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The Bottom Line

Jonathan Maze The Bottom Line

Restaurant Business Executive Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze is a longtime industry journalist who writes about restaurant finance, mergers and acquisitions and the economy, with a particular focus on quick-service restaurants. He writes daily about the factors influencing the operating environment, including labor and food costs and various industry trends such as technology and delivery.

Jonathan has been widely quoted in media publications such as the New York Times and the Washington Post and has appeared on CNBC, Yahoo Finance and NPR. He writes a weekly finance-focused newsletter for Restaurant Business, The Bottom Line, and is the host of the weekly podcast “A Deeper Dive.”

Financing

Cava, Subway and Darden rescue a boring M&A market

 By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 27, 2023

The Bottom Line: Restaurant M&A has been slow for the past year and a half thanks to inflation and interest rates. Could these deals change its course?

Financing

Why Gen Restaurant Group may be the next Kura Sushi

 By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 23, 2023

The Bottom Line: The operator of Gen Korean BBQ will follow the successful Cava IPO with a small offering expected to raise $33 million. But investors have a surprising appetite for such concepts, which they demonstrated with Kura.

Financing

Ron Shaich, a Wall Street critic as a CEO, returns as an investor

By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 20, 2023

The Bottom Line: The former CEO of Panera Bread hammered Wall Street for its short-sightedness after his company was sold. His comments were different following the Cava Group IPO last week.

Financing

Will Cava Group be the next Chipotle or the next Noodles & Co.?

By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 16, 2023

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual Mediterranean chain is the latest to draw enthusiasm from investors hoping they’ve found a company that could come close to Chipotle’s return.

Financing

Why student loan repayments may hit restaurants

By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 16, 2023

The Bottom Line: Americans will soon start repaying their student loans again. That could sap some energy out of restaurant sales.

Financing

Would Subway be better off going public?

By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 12, 2023

The Bottom Line: The sandwich chain is likely to sell to a private-equity firm that will load the company up with debt. An IPO could fetch a higher valuation. So why is it not taking that route?

Financing

The Culture Wars come for Chick-fil-A and Cracker Barrel

By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 12, 2023

The Bottom Line: Typically, political blowups like the type the two chains felt recently do not translate into sales declines. But recent events may have changed that equation.

Financing

Restaurants join the layoff party

By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 08, 2023

The Bottom Line: Chipotle’s corporate layoffs follow actions by McDonald’s and Wendy’s, though the companies insist it’s not all about any looming recession.

Financing

These are the fast-food chains doing best at beating inflation

By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 08, 2023

The Bottom Line: Among the biggest limited-service chains, Raising Cane’s and Chick-fil-A have performed best over the past decade at growing unit volumes when adjusted for inflation.

Financing

At Subway, a very public auction draws to a close

By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 06, 2023

The Bottom Line: The company has reportedly narrowed its list of buyers and the price tag is down. But the deal is taking a while to get over the finish line, and here’s why.

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