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On Sweetgreen's really tough year

The Week in Restaurants: This week’s episode of the restaurant news discussion podcast looks at challenges in the fast-casual sector, Starbucks’ holiday sales and takeaways from RFDC. By Jonathan Maze and Lisa Jennings on Nov. 14, 2025

What is going on this year at Sweetgreen?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast The Week in Restaurants examines the challenges at the fast-casual salad chain, which has seen sales fall steeply this year, including an 11.7% decline in traffic last quarter.

We also look back at the Restaurant Finance and Development Conference and some of our takeaways from the event. 

In addition, Starbucks is generating record holiday sales despite a strike at a few of its locations. 

Also, Senior Technology Editor Joe Guszkowski talks about Wonder’s latest acquisition. 

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts. 

Subscribe on Spotify.

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Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze is a longtime industry journalist who writes about restaurant finance, mergers and acquisitions and the economy, with a particular focus on quick-service restaurants.
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