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Quick_Service

Financing

The story of McDonald's strange year, in 2 parts

 By Jonathan Maze on Dec. 08, 2025

The Bottom Line: The quick-service giant’s dichotomous year was illustrated with back-to-back stories on the chain’s successful Grinch meal and its new value-focused franchising standards.

Operations

McDonald's is making value part of its franchise standards

 By Jonathan Maze on Dec. 08, 2025

The fast-food giant, which is trying to bring back lower-income consumers frustrated by menu price inflation, will take additional steps to monitor operators’ work with third-party pricing consultants.

Marketing

McDonald's Grinch Meal is apparently a huge hit

By Jonathan Maze on Dec. 05, 2025

The fast food giant’s latest effort at nostalgia-based marketing is apparently flying out of its restaurants, to the point that locations are already running out of the chain’s Grinch-themed socks.

Financing

Chick-fil-A takes a bold move with its licensed locations

By Jonathan Maze on Dec. 05, 2025

The fast-food chicken chain will shift to a more traditional owner-operator model on college campuses and other non-traditional locations. That will bridge the service gap with its other restaurants.

Financing

Fat Brands, MTY and the limits of restaurant chain consolidation

By Jonathan Maze on Dec. 04, 2025

The Bottom Line: The two companies have spent years amassing large collections of mostly underperforming restaurant chains. The results have been predictable.

Financing

Putting Subway's restaurant closures into context

By Jonathan Maze on Dec. 03, 2025

The Bottom Line: The fast-food sandwich giant has closed 7,600 locations since 2015, more than any other U.S. chain in history, and about the same number of restaurants that Taco Bell currently operates.

Financing

Fat Brands gets another demand for debt payment

By Jonathan Maze on Dec. 03, 2025

The bank that acts as the trustee on the company’s securitized financing has sent an acceleration notice for the last of five shell companies that hold the restaurant operator’s debt.

Workforce

Starbucks agrees to $39M settlement with New York City over labor violations

By Jonathan Maze on Dec. 02, 2025

The coffee shop giant will pay $35.5 million to more than 15,000 workers over scheduling violations and hours reductions. The company said that the payments are about “compliance, not unpaid wages.”

Financing

K&W Cafeteria shuts its doors for good

By Jonathan Maze on Dec. 01, 2025

The 88-year-old cafeteria-style chain, which filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and was later sold to a rival, closed its remaining locations on Monday.

Financing

Subway franchisees say the chain's new loyalty program is too aggressive

By Jonathan Maze on Dec. 01, 2025

The fast-food sandwich giant’s new “Sub Club” program gives a free footlong sandwich after just three same-sized purchases, which is among the industry’s most generous. "Financial suicide."

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