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

For Burger King and its franchisees, a focus on profitability is a long time coming

The Bottom Line: The brand’s massive changes mean it remains a work in progress. But operators say that the focus on profitability has it headed in the right direction.

Financing

Burger King's parent buys the brand's struggling China business for $158M

Restaurant Brands International is acquiring Burger King China from TFI Asia Holdings but plans to find a new local operator.

The Bottom Line: The two burger chains just reported positive same-store sales during a quarter in which rival McDonald’s posted a decline. That hadn’t been done since 2016.

The fast-food chain, which has voice-activated drive-thru ordering in more than 100 restaurants, plans to expand it to 500 by the end of this year. Here’s what the company thinks about it.

The Week in Restaurants: This week’s podcast features a discussion on In-N-Out’s move to Tennessee, the potential sale of Dave’s Hot Chicken, low-income consumers and a big restaurant technology blind spot.

A media report said an investment fund backed by the Qatar royal family is considering a bid for the pizza chain. The stock is up 30% this week.

The Bottom Line: The National Restaurant Association says consumers have “pent-up demand.” But a survey from Kroger’s research arm says consumers want more home-cooked meals.

The chain's "Starbucks Monday" free coffee promotion on the day after the Super Bowl was the most redeemed offer in its history and generated record loyalty signups and strong traffic.

The burger chain was thriving early last quarter, thanks to a Spongebob Squarepants promotion. But same-store sales have declined so far this year amid “industry headwinds.”

She will take over management of the chicken chain’s struggling domestic business in April following the retirement of Tarun Lal.

The drive-thru beverage chain generated strong sales thanks to mobile order, loyalty and advertising. Investors sent its shares up more than 20%.

The Bottom Line: Crumbl, and now Dave’s Hot Chicken, are both reportedly on the market, which will test the ability for fast-growth concepts to get massive valuations.

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