Jonathan Maze
@jonathandmaze.bsky.social
Editor-in-Chief of Restaurant Business. I have a blog and a podcast and everything.
McDonald’s same-store sales fell 3.6% in the U.S. amid continued economic uncertainty.
May 1, 2025 at 12:15 PM
McDonald’s same-store sales fell 3.6% in the U.S. amid continued economic uncertainty.
Here is your Starbucks earnings call BINGO card for those of you partaking in this event.
April 29, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Here is your Starbucks earnings call BINGO card for those of you partaking in this event.
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...
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...
April 25, 2025 at 8:09 PM
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...
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...
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.
April 23, 2025 at 10:00 PM
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.
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...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...
April 23, 2025 at 7:51 PM
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...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...
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
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
April 16, 2025 at 8:24 PM
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
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
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...
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/ch...
April 1, 2025 at 12:33 PM
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...
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/ch...
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.
April 1, 2025 at 12:12 PM
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.
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...
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/5...
March 17, 2025 at 9:24 PM
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...
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/5...
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.)
March 13, 2025 at 12:35 AM
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.)
Thinking quite a bit about this passage. This is from our story on the Applebee's-IHOP combination. The menu was so complicated that half of the employees quit. Half!
I think if you lose that many people, you're doing it wrong. But that's just me.
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/i...
I think if you lose that many people, you're doing it wrong. But that's just me.
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/i...
March 10, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Thinking quite a bit about this passage. This is from our story on the Applebee's-IHOP combination. The menu was so complicated that half of the employees quit. Half!
I think if you lose that many people, you're doing it wrong. But that's just me.
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/i...
I think if you lose that many people, you're doing it wrong. But that's just me.
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/i...
Got this video on Steak n Shake and beef tallow to under a minute so it goes up on Bluesky.
January 17, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Got this video on Steak n Shake and beef tallow to under a minute so it goes up on Bluesky.
Made beef bourguignon this evening for the first time. I relish any opportunity to cook with wine because then I get to drink some.
January 12, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Made beef bourguignon this evening for the first time. I relish any opportunity to cook with wine because then I get to drink some.
Snowy flight out of MSP this morning. Never flew out in a snowstorm before.
December 19, 2024 at 1:31 PM
Snowy flight out of MSP this morning. Never flew out in a snowstorm before.
This week's podcast is up and features a discussion with Technomic's David Henkes on how to pick winners and losers among emerging restaurant chains. It's not easy. Just ask Baja Fresh, which 20 years ago was bigger than Chipotle.
open.spotify.com/episode/4YEo...
open.spotify.com/episode/4YEo...
December 11, 2024 at 5:56 PM
This week's podcast is up and features a discussion with Technomic's David Henkes on how to pick winners and losers among emerging restaurant chains. It's not easy. Just ask Baja Fresh, which 20 years ago was bigger than Chipotle.
open.spotify.com/episode/4YEo...
open.spotify.com/episode/4YEo...
Meanwhile, Pizza Hut is debuting a new prototype in Plano, Texas, that looks an awful lot like a regular fast-food restaurant complete with kiosks, drive-thrus and mobile order pickup shelves.
December 3, 2024 at 1:32 PM
Meanwhile, Pizza Hut is debuting a new prototype in Plano, Texas, that looks an awful lot like a regular fast-food restaurant complete with kiosks, drive-thrus and mobile order pickup shelves.
Domino's is partnering with Netflix's Squid Game: The Experience in NYC. People with the lowest score in said game will get free Emergency Pizza for a year.
Domino's also kicking off Squid Game TV spots in which its deliveries rescue players from certain doom.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM2D...
Domino's also kicking off Squid Game TV spots in which its deliveries rescue players from certain doom.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM2D...
December 3, 2024 at 1:30 PM
Domino's is partnering with Netflix's Squid Game: The Experience in NYC. People with the lowest score in said game will get free Emergency Pizza for a year.
Domino's also kicking off Squid Game TV spots in which its deliveries rescue players from certain doom.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM2D...
Domino's also kicking off Squid Game TV spots in which its deliveries rescue players from certain doom.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM2D...
Taco Bell is turning some select drive-thrus into giant, glorified photo booths, starting today at a location in Los Angeles. Others in Ohio, Texas, Tennessee and Florida will enable loyalty members to take a bunch of pictures of themselves in their cars while fetching a Crunchwrap.
December 3, 2024 at 1:25 PM
Taco Bell is turning some select drive-thrus into giant, glorified photo booths, starting today at a location in Los Angeles. Others in Ohio, Texas, Tennessee and Florida will enable loyalty members to take a bunch of pictures of themselves in their cars while fetching a Crunchwrap.
The eldest decorated the tree with a Marco’s Pizza coupon.
December 1, 2024 at 6:31 PM
The eldest decorated the tree with a Marco’s Pizza coupon.
Did a Turkey Trot yesterday and they apparently had a bell you can ring if you need public relations so I didn’t ring it.
November 29, 2024 at 1:06 PM
Did a Turkey Trot yesterday and they apparently had a bell you can ring if you need public relations so I didn’t ring it.
Picking up my Thanksgiving order from Breadsmith, which I guess makes this a bread line.
November 27, 2024 at 8:05 PM
Picking up my Thanksgiving order from Breadsmith, which I guess makes this a bread line.
Everyone is dipping, apparently. Restaurant operators are unleashing a host of dippable items on menus, including chains like Panera Bread, PopUp Bagels, Subway, etc.
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/food/diners-...
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/food/diners-...
November 26, 2024 at 1:26 PM
Everyone is dipping, apparently. Restaurant operators are unleashing a host of dippable items on menus, including chains like Panera Bread, PopUp Bagels, Subway, etc.
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/food/diners-...
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/food/diners-...
It's podcast day. This week I spoke with Church's Texas Chicken CEO Joe Guith on chicken recipes, remodels, technology and the company's growth plans. You can find the podcast here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
November 20, 2024 at 9:10 PM
It's podcast day. This week I spoke with Church's Texas Chicken CEO Joe Guith on chicken recipes, remodels, technology and the company's growth plans. You can find the podcast here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
In 2002, Baja Fresh was bigger than Chipotle. That year, it was sold to Wendy's. It is no longer bigger than Chipotle.
The story of Baja Fresh demonstrates that it's not just PE firms that can mess up a good thing.
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/wh...
The story of Baja Fresh demonstrates that it's not just PE firms that can mess up a good thing.
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/wh...
November 20, 2024 at 8:57 PM
In 2002, Baja Fresh was bigger than Chipotle. That year, it was sold to Wendy's. It is no longer bigger than Chipotle.
The story of Baja Fresh demonstrates that it's not just PE firms that can mess up a good thing.
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/wh...
The story of Baja Fresh demonstrates that it's not just PE firms that can mess up a good thing.
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/wh...
I wrote more about the Jersey Mike's sale to Blackstone. The private-equity group has been all over restaurant franchises this year, between this, an investment in 7 Brew and its $2 billion acquisition of Tropical Smoothie.
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/ju...
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/ju...
November 20, 2024 at 4:34 PM
I wrote more about the Jersey Mike's sale to Blackstone. The private-equity group has been all over restaurant franchises this year, between this, an investment in 7 Brew and its $2 billion acquisition of Tropical Smoothie.
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/ju...
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/ju...