Countless businesses have gone bankrupt as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with larger chains taking a hit as the world goes into lockdown. Years after the global pandemic, several restaurant chains are rebounding, including one in San Antonio that saw a decline, a new study shows.
The study, conducted by Restaurant Furniture, looked at Google search trends from 2021 to 2025. Based on the data, the company ranked the 10 chains with the largest increases in search interest. Oklahoma-based Sonic Drive-In topped the list, reporting a 1,601% spike in searches in four years. Some might call Sonic a comeback kid, but things look a little different in Alamo City.
Despite these findings, Sonic Drive-In restaurants across San Antonio have been closed multiple times in recent years, with locations on De Zavala Road, Zarzamora Street, Ingram Road, Nacogdoches Road, Pat Booker Road and Culebra Road all closing as of 2024, according to previous MySA reporting. As of this writing, Sonic Drive-In lists 37 locations still open in San Antonio.
A closed Sonic store on De Zavala Road. (Polly Anna Rocha/MySA)
As for other fast-food chain comeback stories, Dunkin’ and Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers ranked second and third, respectively, in the restaurant study, followed closely by In-N-Out Burger and Jimmy John’s. In an expanded version of the list, Texas-based burger chain Whataburger ranks at No. 15.
This article was originally published on The nation’s No. 1 comeback fast-food chain is struggling in San Antonio.