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Biography

Jonathan Maze

Editor-in-Chief

 Contact Jonathan

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. He writes daily about the factors influencing the operating environment, including labor and food costs and various industry trends such as technology and delivery.

Jonathan has been widely quoted in media publications such as the New York Times and the Washington Post and has appeared on CNBC, Yahoo Finance and NPR. He writes a weekly finance-focused newsletter for Restaurant Business, The Bottom Line, and is the host of the weekly podcast “A Deeper Dive.”

Articles by
Jonathan Maze

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Financing

Fat Brands lenders want Andy Wiederhorn suspended

A group of the fast-food operator’s bondholders want the company’s CEO suspended after a stock sale involving Twin Peaks. They also questioned the executive’s control over the company.

Financing

Inside the Starbucks turnaround

The coffee shop giant has spent the past 18 months returning to its roots as a coffee shop where customers want to stay. Now the company plans to go on offense.

Financing

How will Chipotle lift itself out of its sales slump?

The Week in Restaurants: This week’s episode of the weekly restaurant news discussion podcast looks at the fast-casual burrito chain’s tough year, Subway’s franchisee bankruptcy and Yum Brands.

Financing

Chipotle and Taco Bell had very different years in 2025

The Bottom Line: The two Mexican chains have long been among the industry’s most consistent performers. But that changed last year, at least for one of them.

Financing

Why did Yum Brands buy Habit Burger?

The Bottom Line: Yum Brands bought Habit Burger in 2020 with the intention to grow the brand. The company does not even mention the brand in its earnings calls.

Financing

How convenience stores and supermarkets are gunning for restaurants

A Deeper Dive: This week’s episode of the restaurant finance podcast looks at the retail sector and its push into prepared food. Also, what restaurants can learn from the closure of some of Amazon’s retail shops.

Financing

Despite a tough market, Taco Bell is running on all cylinders

The fast-food Mexican chain reported 7% same-store sales growth last year. The key metric has declined just one quarter over the past decade.

Financing

Pizza Hut is closing 250 U.S. restaurants

Parent company Yum Brands is still conducting a strategic review of its struggling fast-food pizza chain but plans investments in marketing early this year as part of an agreement with franchisees.

Financing

Why are so many big companies using merchant cash advances?

The Bottom Line: Two large franchisees blamed merchant cash advances on their recent bankruptcy filings and Fat Brands used it at least once. But the funds are expensive and dangerous.

Financing

McDonald's has a $73B impact on the U.S. economy

The fast-food giant also supports 1 million jobs, including 740,000 people who work in the chain's restaurants, according to a study the company commissioned by Oxford Economics.

Leadership

Scott Drake named CEO of Chuck E. Cheese owner CEC Entertainment

David McKillips, who had led the company for six years, is stepping down. Drake had been the company’s chief financial officer.

Financing

Burger King completes the sale of a majority stake in its China business

Parent company Restaurant Brands International has sold an 83% stake in Burger King China to CPE for $350 million, more than double what the fast-food operator paid for the business last year.

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