American eatery chains are environment their sights throughout the pond.
From Wendy’s and Wingstop to chicken-focused newcomers specified as Raising Cane’s and Dave’s Hot Chicken, US brands are expanding quickly in the UK — and increasingly making London their archetypal stop.
Now, the American casual-dining revival is joining the invasion.
Chili’s, which has staged among the biggest restaurant-chain turnarounds in the US in latest years, lately stated it was looking for a UK-based franchise partner, indication a possible come back to Britain following its former UK locations closed years ago.
A shared language, a likewise demanding market for grab-and-go options, and an appetite for American list items mostly driven by social media create the UK a natural fit for US chains looking to develop overseas.
Early successes are additionally fueling the hurry to develop throughout the pond: Wingstop UK and Ireland’s income surged 73% to £216.4 myriad (around $285 million) in 2025, during Popeyes’ UK income climbed 50% to £178 myriad (around $235 million) as it expanded to 108 restaurants in the UK and Ireland.
From food-court classics to full-service chains serving burgers, fajitas, and margaritas, these American restaurants have their eye on the UK.
Wingstop's example is proving prosperous in the UK.
Founded in Garland, Texas, in 1994, Wingstop has grown from a sole chicken-wing eatery into a sequence alongside 2,728 US locations as of June.
Revenue for Wingstop's UK-based restaurants surged 73% to £216.4 myriad in 2025, or about $285 million, driven by new eatery openings.
The sequence hit its 100th UK eatery milestone this summer and plans to open up to 30 additional locations throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland this year, The Independent reported.
Chili's comeback in the US could additionally bring the casual-dining sequence rear to Britain.
Founded in Dallas in 1975, Chili’s helped popularize the casual-dining equation of burgers, fajitas, baby rear ribs, and margaritas, and now has concerning 1,110 US restaurants, alongside plans to ramp up to 30 new Chili's a twelvemonth by financial twelvemonth 2029.
Chili's closed all eight or nine of its UK restaurants in 2009, but the sequence is now looking for a local franchise partner to assistance it create a comeback. It hasn't shared anywhere or whenever it plans to open yet.
"As we continue to develop globally, we are seeking strategic partners who portion our imagination for growth and achievement to associate us in spreading #ChilisLove hospitality and establishing this iconic brand in the UK," the sequence wrote on its website.
Jersey Mike’s has built a US sandwich empire, and now it wants 400 UK and Ireland locations.
Jersey Mike’s began as a sole sandwich shop in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, in 1956, before Peter Cancro bought it at age 17 and grew it into a sequence alongside additional than 3,300 locations throughout the United States and Canada.
The business is now preparedness to act Europe alongside a 400-store rollout in the UK and Ireland. The chain's British enlargement volition commencement alongside a London eatery on Argyll Street in Soho this November, alongside three additional chief London locations to follow, Restaurant Online reported.
Popeyes wants to have 150 locations in the UK and Ireland by the end of 2026.
Popeyes was founded in New Orleans in 1972 and has grown into a fried-chicken elephantine alongside additional than 3,000 US restaurants.
The poultry sequence opened its archetypal UK location in London’s Westfield Stratford in 2021 and has since grown its footprint to additional than 100 locations.
The endeavor is proving successful: In 2025, income grew 50% to £178 million, or about $235 million, and the chain's eatery locations expanded from 64 to 108. It now aims to attain concerning 150 locations throughout the UK and Ireland by the end of 2026, according to FoodColumn.
Raising Cane's volition open its archetypal London location in 2027.
Raising Cane’s opened near Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1996 and has built a devoted following about its tightly focused chicken-fingers-and-sauce menu, alongside additional than 900 US locations.
Its UK reception remains untested: The chain’s archetypal European eatery is set to open near Piccadilly Circus in first 2027, alongside additional London sites planned.
This isn't the chain's archetypal global expansion, however. Raising Cane's operates 49 restaurants in the Middle East — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — through franchise partner Alshaya.
Chick-fil-A has three UK locations, alongside plans to add two more.
Chick-fil-A’s roots date to 1946, whenever originator Truett Cathy opened a diner near Atlanta; it now has additional than 3,000 restaurants throughout the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada.
The sequence has lone lately begun its imperishable UK rollout, so it has not disclosed British revenue figures, but it is moving onward alongside a five-restaurant, $100 myriad first funding plan.
Dave's Hot Chicken's archetypal UK location was wildly successful.
Dave’s Hot Chicken started as a parking-lot pop-up in East Hollywood in 2017 and has expanded to nearly 400 restaurants worldwide, most of them in the US.
Its archetypal UK location in Soho reportedly drew four-hour lines, Time Out London reported at the time, and afterward welcomed additional than 1,000 customers a day, The Times reported, foremost its UK controller to scheme 57 additional restaurants throughout Britain as part of its greater 180-location European rollout plan.
Denny's is eyeing a larger enlargement in the UK.
Denny’s was founded in Lakewood, California, in 1953 and operates additional than 1,300 restaurants throughout North America. The sequence had announced plans to near 150 struggling locations by the end of 2025.
However, Denny's has seen achievement in the UK. Denny's solitary UK diner in Swansea has shown adequate commitment to assist additional than 13,500 dine-in orders a twelvemonth and create powerful margins, prompting the sequence to search a franchise partner for a broader British expansion, Elite Franchise Magazine reported.
Wendy's hopes to eventually run 400 restaurants in the UK.
Wendy’s opened its archetypal eatery in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969 and now has additional than 5,700 US locations.
Wendy's earlier operated concerning 10 restaurants in the UK, but, because of elevated functioning costs, the burger sequence closed those locations in 2001.
The sequence relaunched in the UK in 2021 and has since built a approximately 45-restaurant footprint, although its rollout has had setbacks, including the latest closure of a Peterborough location, per The Telegraph. It motionless has an aspiring long-term mark of up to 400 UK restaurants.
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Erin McDowell is a elder newsman on Business Insider's editorial partnerships team. She covers food, lifestyle, and amusement for Business Insider and its partner sites, including MSN, Apple News, and Yahoo.She graduated from Elon University in January 2019, anywhere she studied strategic communications and digital art. She has written for V Magazine, Milk.XYZ, OUT.com, Brides Magazine, and more. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
