More restaurant chains aspire to hit the big 1-0-0-0

— -- The dream of almost every restaurant chain — to hit 1,000 units — is happening at warp speed in 2007.

"It's a landmark. It's four digits instead of three," says Ron Paul, president of Technomic, a consulting firm. "It's a goal to join an elite class." But that class is growing faster than many would have predicted — particularly at a time when the $537 billion restaurant industry has suffered some bumps and bruises.

Hitting 1,000 restaurants shouts scale, says Mary Chapman, editor-in-chief at Chain Leader, a trade magazine. "It's a turning point from a large chain to a dominant chain."

Despite tough times in casual dining, fast-food and limited-service stores are in a faster growth period as private-equity money became available, says Chapman.

Some chains that have hit 1,000:

•Papa Murphy's. It's taken 23 years for the ready-to-bake pizza chain to reach 1,000 units.

"It means you're for real, and you can strut your stuff," says Mark Strickler, marketing chief. "It means you can move across the country."

The 30-state chain plans to add about 165 stores annually, he says.

•WingStreet. In just four years, the chicken-wing chain — inside Pizza Huts and owned by Yum — passed 1,000. In two years, it will pass 4,500, says Brian Niccol, marketing chief of both chains. "One thousand is the tipping point where you transition from regional to national player."

•Panda Express. The Asian fast-food chain, which began with one unit in 1983, will pass 1,000 in November, says CEO Tom Davin.