We Weren't Expecting This 1940s Chain To Be America's Most Popular Dining Brand In 2026

You may be surprised to learn that the country's most popular dining brand has been around for more than 75 years. What's more surprising, though, is that the chain doesn't offer what you might typically think of as actual dining. According to a recent YouGov survey, Baskin-Robbins, which only offers ice cream, various other frozen treats, ice cream cakes, and beverages, is No. 1. The ice cream company scored 70% in popularity, which is defined by the research and data analytics company as the percentage of people who have a positive opinion of Baskin-Robbins. The brand, which has been around since 1945, also scored quite high for "fame," that is, the percentage of people who have heard of the brand, at 96%, earning it the No. 24 spot. Compare that with sandwich chain Subway, which received a 99% fame rating but just 63% for popularity.

Baskin-Robbins scores were enough to knock out brands like Wendy's (No. 2), Taco Bell, Texas Roadhouse, and Dairy Queen, among many others. With its distinctive pink and brown logo, long history, and famous boast about having "31 flavors," one for each day of the month (it actually has way more, with a rotating list of 1,400 flavors), one can see how it might achieve such a high score in the "fame" category. As for its popularity, the company has a lot going for it. It has off-menu items, two rewards programs, and the shops let you sample as many flavors as you want, along with other Baskin-Robbins secrets worth knowing. You can also get a free ice cream treat on your birthday.

Back in 1945, in Southern California, Irvine Robbins opened his first ice cream shop. A year later, his brother-in-law, Burton Baskin, opened his first shop, with both men quickly expanding their respective businesses. Then in 1953, the two World War II veterans joined forces under the Baskin-Robbins banner, creating what would eventually become a global ice cream empire with more than 2,200  locations in the United States. Nostalgia may be one factor behind Baskin-Robbins topping the YouGov list. If we break down the survey by age group, we find that Generation X helped put the company at the top of the list, which makes sense since the brand had established itself as a part of popular culture by the 1970s and early '80s when this generation was coming up.

Baby Boomers favored Dairy Queen, launched in 1940, by a few percentage points. With Millennials, Baskin-Robbins dropped to No. 15, with Wendy's topping the list. By the time this generation was old enough to eat ice cream in the 1990s and early 2000s, chains like TCBY, Coldstone Creamery, and Ben & Jerry's had entered the scene. If you're wondering how YouGov came up with its figures for this survey, it relied on 1,204 "nationally representative interviews of the U.S. population" from the second quarter of 2026. The website Media Bias/Fact Check rates YouGov as "high" for its polling accuracy. With its thousands of locations and numerous flavors, Baskin-Robbins is (for now) topping the charts.