Jonathan Maze

Editor-in-Chief

Articles by
Jonathan Maze

Page 5
Financing

5 reasons the McDonald's-Krispy Kreme partnership failed

The Bottom Line: The relationship between the fast-food giant and the doughnut chain ended before it was even half complete. Here are five reasons why the partnership couldn’t work.

Financing

In Hispanic communities, restaurant traffic has weakened since the election

Data from Black Box Intelligence shows weaker traffic to restaurants in areas with a heavy population of people with a Mexican heritage since the 2024 presidential election.

A Deeper Dive: On this week’s episode of the restaurant finance podcast, the CEO of the fast-food Mexican chain talks about technology, franchising and menu innovation.

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual Mexican chain remains a shockingly good value and its first-quarter sales slowdown was not out of the ordinary.

The fast-food giant and the doughnut chain mutually decided to end their agreement to sell doughnuts inside McDonald’s restaurants after sales and profitability proved disappointing. The partnership will end July 2.

The Bottom Line: The private-equity firm has acquired or invested in 23 restaurant chains over 25 years. Those brands have a mixed track record, according to our analysis of their sales performance.

The Bottom Line: Companies operating more than one restaurant chain are more likely to be selling than they are buying right now.

The Week in Restaurants: In this week’s episode of the restaurant news discussion podcast, Hulk Hogan is trying to buy Hooters, Yum Brands has a new CEO and c-stores are coming for fast food.

Restaurant chains report minimal tariff impact on food costs as domestic sourcing shields operators, but the industry is bracing for potential price increases this summer. Learn what restaurant brands and segments face the greatest risk.

The fast-food burger giant named Valerie Ashbaugh its U.S. chief information officer while Whitney McGinnis will become SVP, commercial products and platforms. The two are trading jobs.

A Deeper Dive: Josh Kern, CEO of multi-brand operator SPB Hospitality, joins the restaurant finance podcast to talk about the company’s brands and their futures.

The Starbucks CEO detailed his “Back to Starbucks” plan to 14,000 cheering leaders of the coffee shop giant in Las Vegas this month. And he said the effort is important far beyond the company.

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