This is from the weekly restaurant finance newsletter The Bottom Line. To get this in your inbox every Monday morning, click here.
We’ve been busy writing about the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, and like every other year there are winners and losers. Last week, we wrote about the shifting market in the burger business, as chains like Shake Shack and Culver’s grab share from brands like Wendy’s and Sonic.
But it’s also worth pointing a few things out about Culver’s more specifically. Culver’s system sales grew 14.2% last year. The average burger chain barely squeezed out an increase, up 0.1%.
Only the much smaller Shake Shack grew more last year.
The chain is now a Top 25 restaurant brand after quietly growing in the teens pretty much every year, in a manner akin to Chick-fil-A for so long. Culver’s is now within striking distance of some of the very biggest chains in the U.S. Sometime over the next couple of years, for instance, it will likely surpass Sonic, the fourth-largest burger chain.
Culver’s in many ways is like Chick-fil-A but for burgers. Its owners are in their stores, interacting with employees and customers. Its restaurants look and feel amazing. It may not be the fastest chain in the universe, but it doesn’t have to be because customers are willing to wait.
Nor did the chain explode onto the scene with a bunch of restaurants all at once. It grew steadily, surely, while keeping its eye on the ultimate prize: Keeping the restaurants in good shape and the food delicious. And it just keeps winning as a result.
This week’s financial news
This lawsuit filed against Pizza Hut by a franchisee is insane. Basically, the operator is arguing that it was better off manually dealing with delivery company tablet hell.
Speaking of pizza, it’s not doing all that well.
Inspire Brands is going public, something it was built for. But the world is different now.
Meanwhile, Dunkin’ is going to Canada, which should be interesting because Tim Hortons is still there.
Jack in the Box is again looking for a CEO, because its year wasn’t weird enough.
In the latest episode in the Fat Brands saga, the company sued a lender over a refinancing done four days before it filed for bankruptcy.
Wendy’s sales fell again last quarter. But the company’s comeback could probably use a bigger financial boost.
I wonder of McDonald’s Park will have a drive-thru …
Number of the week
Culver’s is gaining a lot of market share in the burger business, as is Shake Shack.
Quote of the week
“Where has Jack struggled? I think it’s across the board. I don’t think there’s any one area.” -Jack in the Box Interim CEO Mark King. I have to say I do look forward to King being back in the restaurant business.
On the blog
I wrote about Wendy’s, Jack in the Box and Inspire Brands. Check out all my blog posts at The Bottom Line.
On the podcasts
On A Deeper Dive I spoke with the founders of Tso Chinese Takeout and Delivery and it was excellent. On The Week in Restaurants I ranted about the economy and other stuff.
For questions, comments or story ideas, send me an email at jonathan.maze@informa.com. And follow me on Twitter at @jonathanmaze. And also LinkedIn. And TikTok.