This Fast Food Restaurant Chain Has Younger Generations' Hearts

Fast food can seem like it's one of teenagers' main food groups, the meal they're most likely to get when they're hanging out after school or doing something together on the weekend. But which fast food is today's teens' favorite? According to the fall 2025 edition of a survey conducted by Piper Sandler Companies, it is America's most successful chicken chain, Chick-fil-A. The restaurant received 17% of the vote.

The nearly 11,000 respondents, whose average age was just over 15½, had McDonald's in second place at 11%, followed by Chipotle in third at 10%. In fact, Chick-fil-A has been in the top spot ever since it dethroned Starbucks in the spring 2018 poll. Piper Sandler does not ask teens why they like the favorites they name. However, one data point to note is that 40% of those polled were in the South, the region that the chicken chain is associated with and where it is based, in Atlanta.

Market researchers Teen Voice found in a separate survey on teenagers and fast food that taste, convenience, price, location, and a range of menu items are important to them. Two of those questioned who were Chick-fil-A fans specifically said they liked that the chain always gets orders right, and how workers are pleasant with customers.

An overall reason why Chick-fil-A is teenagers' favorite is likely that it is very popular with the public in general. Showing just how big it has become, Technomic's 2025 Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report ranks it as the third-largest chain restaurant in the U.S. by sales, behind only McDonald's and Starbucks (via Restaurant Business).

Chick-fil-A consistently ranks high in customer satisfaction, with Redditors agreeing that the fast food chain has great service. Workers are trained to be friendly and welcoming, smiling at people and answering with "My pleasure" when they ask for something. There's a significant reason it's able to maintain standards like its customer service, efficiency in getting orders out, and the quality of food (its chicken recipe took years to perfect). Unlike many other chains, Chick-fil-A is the owner of all its franchises, so it ensures that the franchisees who operate them maintain them to the standards it demands.

The Piper Sandler survey also asked teens about some of their other food preferences. Lay's potato chips were their favorite snack at 12%, followed by Pepperidge Farm's Goldfish crackers at 11%, and Cheez-It at 9%. For beverages, Dr Pepper led the pack at 10%, with Coca-Cola second at 10%, and Gatorade in third at 8%.