Dumpling Chain Earns Most Revenue per Restaurant of Any Chain in US

Customers are willing to wait in line to get their share of Din Tai Fung’s famous soup dumplings, according to a new report.

Taiwanese soup dumplings or xiao long bao. ARTRAN/Shutterstock

A world-renowned Taiwanese soup dumpling restaurant chain with its U.S. headquarters in California was recognized by the industry on June 6 for earning the most revenue per restaurant of any chain in the United States.

Din Tai Fung—a family-owned restaurant chain known for its xiao long bao, also known as soup dumplings—earned $27.4 million last year for each of its 16 locations in the United States, according to Restaurant Business, the official magazine of the National Restaurant Association.

Citing data from industry researcher Technomic, the publication said that Din Tai Fung’s earnings were nearly double that of fine-dining steakhouse chain Mastro’s, the next highest-earning chain.

Mastro’s earned $14.5 million per restaurant and has 23 U.S. locations.

In third place was Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House, earning $13.8 million per location, with 17 open in the United States.

Din Tai Fung first opened in 1958 in Taiwan as a cooking oil business before becoming famous for its soup dumplings, which employees make by hand in view of customers using an intricate 18-fold process.

The small, delicate steamed buns that originated in China are often filled with a flavorful pork filling and broth.

The restaurant has attracted a strong following on the West Coast, where most of its U.S. locations operate.

The soup dumpling chain raked in $411.6 million in sales in 2024, according to Technomic. The data show earnings for each restaurant are equivalent to two Cheesecake Factories, or four Chick-fil-As, or seven McDonald’s.

The upscale-casual chain operates more than 165 locations in 13 countries, according to the company.

“Each dumpling features a delicate wrapper and perfectly balanced fillings, known as the restaurant brand’s ‘Golden Ratio,’ the direct result of decades of culinary mastery and intensive training,” Din Tai Fung said in a statement in February.

The Michelin-recognized chain opened a restaurant in February in Santa Monica—a city located along the Southern California coast. The location was expected to employ about 280 workers, according to a news release. The 10,600-square-foot location is the family’s fifth in the Los Angeles area.

Din Tai Fung opened its first U.S. location in Arcadia, Calif., and now has 17 locations, according to the company. The restaurants keep busy and usually have a waiting list, Restaurant Business reported.

The average customer pays about $45 per person to dine at the restaurants, a spokesperson for the restaurant chain told The Epoch Times via email. Few of its dishes are more than $20, but customers typically order multiple items to share, and the restaurants also have a full bar.

Diners favored Asian fare last year, causing sales at Asian restaurant chains to increase by 7.6 percent, Technomic reported.