Tricon Global Restaurants

Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. was created in 1997 when PepsiCo separated its restaurant division into an independent, publicly traded company focused on quick-service dining. At launch, Tricon oversaw about 30,000 KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut locations worldwide, making it one of the largest restaurant systems in the world as of December 1997. That scale immediately positioned the company as a major, traffic-driving tenant across a wide range of retail environments.

From the beginning, Tricon’s business centered on franchised and company-operated restaurants that relied on high-visibility real estate and long-term occupancy. KFC contributed a significant international presence, including leadership in key emerging markets, while Taco Bell and Pizza Hut added strong North American coverage and a history of co-located restaurants. Together, these brands became reliable anchors for neighborhood centers, power centers, street retail, and highway sites, often serving as repeat-visit drivers for surrounding tenants.

A key milestone in Tricon’s history came in 2002 with the acquisition of Yorkshire Global Restaurants, the parent company of A&W Restaurants and Long John Silver’s. Shortly after completing that deal, the company changed its corporate name from Tricon Global Restaurants to Yum! Brands, Inc. on May 16, 2002. The Tricon name was retired, but its structure, development platform, and real estate approach continued directly under the Yum! Brands banner.

Today, the footprint that began under Tricon is represented by Yum! Brands, which operates and franchises more than 62,000 restaurants in over 155 countries and territories across KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger Grill. The company remains headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and functions primarily as a franchisor, with a large base of franchisees signing long-term leases and development agreements. Over roughly the last five years, Yum! has continued to grow its global store count, invested heavily in drive-thru and digital access, expanded delivery and takeout-focused formats, and supported new infill and conversion opportunities in both mature and emerging markets.

For landlords, brokers, and developers, the former Tricon platform now operating as Yum! Brands represents a stable, widely recognized collection of quick-service concepts with standardized formats and consistent brand traffic. The system’s scale, credit profile, and long operating history make these restaurants attractive anchors and co-tenants for both new developments and backfill locations in urban, suburban, and roadside settings.