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Financing

In Hooters, another example of private-equity excess

The Bottom Line: The casual-dining chain’s owners loaded the company up with too much debt coming out of the pandemic. The result was a predictable bankruptcy.

Technology

The restaurant disruptors that weren't

Tech Check: Ghost kitchens, Zume Pizza, Amazon Restaurants: They were supposed to transform the industry, but didn't quite catch on. Here's why.

The Bottom Line: The drugmaker Eli Lilly this week said that tests of its GLP-1 pill could work just as well as injectable drugs like Ozempic. That could be huge, for the medication and for restaurants.

America’s first breastaurant chain started as a joke and then became a juggernaut. Now, forced into bankruptcy by debt, inflation and some questionable decisions, it is hoping for a second chance, back where it all began.

Tech Check: Restaurants clearly want to make their digital customers feel seen, judging by conversations at the Restaurant Leadership Conference this week. It’s what consumers say they want, too, but will it work?

The leader of the fast-food chain was skeptical of the technology when she joined the company last year. Now she hopes to bring it chainwide.

The Bottom Line: Restaurant chains like &pizza and MOD Pizza continue to turn to franchising to reinvigorate growth or save dying concepts. But there are huge disadvantages when consumers are cutting back.

The Bottom Line: Restaurant customers shifted away from more traditional concepts to those they felt provided better quality and service. Was this brought on by economic challenges or is it part of a long-term industry reconfiguration?

Behind the Menu: The Dallas-based bakery cafe offers fresh takes on brunch classics along with original creations, all with a touch of French flair.

It's a good time for artisan croissants, pan dulce and bombolone. Bakery concepts big and small see plenty of opportunity for growth.

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