Financing

How your restaurant sales and profits compare to competitors' and what you can do to improve financial performance

Financing

This isn't your father's fast-food business

Rather than try to cater to everybody, quick-service restaurant chains are increasingly specializing based on menu and service style. The result is a crop of innovative chains serving drive-thru salads or just chicken fingers.

Financing

Red Lobster could close more than 100 additional restaurants if it can't renegotiate leases

The 570-unit seafood chain already closed nearly 100 locations before filing for bankruptcy in May. But it may have to close others if it can't get better terms on lease payments.

The Bottom Line: The fast-food giant took the extraordinary step of publicizing average prices this week. It was speaking to its less-frequent customers, who are a lot less likely to say the chain is a good value.

The owner of two fast-casual chains cited its liquidity challenges as it replaced its chairman, gave top executives incentives to stick around and sought assistance from its lenders.

A Deeper Dive: Christine Barone, CEO of the drive-thru beverage chain, joins the podcast to talk about real estate, boba tea and changing drink habits.

Seeking to combat what it calls "inaccurate" information, the company issued a rare comment featuring the average cost of a Big Mac and other menu items. And no, prices have not doubled since 2019.

The whole business securitization Roark Capital is using to finance its acquisition of the sandwich giant is reportedly the largest on record.

The Bottom Line: Wingstop (again) and Texas Roadhouse (also again) were among the big winners last quarter, while the fast-food value proposition is among the losers.

Nearly 80% of Americans now view fast food as a “luxury” as rising restaurant menu prices force most of them to cut back on dining out.

Reality Check: The casual dining giant sold Red Lobster in a cloud of controversy a decade ago. Here's why a return to the fold may not be as crazy as it sounds.

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