MN’s Top Fast Food Chain: It’s Not Who You Think

Fast food restaurants seem to be everywhere these days, but do you know which restaurant is the favorite fast food place in Minnesota?

When I was back in high school, my first real job (outside of my delivering newspapers on my paper route-- is that even a THING anymore?) was working at McDonald's. And, I wasn't alone, this Yahoo News story says that 1 in 8 Americans (about 13.7%) have worked for, or are currently working at, the Golden Arches.

So when I saw Stacker compiled the list of fast food restaurants with the most locations in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, I thought for sure McDonald's had to be first on the list. But, ope! As it turns out, I was off by quite a bit.

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So, which fast food restaurant HAS the most locations and is the most popular here in the North Star State? Why, that would be Subway, which, according to Stacker, has the most locations in operation here in Minnesota. There is a slight discrepancy in the exact number of locations, however. The Subway Minnesota location finder says there are 391 locations, down from the 451 Stacker found in 2022.

Subway is far and away the fast food restaurant with the most locations in Minnesota. In fact, Caribou Coffee, the number-two restaurant on the list, still has 97 fewer restaurants in the Gopher State than Subway does, according to Stacker.

 Dairy Queen was previously listed third on the Stacker list, with a respectable 226 locations here in the Bold North in 2022. But here in 2025, the Dairy Queen Minnesota location finder says there are now just 208 locations open. That would move McDonald's, with an estimated 218 Minnesota locations in operation, into third place on the list.

You can check out the entire list of the Most Popular Fast Food Restaurants in Minnesota below. And, keep scrolling to check out a list of some of the classic McDonald's menu items that have been discontinued!

1. Subway: 391 locations
2. Caribou Coffee: 294 locations
3. McDonald's: 218 locations
4. Dairy Queen: 208 locations
5. Dominos Pizza:140 locations
6. Burger King: 111 locations
7. Pizza Hut: 94 locations
8. Starbucks: 92 locations
9. Jimmy John's: 92 locations
10. Taco Bell: 91 locations
11. Papa Murphy's: 86 locations
12. Arby's: 78 locations
13. Chipotle Mexican Grill: 72 locations
14. Taco John's: 59 locations
15. Wendy's: 58 locations
16. Culver's: 58 locations
17. Noodles & Company: 47 locations
18. Pizza Ranch: 38 locations
19. Panera Bread: 38 locations
20. KFC: 38 locations

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