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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Beverage

Starbucks jumps on the energy drink bandwagon

The Seattle-based coffee shop chain, eager to reverse a sales decline, this week introduced a line of energy drinks, hoping to lure more younger customers to its restaurants.

Financing

The eatertainment business shows signs of wear

The Bottom Line: The food-and-games concept Chicago WhirlyBall filed for bankruptcy last week as companies like Dave & Buster’s and TopGolf show sales weakness.

River Subs LLC, a large operator out of San Antonio, is seeking Chapter 11 debt protection after losing a nearly $3 million judgment in a wrongful death lawsuit.

The Bottom Line: Same-store sales have slowed markedly for the past year as customers shifted to other options. And now operators are furiously working to get them back.

The large operator has acquired the debt in the casual-dining Mexican chain, paving the way for a potential acquisition.

Some of the country’s largest restaurant chains serve burgers as their main dish. Here’s a look at the 10 biggest, according to the Technomic Top 500.

Technomic Top 500 data reveals a shift in consumer demand for burgers at restaurants, away from traditional fast-food outlets. But they're not all shifting to fast-casual chains.

The Bottom Line: Franchising is no less risky than opening your own restaurant. Just ask former NFL player David Tyree and the former president of McDonald's Mexico.

The fast-food giant will start selling its $5 Meal Deal next week as it works to regain lost traffic. But it is also reminding customers of its existing deals.

Operator EYM Pizza closed 15 locations in Indiana amid a lawsuit from the pizza chain franchisor over unpaid royalties and poor performance.

A Deeper Dive: Scott Redler, co-founder of Freddy’s and former chair of the National Restaurant Association, joins the podcast to talk about the state of the industry right now.

Melt Bar & Grilled, an Ohio chain that was featured on the Food Network and the Travel Channel, joins the Chicago concept Kuma’s Corner and other small chains running into post-pandemic financial problems.

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