Jonathan Maze

Minneapolis

Editor-in-Chief at Restaurant Business

Editor-in-Chief at Restaurant Business Magazine. Egghead. Married up to @HailaMaze. Serving up hand-crafted tweets with a laser-like focus.

Articles

Failure to launch: The McDonald's-Krispy Kreme partnership is a dud so far

6 days ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Jonathan Maze

EditTexas Roadhouse rebounds after an uneven start to the yearPapa Johns puts the focus back on its pizza, and sales improveBurger King is steering restaurants to its better operatorsPappasito's Cantina owner to acquire On the Border out of bankruptcyKrispy Kreme is pausing its McDonald's expansion amid weak salesOPINIONFinancingThe Bottom Line: The chains' partnership has been slow to progress and hasn't generated the sales both companies hoped for.
The beverage business is about to get a lot more competitive

6 days ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Jonathan Maze

EditFailure to launch: The McDonald's-Krispy Kreme partnership is a dud so farTexas Roadhouse rebounds after an uneven start to the yearPapa Johns puts the focus back on its pizza, and sales improveBurger King is steering restaurants to its better operatorsPappasito's Cantina owner to acquire On the Border out of bankruptcyFinancingA growing number of restaurant chains are expanding in the U.S. with a wider array of more innovative beverages than ever. And now McDonald's and Taco Bell are coming.
Fast-growing Dutch Bros has another bullish quarter

6 days ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Jonathan Maze

FacebookTwitterLinkedInDutch Bros same-store sales rose 4.7% last quarter. | Photo: Shutterstock. Whatever affliction is ailing much of the fast-food world has apparently not hit Dutch Bros yet. The drive-thru beverage chain on Wednesday reported its latest in a string of strong earnings reports. Its same-store sales increased 4.7%. Traffic increased more than 1%.
Burger King is steering restaurants to its better operators

1 week ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Jonathan Maze

FacebookTwitterLinkedInBurger King is focused on improving operations to lift sales. | Photo: Shutterstock. Burger King outperformed its major competitors last quarter. Not that it’s saying much. McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Jack in the Box on average reported a 3.6% decline in same-store sales last quarter, which makes Burger King’s 1.1% decline in the U.S. look downright positive.
How tariffs will affect restaurant equipment costs

1 week ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Jonathan Maze

FacebookTwitterLinkedInHow will tariffs affect restaurants? This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive features Neal Sherman, the founder of the used equipment company Tagex Brands. President Trump dramatically escalated the tariff rate on imported goods to an average of 27%, according to the Budget Lab at Yale. That’s expected to have an impact on restaurants.
Papa Johns puts the focus back on its pizza, and sales improve

1 week ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Jonathan Maze

FacebookTwitterLinkedInPapa Johns same-store sales fell last quarter, but results are showing progress. | Photo: Shutterstock. Papa Johns’ same-store sales fell 3% last quarter, the latest in a run of weak performances by fast-food chains amid weak consumer confidence and economic uncertainty.
Wonder gets a massive valuation

1 week ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Jonathan Maze

EditPappasito's Cantina owner to acquire On the Border out of bankruptcyKrispy Kreme is pausing its McDonald's expansion amid weak salesFast-growing Dutch Bros has another bullish quarterApplebee's new traffic-driving strategy was on the menu all alongHow tariffs will affect restaurant equipment costsOPINIONFinancingThe Bottom Line: The food hall-delivery company’s latest fundraise has given it a $7 billion valuation, which would be more than most publicly traded restaurant chains.
How a second bankruptcy helped Sbarro find the comeback trail

1 week ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Jonathan Maze

EditFirst Watch will take more traffic, even if it costs moreDenny's launches a buy one, get one deal after sales slideMore franchises should get profit-and-loss statements from their franchiseesEl Pollo Loco looks to grow, mostly outside of CaliforniaWendy's Thin Mints Frosty couldn't overcome a skittish consumerFinancingThe pizza chain cut its debt, focused on its core product and found life beyond the mall, all of which helped it thrive despite two bankruptcy filings.
McDonald's hopes the third time is the charm on chicken tenders

1 week ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Jonathan Maze

FacebookTwitterLinkedInMcDonald's has repeatedly tried selling chicken tenders or strips. | Photo courtesy of McDonald's. McDonald’s officially started selling its McCrispy Strips nationwide on Monday. It’s the first new permanent item to hit the fast-food giant’s menu in four years. And it marks a return of sorts of chicken tenders to the company’s product offerings, five years after they were removed in a pandemic-related purge.
More franchises should get profit-and-loss statements from their franchisees

1 week ago | restaurantbusinessonline.com | Jonathan Maze

EditEl Pollo Loco looks to grow, mostly outside of CaliforniaWendy's Thin Mints Frosty couldn't overcome a skittish consumerOn a mostly tough set of restaurant chain earningsViral secret menu item gives BJ's Restaurants a boostU.S. restaurant giants dodge anti-American sentiment overseasOPINIONFinancingThe Bottom Line: Wendy’s is implementing a system collecting profitability data from its operators. It remains surprising that more restaurant franchises don’t do this.