When assessing how many units a Concept or Company owns, it is essential to apply a clear and consistent definition of what qualifies as a Unit.

A restaurant unit is defined as a brick-and-mortar establishment where food and/or beverages are sold to customers.

While this may sound straightforward, several edge cases can complicate the count. Sales teams and data users often encounter questions about what should or should not be included when calculating unit totals.

Restaurantology’s inclusion criteria

Restaurantology includes multi-unit, in-industry, and in-market locations:

• Business Model: Only Concepts or Companies with two or more units are profiled. Single-unit independents are excluded.
• Industry: Restaurantology aligns primarily with NAICS 71 and 72 classifications. Out-of-industry businesses (e.g., hotels, grocery, convenience stores) are excluded unless an exception is justified based on food and beverage relevance.
• Market: The dataset focuses exclusively on the United States and Canada. Units outside these markets are excluded wherever possible.

Restaurantology’s standard unit exclusions

The following types of locations do not count toward a Concept’s or Company’s unit count:

• “Coming soon” locations
• Co-branded locations (counted separately when verified)
• Food kiosks
• Food trucks or carts
• Stadium or event center concessions
• Seasonal establishments
• Farmer’s markets
• Pop-up establishments
• Virtual kitchens
• Country clubs with food service (typically categorized outside NAICS 71/72)
• Hotel restaurants (unless operating as standalone Concepts and verified as such)

[!NOTE]
Restaurantology’s unit definition and exclusions are standardized to maintain consistency across all Concepts and Companies. This standard may differ from how individual operators or third-party sources report their unit counts.

Why unit counts matter

A standardized unit definition allows Restaurantology to maintain reliable, comparable metrics across the industry. Unit counts directly support firmographic insights and roll-up summaries used by sales, marketing, and RevOps teams. Total Addressable Market (TAM) figures adhere to this Unit definition and apply the inclusion criteria outlined above.

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