Top Fast Food Restaurants 2016: The Most-Visited Chains For Late-Night Dining

There’s no denying that everyone loves a good late-night meal, especially on weekend evenings.

Foursquare recently released data that reveals which exact fast food chains college students love to drop by before calling it a night – and decided to expand the research to include the general population. The results? A list of the top 24-hour restaurant chains where people love to grab a late-night bite (using the top 20 restaurants listed by QSR Magazine).

Foursquare used its data to create a map that documents some of the most visited fast food joints by looking at consumer “foot traffic trends.” Check in times and visitation info was pulled from Foursquare’s city guide app and Swarm, another check-in app, to determine the popular fast food joints between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.

So which joints proved to have the best late-night crowds?

White Castle stole the show as a top late-night option, with 21.5 percent, “the highest percentage of its total visits during the late night hours” in the study. Next up was Jack in the Box with 17 percent; then Taco Bell with 14.8 percent and McDonalds at 11.1 percent. Wendy’s followed relatively close behind with 10.5 percent. Mexican chain Qdoba was ranked last of the bunch with 3.5 percent of its foot traffic occurring during late-night hours when pitted against the other chains.

Perhaps White Castle’s results could also be tied to its limited-time-only X-Menu, which features “Mutant Loaded Fries” and –wait for it—an “Apocalyptic Waffle Slider,” an egg, chorizo sausage patty and ghost pepper cheese delight that comes sandwiched between two Belgian waffles.

Not one for standing in line late night?

QSR Magazine also published findings in its October 2016 issue that relayed that the "limited-service industry" saw 60 to 70 percent of the business coming from its drive-thrus.