Financing

How your restaurant sales and profits compare to competitors' and what you can do to improve financial performance

Financing

TGI Fridays to be acquired by U.K. franchisee Hostmore for $220M

The merger will create a 600-unit global company and take Fridays public on the London Stock Exchange.

Financing

Higher prices and more locations drove chain restaurant sales last year

Technomic Top 500: Chain restaurants continued to record strong growth last year, but mostly without higher traffic. And there were wide variations in performance throughout the ranking.

The struggling seafood chain is hoping Chapter 11 protection will help it restructure its debt while keeping its restaurants operating, according to Bloomberg.

The Bottom Line: With word that the chain’s unit volumes took a nosedive last year, its future, and that of its operators, depends on what the brand does next.

The take-and-bake pizza chain saw a steep drop in sales from customers on SNAP benefits, just as weather and consumer concerns hit restaurants.

Was it weather? Or was it prices? Either way, fast-food restaurants have started the year off on the wrong foot, according to traffic data.

The Bottom Line: Diners are paying high prices to eat out at all kinds of restaurants these days. And they’re picking winners and losers.

A Deeper Dive: The chief executive of the minigolf-centric restaurant chain discusses how the chain focuses on higher-quality games and food.

Average unit volume for the cookie chain declined 37% last year even as location count grew 41%. Per-store profits were cut by 58%.

The Bottom Line: As thriving fast-food sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s ponders a potential $8 billion sale, it’s worth comparing the brand to a long-vanquished rival: Quiznos. The difference is unit economics.

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