Restaurant openings slows 21.24% in 2024
Guzman y Gomez opened the most restaurants last year.
The quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry opened a net of 178 restaurants in 2024, a drop of 21.24% compared to 226 the year before, according to the annual Fast Food & QSR report by GapMaps.
The report compared the number of openings and closures for a year in Australia and took note of the net changes between to establish whether a brand had a positive or negative net store growth.
For the 2024 report, GapMaps tracked 36 brands in 7,523 locations whilst the 2023 report tracked 31 brands in 7,038 locations.
Guzman y Gomez grew the most at a net of 27 restaurants, only closing one restaurant in 2024. KFC which previously held the top spot of the most restaurant growth last year grew by a net of 23.
Following closely at third was Zambrero at a net change of 20 restaurants. Fourth and fifth was McDonald’s and Subway who grew by a net of 19 and 17, respectively.
Meanwhile, of the five major QSR brands, KFC showed the greatest growth adding 23 net new stores, lifting its total network to 804 nationwide. Subway, with the largest network of 1,246 stores, recorded a net change of +17 stores. The second largest network with 1,050 stores, McDonald’s, recorded a net change of +19 stores). Elsewhere, Hungry Jack’s (471 stores) net change was +16 new stores.
Across the other 23 QSR brands tracked, which accounts for 2,036 stores across Australia, Guzman Y Gomez, Zambrero and Oporto, reported strong net new store growth, adding 27, 20, 16 stores respectively. Positive net new store growth was also recorded by Grill’d (+5) and Schnitz (+7).
In the sushi segment, which accounts for 458 stores nationally, the largest network chain Sushi Hub with 177 stores, recorded net new store growth of +14, followed by Sushi Sushi, with 162 stores and net new store growth of +11.
New store growth was spread across the country. In terms of the highest growth city, Melbourne recorded 55 net new store openings. Sydney was second with 31, followed by Brisbane (21), Perth (19), and Adelaide (4). Outside the major cities, store growth was 48.
“In 2025, most Australians have significantly greater choice of accessing fast food and quick service restaurants. While over 75% of all Australians have lived within 3km of a Subway and McDonald’s for a number of years now, close to 53% of all Australians can access 10 or more QSR brands within 3km of home,” Andrew Smith, Head of Research and Economics at GapMaps said.
