The Restaurant Chain That’s Now The Most Over-Priced in Minnesota

Minnesota has many restaurants, but this familiar chain is the one that Minnesotans say is the most over-priced in the entire state.

Minnesota may be known for having a lot of lakes-- 11,842 according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR)-- but we also have a lot of restaurants. And while it may not be 11,000, an online database compiled by Smartscrapers, estimates that there are currently 5,133 restaurants operating in the North Star State as of April 2024.

Only ONE of those 5,133 restaurants, though, is the most over-priced. However, it's not just one restaurant but an entire fast-food chain with 54 total restaurants throughout the Gopher State. So which chain is it?

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That's the question the crew over at Mashed set out to answer. They recently surveyed the menu items at several popular national fast-food chains and crunched the numbers to come up with the most over-priced chain.

And their research found that Wendy's topped their list, followed by Chick-fil-A, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Panera Bread, and KFC.

Here's what put Wendy's on top of the list of Most Over-Priced Fast-Food Chains, according to Mashed:

Known for their square-shaped burger patties, Wendy's has historically topped the list of pricey fast food. Wendy's burgers have consistently cost more than their biggest competitors, McDonald's and Burger King. Perhaps their commitment to offering 'fresh, never frozen' beef is the reason behind the historically higher price tag.

Of course, as Mashed notes, Wendy's customers have appeared to decide that the extra pennies are worth it. Wendy's is currently the 10th-largest fast-food chain in the country, according to this Visual Capitalist story, with 5,994 stores in the U.S.

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That's a lot, but it pales compared to the 20,576 stores that Subway currently operates, making it the largest fast-food chain in America. Wendy's currently has 54 locations here in the North Star State:

WENDY'S LOCATIONS IN MINNESOTA:

• Albert Lea(1)
• Anoka(1)
• Apple Valley(1)
• Blaine(2)
• Bloomington(2)
• Brainerd(1)
• Brooklyn Center(1)
• Brooklyn Park(1)
• Burnsville(1)
• Cambridge(1)
• Chanhassen(1)
• Columbia Heights(1)
• Coon Rapids(1)
• Cottage Grove(1)
• Duluth(1)
• Eagan(2)
• Eden Prairie(1)
• Edina(1)
• Forest Lake(1)
• Hopkins(1)
• Lakeville(1)
• Mankato(1)
• Maple Grove(1)
• Maplewood(1)
• Minneapolis(5)
• Minnetonka(1)
• Nisswa(1)
• Oak Park Heights(1)
• Owatonna(1)
• Plymouth(2)
• Richfield(1)
• Rochester(2)
• Rogers(1)
• Rosemount(1)
• Roseville(1)
• Saint Cloud(1)
• Saint Paul(4)
• Savage(1)
• Shakopee(1)
• Shoreview(1)
• Waite Park(1)
• Woodbury(1)

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