Travel almost anywhere, and chances are you'll never be too far from McDonald’s Golden Arches or KFC’s iconic Original Recipe chicken. But it’s not just the fast food giants staging an international takeover – US and Canadian chains with less global presence, like Dairy Queen and Mary Brown's, are also expanding overseas. Here, we uncover the brands exporting the American fast food dream to the rest of the world, one burger, sandwich or burrito at a time...
Hungry for more? Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the American fast food chains that are taking over the world.
Serving a breaded, boneless chicken breast between two buttered buns is a seemingly simple idea – but it was a novelty back in 1964, when Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy first developed his legendary chicken sandwich. He’d been experimenting with the perfect recipe for years at the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, Georgia, and the first Chick-fil-A restaurant finally opened in 1967 at Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall. The chain operated only in malls until the first stand-alone spot was opened in 1986 on North Druid Hills Road in Atlanta.
Over the next few decades, Chick-fil-A gradually expanded into the Northern United States – and as of 2024, it had more than 3,000 restaurants across 48 states and in Washington DC and Puerto Rico. In 1994, it opened its first location outside the US, inside a student centre food court at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. But it failed to take off and quickly shuttered. In 2019, the chain tried again, opening a branch in downtown Toronto to huge fanfare; a dozen more restaurants soon opened in Ontario, with more in the works.
Despite officially being America’s most popular fast food chain (according to the 2023 American Customer Satisfaction Index Restaurant Study), Chick-fil-A is no stranger to controversy. In 2019, the brand opened a UK branch in Reading, Berkshire, triggering protests from LGBTQ+ rights activists due to Chick-fil-A's past donations to Christian organisations that have expressed opposition to gay rights; the restaurant shuttered after six months. However, the chain recently announced bold new plans to expand to Europe and Asia, kicking off with five new UK restaurants set to open in 2025-26.
Known for its fresh tacos, burrito bowls and substantial salads, all made to order in front of diners, Chipotle started out as a single restaurant in Denver, Colorado, in 1993. It expanded at an impressive pace and, at one point, was opening around 100 new branches a year, largely thanks to massive investment from McDonald's. Today it operates more than 3,400 restaurants, including 41 locations in Canada, 18 in the UK, six in France and two in Germany.
Chipotle’s international takeover has been slower than some fast food brands, partly due to local reviewers and diners considering its prices too high. However, it recently announced plans to open restaurants in the Middle East, starting with Dubai and Kuwait in 2024, before continuing to expand across the region.
Did you know the world’s biggest Dairy Queen was once located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia? Over the past 60 years, the venerable chain has brought its menu of soft-serve ice cream and signature shakes to every corner of the globe, from Australia to Mexico, with varying degrees of success. Founded in 1940, Dairy Queen got its start in Joliet, Illinois, and has evolved to become a beloved American institution with more than 6,000 restaurants in more than 20 countries.
Dairy Queen opened its first restaurant outside the US in Estevan, Canada in 1953, followed by one in Panama in 1959. Since then, it has come to (and sometimes disappeared from) all corners of the globe; in the early 2000s it invested hugely in the Middle East, opening a flagship 7,500-square-foot (697sqm) restaurant in Saudi Arabia’s capital, but it’s now closed for good. These days, Dairy Queen is doing amazingly well in China, with more than 1,300 restaurants in the country – and others on the way.
Known for its amazingly juicy smashed patties with enormous servings of crispy skin-on fries, Five Guys is one of the more expensive American fast food brands – but that hasn’t stopped it from taking the world by storm. The first branch was opened in Arlington, Virginia in 1986 by Jerry and Janie Murrell, along with their five sons (hence the name Five Guys), and expansion was slow. The Murrell family spent the 1980s and 1990s perfecting their simple cooking system, and it wasn’t until 2003 that Five Guys began offering franchise opportunities, kicking off a period of massive growth.
Slow and steady clearly wins the race – because in just 18 months, permits had been sold for more than 300 franchise locations. Now, almost 40 years after Five Guys first opened, there are almost 1,700 locations across the US, Canada, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, with another 1,500 in development. The burger chain has been a particular hit in the UK, and in late 2023 its owners announced plans to open 140 new joints over the next few years, doubling the number already in the country.
This under-the-radar California chain often gets overlooked in favour of the more famous In-N-Out Burger, but its hefty made-to-order burgers – which can be doubled, tripled or even quadrupled – have a cult following, with locations scattered across the globe. The chain started out back in 1947, when Lovie Yancey and her husband opened a three-stool hamburger stand called Mr. Fatburger. Today, there are more than 200 Fatburger restaurants operating in more than 20 countries worldwide, including France, Australia, Mexico and China.
It hasn’t always been plain sailing for the burger brand. It has suffered financial trouble at various points over the years, particularly in the mid-2000s; apparently, it was Fatburger’s rapid expansion overseas in countries like China and Egypt that saved it from extinction. In 2013, Fatburger opened its biggest global outlet in Lahore, Pakistan, though it closed a few years later. Now, things are looking up; in 2022, the chain celebrated its 200th location with an opening in Paris, the first of 40 restaurants set to open in France over the next five years.
These dual burger brands were separate entities until 1997, when they merged to become one behemoth fast food chain. The menus and branding are practically identical, but the restaurant name differs depending on where you go. You won't find them in the same parts of the US, either; Carl's Jr. appears mostly in the Western and Southwestern states, while you'll see Hardee's everywhere else.
Famous for its chargrilled burgers, made-from-scratch biscuits and hearty breakfast sandwiches, the chain now boasts more than 3,800 locations across the US and worldwide. Successful franchises (under both names) now thrive in countries as diverse as Oman, Iraq, Pakistan, Spain and Australia, though the company has been heavily criticised for refusing to curtail its business in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That hasn’t stopped the fast food giant’s ambitious rollout; Carl's Jr. recently announced plans to make its UK debut very soon.
In-N-Out Burger has never opened a permanent restaurant outside of the US, but that hasn’t stopped the celebrity favourite becoming a cult classic, with fans across the world. The very first In-N-Out Burger opened in 1948 as a tiny stand in Baldwin Park, Los Angeles. While competitors used frozen beef patties and pre-cut fries to keep costs down, the company offered a point of difference by using fresh, top-quality ingredients. This commitment to freshness remains, and now the brand has more than 400 branches in Southwestern America, and plans for openings in New Mexico.
Despite only having locations in select parts of the US, In-N-Out’s mouth-watering burgers, fries and shakes are a global sensation, usually causing chaos when the company teases fans with its occasional international pop-ups. The first of such pop-ups was in 2016 when the chain landed in the small London, UK suburb of Swiss Cottage; fans waited in line for up to five hours, with some offering to pay £100 (around $125) for a wristband guaranteeing them a burger.
In-N-Out mania spread to Australia in 2018, when a pop-up restaurant in Melbourne sold out of 300 burgers in 30 minutes, despite news of its opening only being released two hours prior. Other events have happened in Germany, the UAE, Japan and South Korea, but the family firm insists it has no plans to expand internationally.
Little Caesars is the third largest pizza chain in the US, behind Pizza Hut and Domino's. While it hasn’t entered the fast food zeitgeist to the same degree as its competitors, the Detroit-based brand still has restaurants in more than 25 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. Founded in 1959, Little Caesars is probably best known for its signature Hot-N-Ready menu, which offers fresh pizzas in just a few minutes, as well as its catchphrase, ‘Pizza! Pizza!’, coined in the 1970s to promote its two-for-one pizza offer.
These days, Little Caesars has more than 5,400 restaurants in 28 countries across the globe – but the brand’s quest for world domination began in 1969 when its first Canadian restaurant opened. It debuted in the UK in the 1980s, though the last branches closed in 2000. Similarly, restaurants opened in the Philippines throughout the 1990s but also shuttered in the early 2000s. It took until 2022 for Little Caesars to re-enter the UK with a restaurant in Derby. Branches opened in Spain and Portugal in 2023, and the chain plans to expand further into Europe.
Mary Brown’s is a household name in Canada, where it's loved for its delicious hand-breaded fried chicken, taters and fully loaded poutine. Fans claim it's far superior to KFC. Its tagline, ‘Made Fresh from Scratch’, reflects the brand’s cooking methods, as it always uses fresh rather than frozen chicken, which is cut and breaded by hand before frying.
The Canadian-owned chain was founded in 1969 in St. John's, Newfoundland, and currently has almost 300 locations across the country, with more in the pipeline. Outside of Canada, however, the restaurant chain isn’t widely known – but in February 2024 Mary Brown’s opened its first international restaurant in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, with more stores following in the UK, Mexico and Pakistan.
Mary Brown’s is on a mission to bring delicious Canadian-style fried chicken to a global audience, with 150 international locations planned by 2029. The chain is best known for items like the Big Mary chicken sandwich, Buffalo Chicken Tenders and signature Tater Poutine – crispy potato wedges, topped with cheese curds and gravy.
Founded in New Orleans in 1972, Popeyes’ signature menu item has always been battered chicken, spiced with Louisiana flavours – and it proved an instant hit when the chicken chain first expanded to Canada in 1984. When Popeyes opened its debut restaurant in Nova Scotia in 2022, demand was so high that the drive-thru line caused an almost mile-long traffic jam, which lasted for hours.
Popeyes' global rollout was fairly slow at the start, but things ramped up in the 2020s – with branches popping up in every corner of the globe, from China and India to Romania and France. When the UK's first outpost opened in London’s Westfield Stratford shopping centre in 2021, crowds queued for hours for a taste of Popeyes’ delicious Louisiana chicken. Similarly, diners waited for 18 hours when the first branch opened in Glasgow, Scotland in 2023. The chain has plans to open around 350 UK restaurants in the coming decade, with lots more in the works across Asia and Europe.
This gourmet milkshake and burger joint had humble beginnings – it was launched by restaurateur Danny Meyer in 2001 as a simple hot dog and hamburger cart in Madison Square Park, New York City, to support a community art project. Amazingly, diners lined up for three days straight to get a taste of Danny's top-quality fast food, leading him to open a kiosk in Madison Square Park, which became Shake Shack's first official restaurant (pictured). Demand remained high, and by 2010 Shake Shack had locations throughout New York and in Miami, Florida.
By 2015, there were 63 locations around the world, including in London, Moscow, Dubai, Istanbul and Kuwait City. Famously, in each Shake Shack restaurant, the beverage menu is customised to contain the signature flavours of the city in which it operates. The brand has continued to expand and now has more than 400 branches around the world. Surprisingly, the New York City chain has yet to open a single restaurant in Canada, but a flagship location will open in Toronto in 2024.
Famous for its coffee and doughnuts, Tim Hortons is so well known in Canada that it's often referred to as Tim's or Timmie's. The chain, which opened its first restaurant in 1964, is named after its co-founder, ice hockey player Tim Horton. Over the years, the menu has expanded to include bagels, breakfast items and other fast food options. The mini doughnuts, known as Timbits (pictured), are particularly popular.
While you can still find the original Tim Hortons in Hamilton, Ontario, there are now more than 5,000 branches across 14 countries, including around 600 in the US and 1,000 in China. The first European outpost opened in Glasgow in 2017, and now you'll find dozens of Tim Hortons across the UK, as well as in Ireland and Spain. Besides serving the classic baked goods, the UK outposts also have burgers and hot dogs on the menu.
Known for its pig-tailed mascot and square hamburgers, Wendy’s is the world's third-largest burger chain, trumped only by McDonald's and Burger King, and has been dishing out quick-serve, family-friendly food since 1969. The original Wendy's launched in Columbus, Ohio and was an instant hit with burger-loving locals; by the 1970s, the joint was making fast food history by pioneering what Wendy's called the world's ‘first modern drive through’. In 1975, the very first Wendy's restaurant outside of the US opened in Ontario, Canada, and there are now more than 400 locations in Canada today.
During the 1980s, Wendy’s launched various global outlets, from Greece to the Philippines – with varying degrees of success. The chain also had locations in the UK in the 1990s, but all of them had closed by the early 2000s. British Wendy’s fans had to wait over two decades for the chain to return to its shores, with the burger behemoth finally opening a location in Reading, Berkshire in early 2021. It obviously went pretty well, as there are now more than 20 Wendy's restaurants in the UK, with plans to open dozens more.
Next on the horizon for Wendy's is a rollout in Australia. During the 1970s and 80s, the chain had several restaurants in the country – that is, until operations ceased in 1986. However, Wendy's recently announced plans to return, with 200 locations set to open by 2034. The chain has already run into a potential issue, though; the trademark to the Wendy's name is already owned by a much-loved local fast food outlet called Wendy's Milk Bar, which has been operating in Australia for more than 40 years.
Chicken fans flock to this popular chain for its charmingly retro aviation-themed dining rooms and delicious chicken wings, flavoured with a choice of up to 14 signature sauces and dry rubs. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, Wingstop opened its first franchise location in 1997. By 2002, the brand claimed to have served one billion wings.
Wingstop's first international outpost arrived in Mexico in 2010, and between 2014-16 it was the third fastest–growing restaurant chain in the US. In 2023, Wingstop opened its 2,000th restaurant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the chain now has restaurants in every corner of the globe – including Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Colombia and the UK.
Now discover the American fast food brands the world is missing out on