Emerging Brands

Dave’s Hot Chicken is the ultimate parking lot success story

The former late-night hot chicken pop-up has become one of the fastest growing chains in the country, thanks to a simple, popular menu and a lot of social media.

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Financing

TGI Fridays' would-have-been buyer gets a harsh lesson

The Bottom Line: Hostmore, the U.K. franchisee that has backed off its purchase of the casual-dining chain, cannot sell its restaurants for their debt. Welcome to the modern market for restaurant mergers and acquisitions.

Emerging Brands

How Mr. Pickle's is playing the value game with sandwich sizes

The California-born chain known for Dutch Crunch rolls is borrowing a page from Goldilocks and rolling out a mid-sized sandwich that gives guests a more-profitable reason to visit.

Financing

Two companies learn the hard way that running restaurants is difficult

The Bottom Line: Red Lobster and Topgolf were both acquired by companies outside the restaurant industry. Those companies have learned just how competitive the business is.