The hamburger restaurant chain sector has a huge obstacle to clear this year, competing against the nation's most popular fast-food concept: fried chicken chains. Fried chicken dining chains, including Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers and Chick-fil-A, began 2026 as the most popular subsector of the fast-food industry, and will lead the sector if the concept continues the trend it set over the last year. Fried chicken restaurant traffic rises Traffic to fried chicken concepts rose 3% in the year ending Se ...