March 17/Chicago/Food & Beverage Close-Up -- According to data released by Technomic Inc. in its annual reporting on the top U.S. restaurant chains, the foodservice consultancy found that U.S. systemwide sales for the Top 500 increased to an estimated $234 billion in 2010, up more than $4 billion over 2009.

"We are pleased to see improvements in the U.S. economy begin to translate into improved performance for the leading restaurant chains," said Ron Paul, president of Technomic. "The industry has a lot of ground to recover and still faces many challenges, but our latest findings on 2010 chain performance are certainly encouraging."