Wayback Burgers to Open Dozens of New Restaurants In 2024
A growing list of major restaurant chains—from BurgerFi to the now-bankrupt Red Lobster—have been struggling with declining sales and store closures in 2024. But one flourishing burger chain is bucking the trend as it rakes in massive sales and plans rapid growth.
This booming chain is Wayback Burgers, which serves up a variety of milkshakes, deep-fried sides, chicken sandwiches, and of course, loaded cheeseburgers. The company achieved a double-digit increase in same-store sales in the first quarter of the year, QSR Magazine reported, even as sales dropped at massive chains like KFC and Starbucks.
After opening a net total of 18 restaurants over the past three years, Wayback will maintain its momentum with plans to add 25 to 30 new locations in the United States in 2024.
Of course, unforeseen construction or permitting delays could prevent Wayback from reaching that goal. But if the chain does follow through with all of its planned openings, it will end the year significantly larger than it was at the start. Per QSR, Wayback had 165 restaurants at the end of 2023.
The brand already boasts locations in most states and will expand to several new markets this year, including New Orleans, New York City, and Missouri. Texas, California, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Utah, and Indiana will also welcome new Wayback restaurants this year, a representative confirmed to Eat This, Not That!
Existing franchisees signing on to open even more Wayback restaurants are part of why the chain can expand so quickly.
"They're already in the system and that just validates that they're making money and they're happy and they want to grow and reinvest in the brand," President Patrick Conlin told QSR. "So while we love to have outside growth, we really get a big kick when the existing franchisees want to continue to grow with us. And we know what kind of operator, what kind of people they are and same with them knowing us. Really love to see that internal growth."
Wayback may also owe some of its recent success to an upgraded mobile app that launched last year. It includes several new features, such as the capability to accrue rewards points with mobile orders. Customer feedback has been positive and tens of thousands of new subscribers have joined in the past few months, QSR Magazine reported.
Wayback isn't the only popular burger chain that's growing at a breakneck pace right now. Smalls Sliders, for example, just announced a development deal for its first-ever North Carolina restaurants. Additionally, the popular regional burger chain Culver's plans to open 51 new stores across the Midwest and South in 2024.
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