The Fast-Food Restaurants That Serve Pepsi Over Coke

The battle between Pepsi or Coke supremacy has been raging for generations, with no sign of the dispute coming to an end. The age-old rivalry pins friend against friend, restaurant against restaurant, each side arguing why their dark brown soda brand is the winner. When you order a Coca-Cola, you're either thrilled or sorely disappointed when the server or cashier informs you that their particular restaurant only serves Pepsi products — despite our ranking of Coca-Cola as the most popular cola brand. The list of major chains that serve Pepsi is smaller than those that serve Coke, but the numbers are changing all the time. 

As of recently, the fast-food restaurants that serve Pepsi products include KFC, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Jersey Mike's Subs, and Dairy Queen, among others. Taco Bell is Pepsi's biggest fast-food chain partner, well-known for its exclusive Mountain Dew Baja Blast and icy cold cups of crisp Pepsi soda. This makes sense, since the quick-service Mexican restaurant began selling Pepsi products after it was acquired by the PepsiCo parent company in 1978. Beyond the dark-colored cola that people know and love, Pepsi products also include beverages such as Crush orange soda, Mountain Dew, Mug root beer, Schweppes ginger ale, and Starry (the lemon-lime soda that replaced Sierra Mist). 

While Pepsi was the favorite of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, it's not the favorite of every restaurant chain. Big-name casual dining restaurants such as The Cheesecake Factory, Cracker Barrel, and even LongHorn Steakhouse are preferential to Coca-Cola products. Luckily, if you're one of those die-hard Pepsi fans, you can still find Pepsi products at plenty of big-name casual dining restaurants: Applebee's, Buffalo Wild Wings, IHOP, and Hooters, just to name a few. Unfortunately for fans, Costco officially ended its partnership with PepsiCo in 2025, in favor of one with Coca-Cola, meaning Costco food courts will now serve Coca-Cola products instead of Pepsi.

Why can't fast-food chains and casual dine-in restaurants serve both Pepsi and Coca-Cola products? It's all about contracts. Both brands make exclusive partnerships with restaurants to ensure that its products will be the only ones sold – which is why the only place you'll ever find a bottle of Pepsi next to a bottle of Coca-Cola is at the grocery store. If you're on the hunt for a fresh cup of Pepsi from your favorite fast-food restaurant, consider stopping at Taco Bell or KFC instead of McDonald's.