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Andalusia had some of the busiest restaurants based on specific brand locations in the state during 2023, according to data tracked and reported by Placer.ai.

Placer.ai provides location analytics, such as visit trends, aggregating data from millions of mobile devices. Officials can use the data in different ways, including to promote the city and recruit new businesses to the area. The data collected from mobile devices not only provides data on the number of visitors, but can also show what time customers visit and how long they stay.

“This data shows that we have a ton of business going on in Andalusia,” said Andalusia Communications Director Michele Gerlach. “The information provided by Placer.ai can be used when we meet with people interested in locating a restaurant here or in our efforts to recruit  specific restaurants.”

While not all local restaurant locations are accessible to the service, several of those that are can be ranked among the busiest in the state specific to their brand.

Of the trackable restaurants, data shows that Andalusia’s restaurants had 1.97 million visits from January through December 2023, resulting in approximately $42.3 million in sales, which is based on business license data.

According to the Placer.ai data, Andalusia’s Zaxby’s location is the busiest of that chain’s 92 restaurants within the state. It also is ranked 20th among 903 locations nationwide. The data also shows that Zaxby’s had over 86,000 visitors in 2023, with 31.2 percent of those being local customers.

Also, among Andalusia’s top restaurants is McDonald’s, which Placer.ai placed as the fourth busiest out of the 219 other locations across the state. It ranks 254th among over 12,500 locations in the nation.

Sonic, one of the few restaurants tracked that is located in the downtown area, is also a top draw, especially among locals. They are the third busiest among the brand’s 103 state locations and 17th out of 3,355 nationwide.

In the number of local customers, Sonic placed second within the city at 49 percent behind Domino’s Pizza’s 58 percent. Sonic also had the highest rate of repeat customers among local restaurants at 4.66 percent, almost doubling that of any other local eatery.

Tropical Smoothie also ranked fourth statewide while coming in at 133rd of that brand’s 953 national locations.

Firehouse Subs and Arby’s also are in the top 10 for those brands in the state, finishing sixth and ninth, respectively.

The data provided by Placer.ai also tracked vehicles on Andalusia’s main thoroughfares, which showed 7.1 million vehicles traveled the Western Bypass and 6.8 million for the Eastern Bypass during the year.

While some local favorites could not be ranked by their brand locations, the data shows that Big Mike’s had 72,000 visitors and David’s Catfish had just under 80,000.

Others placing in the top 25 of their brand locations across the state include: Jack’s (24th), Taco Bell (23rd), Wendy’s (21st), and the Subway on the western bypass (21st).

Visit data does not include certain restaurants that could not be verified by Placer.ai, which includes the city’s Mexican restaurants, Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, Tabby D’s, Subway at Walmart, Golden Rule BBQ, Hook’s BBQ, Huddle House, Steamboat, Ofelia’s, Lost Pizza, Bluebird Café, and Surly Mermaid.