Teens Used To Love These Chain Restaurants, But That’s Changing Fast

What was listed as the top restaurant chains among teens earlier this year is now dropping in popularity according to a recent poll.

Favorite Restaurant Chains Among Teens

Restaurant Business Magazine recently got their collective hands on a survey of teens conducted by a firm named Piper Sandler. The survey asks teens about their favorite businesses and brands while also drilling down to get their opinions on food industry heavyweights.

The survey comes out twice a year with a version in the spring and another during the fall.

This past spring, teens surveyed ranked Chick-fil-A as their favorite chain restaurant. The chicken chain garnered 21% of the vote to lead the pack, followed by McDonald's at 12%.

The ranking was the same in the latest survey conducted in the fall, but the percentages have started to drop for the top restaurants. This time around, Chick-fil-A got 17% of the vote while McDonald's was slightly down at 11%.

Favorite Coffee Chains For Teens

The survey showed a similar trend in the favorite coffee, tea or beverage chain category with both of the top two finishers getting a lower percentage of the votes.

In the spring survey, 57% of teens said Starbucks was their go-to choice for drinks. Dunkin' came in a distant second with 11% of the vote.

READ MORE: Largest Barbecue Chain In U.S. Quietly Shuttering Locations

Starbucks kept its stronghold on the top spot in the fall survey, but had dropped down to 51% of teens saying the chain was their favorite. Dunkin' also saw a drop, but only two percentage points down to 9%.

News of a potential drop in Starbucks' approval among teens comes at an interesting time for the company. Just this week, the Wall Street Journal reported the coffee giant would be "pulling back on promotions and discounts" as it looks to regroup.

For the most part, it looks like Starbucks will cutback on app-exclusive discounts and promotions that led to longer-than-usual wait times and fewer customers coming into its locations.