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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

Among restaurant chains, easy takeout won during the pandemic

 By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 13, 2020

RB’s The Bottom Line looks at the quarantine’s winners and losers last quarter and finds some parallels.

Financing

Beware the coming income cliff

 By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 10, 2020

Extra unemployment insurance has helped the restaurant industry, says RB’s The Bottom Line. Now it’s slated to end.

Financing

Steak ‘n Shake’s owner compares himself to Andrew Carnegie

By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 09, 2020

Biglari Holdings CEO reportedly compares himself to 19th century industrialists and talks about the pandemic’s impact on his burger chain, says RB’s The Bottom Line.

Financing

Is Chick-fil-A the best franchise investment?

By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 08, 2020

RB’s The Bottom Line examines the benefits and drawbacks of getting into the hottest chicken concept in the country.

Financing

Why Subway’s latest $5 Footlong offer didn’t work

By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 06, 2020

The promotion didn’t generate needed traffic and operator participation was weak, which doomed the strategy, says RB’s The Bottom Line.

Financing

NPC International’s bankruptcy should be a wake-up call for franchises

By Jonathan Maze on Jul. 01, 2020

The big Pizza Hut and Wendy’s operator had too much debt. But its capital structure was far from unique, says RB’s The Bottom Line.

Financing

For Aurify Brands, Le Pain Quotidien was too good a brand to pass up

By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 30, 2020

The New York-based operator has completed its deal for the chain’s U.S. market and plans to reopen more than 40 locations, says RB’s The Bottom Line.

Financing

An activist takes Potbelly to task over its stock performance

By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 29, 2020

180 Degree Capital called the company’s performance “unacceptable” even with the pandemic, says RB’s The Bottom Line.

Financing

Chuck E. Cheese faced more than 50 landlord lawsuits

By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 26, 2020

CEC Entertainment said it filed for bankruptcy protection to stop those actions. RB’s The Bottom Line explains why this might be a sign of things to come.

Financing

Why Checkers is facing a restructuring

By Jonathan Maze on Jun. 25, 2020

The drive-thru restaurant chain may have been built for a pandemic, but it wasn’t ready for one, says RB’s The Bottom Line.

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