Pivot, pivot, pivot: How top independents made it through 2020

Longtime chicken executive Andy Howard saw something in the tiny Florida chain more than five years ago. It is now one of the fastest growing concepts in the country.

The Bottom Line: Subway and Burger King have staked their claims as value leaders in their respective segments. Recent events have highlighted the difficulties of that position.

Squeezed between two bad possibilities, the industry negotiated what proponents say is an acceptable middle-ground compromise.