To say 2020 was a historically challenging time for restaurants would be the understatement of the century. In fact, fewer than half of America’s 500 biggest chains enjoyed growth last year. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Some brands managed to grow sales, unit count, or both. These are the stories of 15 brands that managed to the do impossible in the midst of an unprecedented crisis.

This special report is powered by the Top 500 report, presented by Nation’s Restaurant News in partnership with Datassential and its proprietary Firefly data platform.