Welcome to Restaurant Business’ Week in Review for the week of March 3, 2025.
A group of Subway franchisees is urging its members not to participate in the sandwich chain’s latest $6.99 Footlong deal, saying the company has too long relied on discounts to drive traffic. Subway, for its part, said that last year’s value deal drove “profitable sales on average for franchisees” and noted that it would subsidize operators’ participation in the program. It’s yet another conflict in the ongoing feud between the sandwich chain and the North American Association of Subway Franchisees.
Caribou Coffee’s CEO unexpectedly resigned, the latest major leadership change at parent company Panera Brands. John Butcher did not give a reason for his departure from the Minneapolis-based coffee chain. Panera parent JAB Holding has made a series of changes at Panera over the past two years, and there have been rumors that the company was considering selling off Caribou and sister brand Einstein Bros. Bagels.
Taco Bell has had a very strong start to 2025, with same-store sales up 8% during its first quarter. It’s all the more impressive given the current struggles other fast-food chains are reporting. Plus, as Jonathan Maze reported from the fast-food Mexican chain’s Live Mas Live event this week in Brooklyn, the brand has basically positioned itself as the rock star of fast-food brands, thanks to a robust cycle of menu innovation.
Applebee’s is looking to turn around poor-performing franchised restaurants and is taking control of 47 locations before it plans to refranchise them in a few years. The move is a significant shift for parent Dine Brands, where all of the more than 1,600 Applebee’s units had been run by franchisees. As Senior Editor Joe Guszkowski noted, “Dine’s decision to own some of them again comes at a pivotal moment for the casual-dining brand.”
Add Mexican casual-dining chain On the Border to the growing list of restaurants that have filed for bankruptcy protection this year. The chain has recently closed more than a dozen restaurants and listed its assets and liabilities at between $10 million and $50 million in its filing. It joins casual-dining stalwarts like Red Lobster, TGI Fridays and Buca di Beppo in declaring bankruptcy over the past year.
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