.

Five Guys had $453 million in 2009 sales, a 50 percent increase over 2008 revenue, led by rapid expansion of its franchise locations. That ranks it No. 1 for sales growth among chains with sales over $200 million.

Tim Hortons ranked No. 2, with $446 million in 2009 revenue, a 23 percent increase. Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar ranked No. 3, with $1.5 billion in sales, up 22 percent from 2008.

The revenue gain among the top 10 chains was 19 percent, an impressive showing when cast against Technomic’s overall report on the restaurant industry in 2009. The 500 largest chains saw annual sales decline an average of 0.8 percent last year after growing by 3.4 percent in 2008.

Five Guys, which opened its first restaurant in Arlington in 1986, grew slowly in its first few years, with just a half dozen Washington locations by 2001. It began franchising regionally in 2002 and then nationally in 2003.

The chain now has 550 locations in 35 states, and opened 300 of those locations in less than five years.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries currently has 23 Washington-area locations.

The rest of the ten fastest growing restaurant chains in 2009 were Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwich Shop, Wingstop, Noodles & Company, BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Firehouse Subs and Potbelly Sandwich Works.

In total, the 10 fastest-growing chains had $5.9 billion in 2009 sales. The 500 largest restaurant chains had total 2009 revenue of $230 billion, down almost $2 billion from 2008.