The fast-food industry is a fruitful hunting ground for dividend investors, as many of these companies are strong, well-established businesses with resilient earnings that can weather difficult economic environments.

Restaurant Brands International (QSR -1.25%) and Yum! Brands (YUM -0.32%) are among the top five largest restaurant operators worldwide, and operate diversified portfolios of restaurant concepts. They operate a franchise-based business model that allows them to collect upfront franchise fees from new franchise owners as well as recurring royalty payments based on franchise revenue.

Both of these dividend payers are solid choices for dividend-growth investors and dividend investors in general. But which of these fast-food empires is the better buy for dividend investors going forward?

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Meet the contestants

As a brief introduction, both Yum! Brands and Restaurant Brands operate diversified portfolios of restaurant concepts worldwide. Interestingly, they both feature three well-established, well-known concepts along with a newer and smaller recent addition to their lineups.

For Restaurant Brands, Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen are the mainstays, and Firehouse Subs is the newcomer in its portfolio. For Yum! Brands, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell are the stalls, and Habit Burger is the new addition to the roster.

Restaurant Brands currently operates about 29,000 locations across 100 countries worldwide, while Yum! The brand is nearly twice its size, with more than 53,000 restaurants in 155 countries.

Dividend growth at the drive-thru

Yum! Brands have been a solid dividend stock over the

This roundup of Fort Worth restaurant news has quite a few openings and closures including a trendy new revolving sushi place, a longtime steakhouse dive in the Stockyards and a bistro that was serving tea. Other tidbits include winter menus and holiday fares.

Here’s what’s happening in Fort Worth restaurant news:

Revolving Sushi is the name of a new restaurant now open at 3088 Basswood Blvd. #250, in far north Fort Worth near I-35. They do the trendy revolving sushi concept, in which a conveyor belt circulates through the restaurant, allowing diners to snatch up the items of their choice as they trundle by. They’re coming on strong, serving revolving sushi all day, and will be hospitable through the holidays, open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. The restaurant is a sibling to Takara Japanese Restaurant and is located right next door; in fact the two restaurants are adjoining. Takara opened three years ago, and does more traditional Japanese food and sushi.

Fork In The Road, an American/burger restaurant in Arlington at 1821 S. Fielder Rd., is closing after nine years in business, with its final day on Saturday December 3, or until supplies last. According to a Facebook post, the restaurant said that it was unable to stay open with increased prices, shortages, and increased rents, and it was time to retire.

M & M Steak House, a longtime steakhouse in the Stockyards at 1109 NW 28th St., is officially closed. The restaurant, which first opened