McDonald's dominated the top 10 highest-grossing food outlets last year, recording revenues almost double that of its closest competitor.
Overall, it was a successful year for cafes and restaurants, according to Paulius Rudzkis, a data analyst at the Lithuanian Centre of Registers that compiled the top ten list.
"Businesses that seemed to be teetering on the brink of survival not long ago due to quarantine restrictions are now counting rising revenues, increasing their profits and investing in expansion, hiring more staff," he told LRT.lt.
1. McDonald’s
There are 17 McDonald's restaurants in Lithuania operated by Premier Restaurants whose indirect shareholders are the Hili family, originally from Malta, who started the McDonald's franchise business there.
In 2023, Premier Restaurants generated revenues of €64.92 million in Lithuania, up 25.24% on the previous year, and a profit of €10.9 million.
2. Charlie Pizza, Katpėdėlė, La Crepe
Amber Food is in second place in the top ten. In 2022, after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Gediminas Balnis took full control of the company from Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis which continued to maintain business ties with Russia.
Amber Food owns 19 Charlie Pizza outlets, 11 Katpėdėlė restaurants, two La Crepe pancake houses, two Skonis restaurants, Manami and Sugamour restaurants, Grill Terrace, Charlie Pizza-branded bar areas in two sports arenas, the Baltas Tiltas food area that houses the Beer Garden bar, and the Spirgis Lithuanian cuisine restaurant.
In 2023, the company's revenue increased by 20.42% to €35.62 million, generating a profit of €650,000.
3. Delano
Delano, owned by Nerijus Numa through Vilniaus Prekyba, generated revenue of €33.99 million last year, 13.94% more than the previous year, and a profit of €4.28 million.
The company has 60 outlets in Lithuania: two Delano self-service restaurants, six self-service restaurants called 12, a Seat&Eat self-service restaurant, 21 Can Can pizza restaurants, and 30 Caif Cafés.
4. iLunch
Inovatyvūs Restoranai, which operates iLunch, has seen the fastest growth among the top ten restaurant chains. Its revenue increased by 54.62% last year to €14.86 million, with a profit of €760,000.
5. Manami, Guacamole, Wokout, Eatsushi
Balnis from Amber Foods also owns Neragauta Azija. Last year, Neragauta Azija generated revenues of €13.56 million (27.61% more than in 2022) and made a profit of €870,000.
The company's chain comprises eight Manami, two Guacamole and three Wokout restaurants as well as an Eatsushi outlet.
6. Fortas, Etno Dvaras
The sixth place goes to the Restoranų Grupė Fortas, owned by Kęstutis Stabingis.
It controls the Fortas and Etno Dvaras restaurants in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda. Franchised Etno Dvased can also be found in Panevėžys and Druskininkai.
In 2023, Restoranų Grupė Fortas generated revenues of €13.25 million, with a 19.29% growth rate, and a profit of €580,000.
7. Sushiexpress
Fresh Projects, also owned by Kęstutis Stabingis, controls 30 Sushiexpress restaurants across Lithuania.
Last year, it generated revenues of €12.66 million (11.05% growth) and a profit of €1.1 million.
8. Express Pizza and Crisperia
Togri, owned by Mindaugas Grikštis, operates the Express Piza and Crisperia brands. In 2023, Togri's revenue increased by 23.35% to €12.01 million, generating a profit of €2.01 million.
9. Jammi
The penultimate place on the list goes to Kulverstukai, a producer of kebabs and other similar dishes.
The company behind the Jammi had revenue of €10.44 million in 2023 (18.67% more than in 2022) and a profit of €2.62 million.
According to the financial statement, they operated seven restaurants last year and opened another one in Vilnius at the end of 2023.
The shareholders of Kulverstukų are Geraldas and Rasa Butvilai and Darius and Evelina Petrusevičiai.
10. Vero Caffe
The final place goes to Ex Prompto, the manager of Vero Caffe cafes, owned by Laima Vėželienė and Oksana Kislenko.
The company's revenue last year was 9.61% higher than in 2022, at €9.7 million. It also made a profit of €110,000.
Vero Caffe has branches in Vilnius, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Palanga, Nida, Elektrėnai and Druskininkai.
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