Continue to Site >>>

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

McDonald's works to keep pace with its customers' quality demands

 By Jonathan Maze on Jan. 31, 2024

The Bottom Line: The fast-food giant’s improvement to its burgers is the latest menu upgrade in a bid to keep up with a competitive restaurant market.

Financing

Food costs have come down, but they remain high

 By Jonathan Maze on Jan. 30, 2024

The Bottom Line: Falling food costs give operators more options for dealing with traffic. But not all prices are falling. And the deflation could help retailers a lot more than restaurants.

Financing

Here's what we're looking for this earnings season

By Jonathan Maze on Jan. 26, 2024

The Bottom Line: Is Starbucks really hurting? How did the year start with all that bad weather? Here is what we will be listening for once restaurant chains start reporting earnings next week.

Financing

Subway's discounting strategy runs into the California wage hike

By Jonathan Maze on Jan. 25, 2024

The Bottom Line: The company recently started requiring franchisees to accept digital coupons. That rule comes just four months before a large swath of its system starts paying a $20 wage. Some operators want the coupons turned off.

Financing

When new technology can be a mixed blessing

By Jonathan Maze on Jan. 24, 2024

The Bottom Line: Restaurant chains have been unleashing a torrent of new technologies on their stores over the past few years. This effort can sometimes have unforeseen consequences.

Financing

Just like that, Burger King becomes a major operator of its own restaurants

By Jonathan Maze on Jan. 23, 2024

The Bottom Line: Even before the fast-food burger chain bought its largest franchisee, it was buying up swaths of restaurants around the country. That's a major shift for the brand.

Financing

Red Lobster has struggled since Darden sold the chain

By Jonathan Maze on Jan. 18, 2024

The Bottom Line: Olive Garden has easily outperformed its former sister chain over the past decade. Now the seafood concept is on the market.

Financing

With the Carrols deal, Burger King signals that bigger is not better

By Jonathan Maze on Jan. 17, 2024

The Bottom Line: In acquiring its largest franchisee, the fast-food chain more than tripled its investment in its revitalization and fundamentally altered its ownership structure.

Financing

Fast-food inflation remains elevated, with California's wage hike looming

By Jonathan Maze on Jan. 12, 2024

The Bottom Line: Concern is already heightened about the fast-food price-value equation. What will happen come April when the country’s largest dining-out market raises the sector’s wages?

Financing

Get your executives into the stores more often

By Jonathan Maze on Jan. 10, 2024

The Bottom Line: Starbucks and now Dutch Bros are giving some key executives barista training and having them work in the field. That should become standard.

  • Page 4