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

How much is it worth to keep your competition at bay?

The Bottom Line: The apparent bidding war between Dutch Bros and 7 Brew over closed Salad and Go sites raises questions about beating your competition to the expansion punch.

Financing

Subway to its franchisees: Extend hours, and don't close stores

The fast-food sandwich giant is adding a new process for operators who want to close stores as it seeks to slow its domestic decline. It is also pushing franchisees to stay open late.

The two drive-thru beverage chains are in a legal battle over the shuttered shops in bankruptcy court.

The Bottom Line: This week’s edition of the weekly restaurant finance newsletter looks at the wide gap between Burger King and its biggest competitors.

The Week in Restaurants: This week’s episode of the weekly restaurant news discussion podcast looks at Salad and Go’s closure, McDonald’s tough quarter, and an Endless Shrimp update.

The fast-food giant's sales have taken a big hit, thanks to closures and steep traffic declines. But CEO Bob Wright believes the company can turn things around.

The Bottom Line: The drive-thru beverage chain is paying more than $100 million to get its hands on up to 65 closed locations of the drive-thru salad chain. That’s a surprisingly successful deal for a bankrupt company.

The fast-food chain’s same-store sales easily outdistanced competitors, thanks to operations improvements and marketing. But the company believes it has plenty left in the tank.

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual burger chain has had guidance challenges this year and now has a reported investment from Starboard Value. Yet its sales have held up.

A Deeper Dive: This week’s episode of the restaurant finance podcast looks at why the big distributor is buying Restaurant Depot and how independent operators are faring.

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual rotisserie chicken chain is down to just about six locations in five states. Its decline is due to everything from poor management to Costco.

The fast-food giant described a quarter that was riddled with problems that turned off its most loyal customers and damaged traffic. And it may have work to do with its franchisees ahead of a big remodel.

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