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Financing

How your restaurant sales and profits compare to competitors' and what you can do to improve financial performance

Financing

Stake your claim to the low-price market at your own risk

 By Jonathan Maze on Sep. 28, 2023

The Bottom Line: Subway and Burger King have staked their claims as value leaders in their respective segments. Recent events have highlighted the difficulties of that position.

Financing

How Gregg Majewski is building Craveworthy Brands

 By Jonathan Maze on Sep. 27, 2023

A Deeper Dive: The longtime industry executive and investor discusses what it takes to build the brand collector. He also discusses restaurant delivery, menu prices and mergers and acquisitions.

Financing

A Burger King franchisee gets sold out of bankruptcy, and a big buyer is Burger King

By Jonathan Maze on Sep. 27, 2023

Meridian Restaurants, the large operator that declared bankruptcy in March, is selling 70 of its 91 remaining restaurants to several different franchisees as well as the brand following an auction this month.

Financing

Subway pushes its franchisees to accept digital offers

By Jonathan Maze on Sep. 27, 2023

The sandwich giant, which is being sold to Roark Capital, told franchisees that they must accept mobile app discounts by Dec. 28. A lot of the brand’s operators were not pleased.

Financing

The Fed is almost done raising interest rates. Maybe

By Jonathan Maze on Sep. 26, 2023

The Bottom Line: Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari suggested a 60% chance of a soft landing with one more rate hike. But "meaningfully higher" rates are also possible.

Financing

Fat Brands acquires Smokey Bones for $30M

By Jonathan Maze on Sep. 25, 2023

The 18th deal for the owner of Johnny Rockets and Twin Peaks gives the company another casual-dining chain.

Financing

Executives' franchisee profitability comments are pointless until they report the data

By Jonathan Maze on Sep. 25, 2023

The Bottom Line: McDonald’s and its franchisees differ on the profitability of restaurants, but we can’t judge for ourselves because the company doesn’t release the data, like most franchise businesses.

Financing

Is it a service fee or a royalty? To McDonald's franchisees, the difference is huge

By Jonathan Maze on Sep. 24, 2023

The burger chain's operators say their cash flow has not kept pace with inflation and the higher royalty on new units and acquisitions will make matters worse. But they say a term change is the bigger problem.

Financing

McDonald's plans to increase its U.S. royalty fees by 25%

By Jonathan Maze on Sep. 22, 2023

The burger giant plans to start charging its franchisees 5% of revenue on new locations or acquisitions of corporate restaurants starting next year in the U.S. and Canada, up from 4%.

Financing

Ruth's Chris acquisition already paying off for Darden

By Joe Guszkowski on Sep. 21, 2023

Adding the steakhouse chain to its portfolio will unlock $35 million in synergies and savings per year for the company, $15 million more than expected.

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