This has been a big year for restaurant acquisitions

Earlier this week, reports said that Jack in the Box was talking to potential buyers as it explores strategic alternatives. And why not? Everybody else is doing it, so they might as well join the party.

Or so it seems. This has been a big year for restaurant mergers and acquisitions, including several take-private deals as private-equity firms and strategic buyers acquire restaurant chains to get bigger.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest and most notable deals involving publicly traded companies this year, and some other deals that could be on their way.

Roark Capital-owned Arby’s was busy this year. It started with the acquisition of Buffalo Wild Wings for $2.9 billion, creating Inspire Brands.

Inspire then turned around and bought …

In one of the more recent deals, Inspire added a third big concept in the drive-in burger chain for $2.3 billion.

Inspire is also believed to be interested in …

The beleaguered pizza chain has been looking for potential buyers since August, after founder John Schnatter plunged the company into crisis with controversial statements a year ago and reportedly a racial slur during a conference call.

And it’s not even the only pizza chain named “Papa” looking for a buyer.

The take-and-bake chain isn’t facing the same issues as Papa John’s, but it is exploring strategic alternatives now that it has its sales moving in a positive direction.

Papa Murphy’s would be the latest in a string of companies that went public from 2014 to 2016 that opted to go private.

The Charlotte-based fast-food chicken chain reached a deal with a group of private-equity firms after closing locations amid weakening same-store sales.

Another chain with weakening sales has also been taken private.

Cava recently completed its acquisition of Zoes, which has suddenly struggled with weakening sales. The deal was backed by former Panera Bread CEO Ron Shaich.

This is yet another newly public company that opted to go private, when it was sold to Rhone Capital earlier this year for $560 million.

And Fogo isn’t the only steak chain to see a sale.

Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group finally unloaded its struggling Sullvan’s chain to Romano's Macaroni Grill, which itself was just a year past a bankruptcy filing.

Del Frisco’s sold Sullivan’s because it just recently bought …

Del Frisco’s bought the parent company of Barcelona Wine Bar and Bartaco for $325 million, hoping to add a growth chain or two to its portfolio.

Last but not least, there was the sale of Bravo Brio Restaurant Group, owner of Bravo Cucina Italiana and Brio Tuscan Grille, to GP Investments, which created Food First Global Restaurants and hired former Olive Garden President Brad Blum to run it.