10 popular international fast food chains that are growing in the US

Walter Cicchetti // Shutterstock When traveling outside the United States, it’s common for Americans to spot restaurants that they know from home. McDonald’s, Subway, and Starbucks are just three examples of American-founded restaurants that enjoy a large presence outside the country. However, several popular restaurant chains experienced the opposite trajectory, having expanded into the U.S. after originating in another part of the world. Not every expansion into the U.S. market is a success story. For example, Pie Face opened several locations in New York City in 2011. But the chain and its Australian savory meat pies didn’t last. By 2014, nearly all the New York franchises had shut down. Pie Face enthusiasts now have to go to the restaurant’s home country to taste their smiley-faced pastries. Restaurant chains appear to have a higher success rate when it comes to expanding into the U.S. market and beyond when they sell one menu item in particular: chicken. The love of fried chicken endures beyond borders, with restaurant-goers seeking out international takes on the classic dish. Or, at least in the case of one Guatemalan chain, a nostalgic taste of home. New Yorkers and Californians are closest to the foreign food chains that made this list. However, there are several international restaurants located throughout the United States. Stacker compiled a list of 10 restaurant chains that started abroad and expanded into the U.S. market. See how many you’re able to try in a neighborhood near you. Jollibee Glenn Koenig/Los Angeles Times // Getty Images In 1999, a small bakery in Osaka, Japan, began baking cream puff pastries that mimicked the fluffy, white beard of the store’s owner. That recipe would soon spread to 15 countries and territories outside Japan, including Australia, China, and the United States. It first came to the U.S. in 2004. Pastry lovers can find Beard Papa’s offerings at bakeries in New York, California, Texas, Colorado, and several other states. Customers can build their own customized puff pastry by choosing a shell and desired filling. As of April 2024, five new Beard Papa’s locations have arrived in the U.S. TKK Fried Chicken Mallika Home Studio // Shutterstock TKK Fried Chicken hails from Taipei, Taiwan, with the first restaurant opening in the city’s Wanhua district in 1974. TKK Fried Chicken describes its menu as a blend of Eastern flavors and Western cooking techniques. For example, the chefs fry their chicken in soybean oil, rather than the vegetable or peanut oil favored by Americans. In 2018, TKK joined forces with American company Kung Fu Tea to open a joint restaurant in New York City. From there, the partnership spread to more locations including Texas, Michigan, and Washington D.C. According to the company’s website, there are at least five more locations in the works. El Pollo Loco Manuela Durson // Shutterstock In 1975, Juan Francisco Ochoa launched the first El Pollo Loco in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. Ochoa used the citrus marinade recipe that his family had cooked for generations. That recipe was a hit, and five years later, he brought his formula for success to his first American restaurant on Alvarado Street in Los Angeles. In 1983, Ochoa sold the American-based restaurants to Denny’s. Today, the U.S. company has 475 locations, with U.S. outposts in California, Texas, and Louisiana. The company’s most famous former employee is almost certainly Brad Pitt, who dressed up as the restaurant’s chicken mascot before his acting career took off in the late 1980s. Yashinova Koichi Kamoshida // Getty Images Yashinova is by far the oldest restaurant chain on this list. It got its start in the Nihonbashi Fish Market in Tokyo in 1899. Over 70 years later, the chain launched its first American franchise in Denver before expanding into Los Angeles in 1979. Today, there are more than 100 franchised Yashinova restaurants across California selling the chain’s signature beef bowls with rice. More Americans may soon get the chance to try the fast-casual food inspired by Japanese flavors–the chain intends to franchise new U.S. locations outside of California as of 2025. Nando’s