Switzerland’s fast food map: only two cantons do not have a junk food shop

The world’s first fast food chain was founded more than 100 years ago in the small American town of Wichita, Kansas: in 1921, the “White Castle” company opened its first branch, which specialized entirely in hamburgers. Fast food service was only perfected by McDonald’s in the 1950s through strict division of labor in the kitchen.

The fast food chain with the yellow ‘M’ quickly shaped American food culture. The recipe for success: cheap and quickly prepared food that is offered in exactly the same quality in every restaurant. In the 1970s, the fast food craze finally spread to Europe.

In 1976, the first McDonald’s restaurant in Switzerland opened in Geneva. But shortly afterwards there was a hail of protest. The noise, the enormous waste and the smell of frying oil irritate many Swiss. The result: wherever McDonald’s wants to open a new branch in Switzerland, there are objections. The sad highlight in 1982: a year after its opening, the first McDonald’s branch in Zurich was set on fire by a militant group.

But the triumph of fast food eating culture can no longer be stopped. There are now 178 McDonald’s branches in Switzerland and numerous other established hamburger, sandwich and pizza chains. And soon the pain of choice will become even greater: After Firehouse Subs in June, Carl’s Jr. and Five Guys plans to gain a foothold in German-speaking Switzerland.

Carl’s Jr. will open a branch in Schaffhausen in December, Five Guys – which already has three restaurants in French-speaking Switzerland – wants to open another branch in the fashion store in Landquart in early 2024. The already colorful Swiss fast food landscape becomes even more colorful:

As already mentioned, McDonalds is the clear market leader with 178 branches in this country. This is followed by Burger King with 85 and Subway with 58 restaurants. The coffee chain Starbucks with 58 branches, Dunkin’ Donuts with 24 branches and the American pizza delivery chain Domino’s Pizza with 21 branches are also well represented in Switzerland.

But let's stick to the burger chains: behind McDonald's and Burger King, the variety is great and space is tight. American fast food giants such as Kentucky Fried Chicken or Popeyes Louisiana Chicken compete for market share with local chains such as Holy Cow, Burgermeister, Big Burger and The Butcher.

Migros recently learned the hard way that the air in Swiss fast-food heaven can get thin. Of the fifteen Chiceria restaurants, twelve were sold to Burger King three years ago. There are currently only two chickerias left: one in Zurich and one in Winterthur. Sam's Pizza Land and the venerable Silver Bullet also had to bow out. Pizza Hut and the American burger chain Wendy's, which were once represented in Bern, Lausanne and Geneva, have completely disappeared from Switzerland.

There are currently only two Swiss cantons without one fast food branch: Obwalden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden. Otherwise, junk food fans everywhere get their money's worth, the branch density is highest in the city cantons: if you calculate the number of branches per 100,000 canton inhabitants, Basel-Stadt stands out as a fast food paradise. Behind it are Geneva, Zurich and, somewhat surprisingly, the canton of Glarus.

If you sometimes have to drive a little further into the countryside, there is now at least one fast food restaurant in the larger Swiss cities. The largest city without a fast food restaurant is Horgen ZH. With 23,628 inhabitants, the city is the 38th most populous Swiss municipality.