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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

When it comes to franchisees, is smaller better?

 By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 20, 2023

The Bottom Line: Subway wants bigger operators. Burger King wants smaller operators. Which one is the right strategy? Both.

Financing

The M&A market is showing signs of life

 By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 14, 2023

The Bottom Line: Benihana is apparently on the market, according to reports, helping to signal that the market for restaurants is improving.

Financing

Burger King shows signs of progress in its comeback effort. Can it last?

By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 14, 2023

The Bottom Line: Burger King’s struggles last year were emblematic of the chain’s long history. The brand under Tom Curtis suggests things are turning around. But the biggest challenge is to keep it going.

Financing

Restaurant sales have recovered from the pandemic. So why not jobs?

By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 11, 2023

The Bottom Line: Despite sales growth and other data indicating strong interest in the industry, employment remains stubbornly slow. Here’s why.

Financing

Concern over a California joint-liability proposal unites McDonald's and its franchisees

By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 07, 2023

The Bottom Line: A bill making its way to the governor’s desk would go further than proposed federal joint employer rules in making franchisors liable for their franchisees’ workers. And this one just targets fast-food chains.

Financing

A look at the Top 500 restaurants, in charts

By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 06, 2023

The Bottom Line: These are the restaurant chains with the largest average unit volumes, the brands that have grown AUVs the most since the pandemic, and those that have added—and closed—the most locations.

Financing

In closing its pizza brand, Chipotle ends a weird era

By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 06, 2023

The Bottom Line: The burrito chain is closing its remaining Pizzeria Locale locations, finally putting an end to an era in which it tried putting its fast-casual stamp on different menu segments.

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.

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