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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

None of these chains grew sales more than 2% last year outside of Whataburger (9%), In-N-Out (11.5%) and Culver's (15.5%).

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

The 10 largest U.S. burger chains and 2024 system sales, per Technomic. 1. McDonald's: $53.4B 2. Wendy's: $12.6B 3. Burger King: $11B 4. Sonic: $5.4B 5. Jack in the Box: $4.4B 6. Whataburger: $4.1B 7. Culver's: $3.8B 8. In-N-Out: $2.4B 9. Five Guys: $2.3B 10. Hardee's: $1.8B

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Restaurant Brands International feeling the effects of 1Q. Burger King US same-store sales: -1.1%. Tim Hortons global: 0.1%. Popeyes US: -4% Firehouse global: 0.6%. Burger King outperforms McDonald’s and Wendy’s but that ain’t saying much.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Meanwhile, DoorDash keeps making deals. The third-party delivery aggregator is buying not one but two companies today: Deliveroo and the reservations platform SevenRooms. www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/d...

restaurantbusinessonline.com

DoorDash to acquire Deliveroo and reservations firm SevenRooms

The two deals will expand the delivery company’s footprint around the world and into restaurants’ on-premise business.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Wendy's updated its outlook, saying it now expects global systemwide sales to be down 2% to flat. Company basing that change on pullback in consumer demand. "Our updated outlook assumes the current consumer environment persists."

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Wendy's talks about a "weaker than expected consumer environment" in March, which is pretty much the same thing just about every industry chief executive has said this earnings season.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Restaurants added 16,600 jobs in April. Still employ 12.3 million. Economy added 177k jobs, unemployment at 4.2%.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

McDonald's earnings call summary: Consumer sentiment is bad; Low-income consumers fleeing restaurants; So are middle-income consumers; People cutting out breakfast; But Minecraft! And chicken, then Snack Wraps; Beverages will be big; US should rethink some value offers; $MCD

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

McDonald’s same-store sales fell 3.6% in the U.S. amid continued economic uncertainty.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Restaurant chains that have reported negative same-store sales this earnings season: Starbucks Chipotle(!) KFC Pizza Hut Habit Domino's Chains with positive comps: Chili's Taco Bell Chili's and Taco Bell are doing REALLY well. So you're either down or killing it.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Starbucks earnings call summary: Traffic stabilizing from non-loyal customers; Labor improvements work; New equipment not a panacea; Company redesigning prototype to lower costs; Fewer discount transactions good; Working on tariffs; China improving; EPS not a great indicator of comeback results.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Here is your Starbucks earnings call BINGO card for those of you partaking in this event.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

An average Subway generates just $490k/year/store, which just isn't that much. Firehouse and Jimmy John's do twice that. Jersey Mike's does $1.3M. Of course it's closing locations.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Let's talk Subway .. Subway closed another 600+ locations last year. It now operates 19,500 restaurants in the U.S. It has closed 7,600 restaurants since 2015, which is the same number that Taco Bell operates in the U.S. restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/su...

restaurantbusinessonline.com

Subway closed more restaurants last year

The sandwich giant closed more than 600 U.S. locations in 2024, according to the company’s franchise disclosure documents. It has fewer

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Only restaurant chain in America that appears to be doing well right now is Chili's.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Starbucks is still losing customers more than one year after its problems began. U.S. same-store sales down 2% with a 4% decline in transactions.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Domino's saying that its Parmesan Stuffed Crust pizza was "arguably" the best new product introduction in its history, but it was introduced too late in the quarter to have a "meaningful" impact on Q1 sales.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

If you ever think your job is useless, remember there is a person who asks analysts to keep to just one question only during earnings calls.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

No other chain is that dominant in its competitive set, except for the perpetually underappreciated Panda Express. Everybody else has at least some chain taking share and making life annoying. Customers either go to Taco Bell, or they get their Mexican chain fare from fast-casual brands.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

So I wrote about the fast-food Mexican sector in light of the potential sale of Del Taco. Basically, people go to Taco Bell when they want cheap Mexican food, and nowhere else. It's 16x as big as the nearest competitor. www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/fa...

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

We have a Chapter 33 ... Bertucci's, which filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and again in 2022, has declared Chapter 11 a third time in 2025. www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/be...

restaurantbusinessonline.com

Bertucci's files for bankruptcy for the third time

The Italian casual-dining chain has been shrinking for years. It previously restructured in 2018 and 2022.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Jack in the Box wants to sell Del Taco just three years after buying the chain. The company wants to focus on its core brand again.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

This week's podcast features Sbarro CEO David Karam, talking about how the chain has adapted to life outside of the mall. Fascinating stuff providing all kinds of lessons for operators. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Quite a few someones outpizza the hut.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

The 10 largest U.S. pizza chains by system sales, per @technomic. Domino's: $9.5B Pizza Hut: $5.6B Little Caesars: $4.4B Papa Johns: $3.7B Marco's Pizza: $1.1B Papa Murphy's: $728M MOD Pizza: $583M Jet's Pizza: $550M Hungry Howie's: $436M Round Table Pizza: $416M

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

True story: My team dared me to use the word “waterfalls” during my session today. The second one was just me trying to get them to laugh on stage.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

McDonald's highest-volume restaurant generates more revenue than Chick-fil-A's highest-volume restaurant ($19.7m v. $19.3m). But McDonald's lowest-volume restaurant generates a lot less revenue than Chick-fil-A's. Total AUVs: McDonald's: $4m Chick-fil-A: $7.5m

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

The 10 largest restaurant chains in the U.S., per Technomic: McDonald's: $54.5B sales 2024 Starbucks: $31.5B Chick-fil-A: $22.7B Taco Bell: $16.2B Wendy's: $12.6B Dunkin': $12.5B Chipotle: $11.3B Burger King: $11B Subway: $9.5B Domino's: $9.5B

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Chipotle Mexican Grill is now the 7th largest restaurant chain in the U.S. and is bigger than both Burger King and Subway.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

Weird vibes coming out of Jack in the Box right now.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

Some ugly #restaurant #stocks this morning: Some restaurant stocks this morning: Dutch Bros: -14% Sweetgreen: -13% Fat Brands: -10% Shake Shack: -11% Bloomin' Brands: -10% Brinker, Jack in the Box, Dine Brands: -8%

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

All restaurant stocks are down this morning, a change from yesterday when a few big names like McDonald's and Yum Brands avoided the bloodbath.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

Restaurants and bars added 29,800 jobs in March, a healthy addition after a couple of weak hiring months. Economy added 228k jobs last month. Unemployment rate unchanged at 4.2%.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Notable restaurant market declines today: Sweetgreen: -14% Chili's owner Brinker Intl.: -13% Cracker Barrel: -11% Shake Shack: -12% Starbucks: -11% Denny's: -9% Noodles: -8% S&P 500 Restaurant Index down 3%. Some big names with cheap menus (McDonald's, RBI, Yum Brands, Domino's) are up.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

New: Chick-fil-A's system sales last year grew just 5.4%, a very un-Chick-fil-A-like year for them. They hadn't even had a rate of growth slower than 10% since 2013. It still makes $9 million+ per stand-alone location and $7.5 million overall. But the chain is apparently human.

restaurantbusinessonline.com

Chick-fil-A's sales growth slowed last year

U.S. system sales grew just 5.4% in 2024 as the fast-food chicken sandwich chain’s volumes at standalone units dropped. It was the first

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

So, per KBRA, the Hooters of America bankruptcy could trigger a "manager termination event" in its securitization, which means the company would quickly lose control over the assets used to secure its debt. This hadn't happened in 15 years before Fridays. Now it may happen again. (It hasn't yet)

tmcnet.com

KBRA Comments on Hooters of America, LLC Chapter 11 Bankruptcy FilingKBRA Comments on Hooters of America, LLC Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing

KBRA Comments on Hooters of America, LLC Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Guess I'm going to have this song in my head all day.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Chuck E. Cheese operates in an "eatertainment" sector that basically sucks right now. But it's done all the right things post-bankruptcy. And it can't get financing for a bond issue. If restaurants can't get financing that's a whole new level of problems. Bankruptcies will keep coming. /end

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

In essence, tariff threats are expected to drive up prices, which is hurting consumer sentiment at a time when they're already frustrated by high prices. And that is spooking investors when it comes to consumer companies, for probably obvious reasons. But that means financing is getting tougher. 2/3

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

So while the Hooters bankruptcy filing is big, I'm probably more concerned about news from Bloomberg over the weekend that Chuck E. Cheese is having problems getting investors interested in its $660M bond issue.1/3 www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/ch...

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

So this is going to come as a complete shock to you folks but the bankrupt Hooters of America has a lot of debt and it's causing problems. Also that interest rate.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

I have to acknowledge that decades of enduring ridiculous April Fools press releases have made me dread this day largely because I have no idea what's true or what is not. Which makes this piece by @flourgrrrl.bsky.social rather refreshing ...

restaurantbusinessonline.com

Restaurants go easy on the fooling this April 1

Marketing Bites: With one fast-food chain admitting “trust issues are real,” this year’s April Fools’ Day pranks are on the mild

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Bankruptcy filings by casual-dining chains over the last 10 months or so: Red Lobster TGI Fridays Buca di Beppo On the Border Bar Louie (Chapter 22) Now Hooters.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

This story is our second in a series on the restaurant industry five years after COVID. @flourgrrrl.bsky.social interviewed some restaurant operators she spoke with in 2020. One of them is, apparently, a pig farmer now. www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/5...

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Thinking about this today: Taco Bell, which is on pace to generate 8% same-store sales this quarter, is doing so after many of its restaurants gave up breakfast last year. So either its other dayparts are just killing it or its breakfast just didn't do anything. Probably both.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Another tough day on the stock markets. Only McDonald's, Wendy's and, you guessed it, Fat Brands are up today so far.

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Tried Wendy’s Thin Mints Frosty’s alongside McDonald’s Shamrock Shake for science. The shake is good if you love mint. Wendy’s is good if you want to say you had something minty but do not like mint. (I’m part of the latter group.)

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

"We have the ability to do both." Brian Niccol at Starbucks annual meeting saying that the company has the ability to serve both on-the-go customers and those who want to stay a while. "We just need to bring order to how we do it."

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Jonathan Maze @jonathandmaze.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Grocery prices were flat last month while restaurant prices rose 0.4%. Over the past year, restaurant prices were up 3.7%, compared with 1.9% at grocers. Limited-service restaurants up 3.5% yoy. Full-service restaurants 3.7%.

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