Finances and Deals

  • An image of a Jack in the Box restaurant.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Jack in the Box posts worst sales quarter in years

    The burger brand shed traffic and closed stores. Del Taco did too. Now, executives are banking on real estate sales and reimages at 1,000 stores to strengthen the company.

    By • Aug. 7, 2025
  • Person in suit holds Qdoba queso
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    Courtesy of Qdoba
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    Qdoba secures $527M fund to support growth

    The investment was led by Apollo S3, a subsidiary of the private equity firm that sold Qdoba to Butterfly in 2022.

    By • Aug. 6, 2025
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    Violeta Stoimenova via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Restaurant Financing

    With ongoing macroeconomic pressures facing restaurants, operators are entering into alternative financing, mergers and acquisitions and even bankruptcy to sustain their businesses. 

    By Restaurant Dive staff
  • A Philz Coffee location in a white building with ivy on it.
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    Tomsmith585 via Getty Images
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    Philz Coffee sold to private equity firm

    Though terms of the deal were not disclosed by the company, San Francisco-based news outlets reported a sale price of $145 million for the popular chain. 

    By • Aug. 4, 2025
  • A customer walks up to a closed restaurant with a logo that says "Red Lobster"
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Casual dining real estate faces perfect storm and high vacancies

    Property sales for some footprints collapsed as fast casual formats grew, leaving landlords with few buyers and costly renovations.

    By Michael Brady • Aug. 4, 2025
  • A photograph of Shipley Do-Nuts
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    Permission granted by Shipley Do-Nuts
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    Shipley Do-Nuts sold to Levine Leichtman

    The chain’s new owners grew Tropical Smoothie Cafe into a brand valued at $2 billion. Now they want to repeat that success with the doughnut maker.

    By • July 28, 2025
  • A portrait photo of a smiling woman wearing black.
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    Permission granted by Yum Brands
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    KFC US hires chief growth officer

    Tiffany Furman joins the chain from The Habit Burger & Grill, where she helped oversee the brand’s transformation after its acquisition by Yum.

    By • July 25, 2025
  • A sign for a Friendly's restaurant against gray clouds
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Brix Holdings acquired by Friendly’s franchisee

    CEO Sherif Mityas will continue to lead Brix, which plans to expand its marquee family dining brand in Georgia, the Carolinas and Texas.

    By • July 22, 2025
  • The exterior of a Del Taco during the evening
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    Permission granted by Del Taco
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    Southern Del Taco franchisee goes bankrupt

    Matadoor Restaurant Group, which owns 22 units in Georgia and Alabama, struggled with sales declines and rising operating costs.

    By • July 17, 2025
  • An exterior shot of a Red Robin restaurant, which is lit from inside, at night
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    The image by Cbraccialini is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    Red Robin could refranchise 15% of stores

    A new strategic initiative builds on the North Star program, but features an emphasis on refranchising that the company hopes will help it refinance debt.

    By • July 15, 2025
  • An iamge of three smothies and a phone for GLP-1 support from Smoothie King
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    Courtesy of Smoothie King
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    Smoothie King secures private equity investment

    Fresh funds from Main Post Partners could give the chain a leg up in its battle against Tropical Smoothie Cafe for segment leadership. 

    By • July 10, 2025
  • Jack in the Box restaurant location
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Why Jack in the Box’s poison pill was the right move

    The chain wants to protect itself from a hostile takeover, and the limited-duration act is unlikely to impact shareholders, lawyer Keith Gottfried said.

    By • July 9, 2025
  • The outside of a Starbucks store
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Starbucks incentivizes cost-cutting goal with exec bonuses

    The coffee giant will give top executives up to $6 million in stock grants if the brand meets cost-reduction goals by the end of fiscal 2027.

    By • Updated July 8, 2025
  • A photograph of a gray sign with a red box inside with white letters that says "Jack" under the box it says "in the box."
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Jack in the Box prescribes poison pill to sicken activist investor

    The action is meant to keep Biglari Capital, which owns a 9.9% stake in the chain, from acquiring additional shares and to give Jack more time to turn around its business.

    By • July 2, 2025
  • An image of a white room packed with pink and orange robots.
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    Courtesy of Coco Robotics
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    Coco Robotics raises $80M in funding to fuel expansion

    The delivery bot firm will use the funding to enter into additional partnerships, grow its fleet and advance its AI system.

    By • June 11, 2025
  • A photogrpah of a beige building with an orange sign that says Hooters.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Hooters of America closes dozens more restaurants

    The closures, which occurred a few months after the chain filed for bankruptcy, won’t impact the sale of 100 company restaurants to two existing franchisees. 

    By • June 5, 2025
  • A Dave's Hot Chicken fast casual restaurant in Chicago viewed from above.
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    Courtesy of Dave's Hot Chicken
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    Dave’s Hot Chicken sells majority stake to Roark

    The long-rumored deal will help the chain hit its ambitious unit growth targets as it looks to become the leading fast casual chicken brand.

    By • June 2, 2025
  • An image of several food items on a table from Jack in the Box's Munchies Under $4
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    Courtesy of Jack in the Box
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    Jack in the Box promotes permanent CFO

    Dawn Hooper, who has served as interim finance head for months, takes the role as the company faces sales trouble and the pending sale of Del Taco.

    By • May 29, 2025
  • An image of three Krispy Kreme doughnuts and six in a box.
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    Permission granted by McDonald's/Krispy Kreme
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    Krispy Kreme sued by investors over McDonald’s rollout pause

    The lawsuit claims the chain failed to disclose profitability issues it was having with the QSR partnership, which subsequently led to a steep decline in stock prices after Q1 2025 earnings.

    By • May 20, 2025
  • An exterior shot of a beige restaurant on a rainy day.
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    Aneurin Canham-Clyne/Restaurant Dive
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    Vegan full-service chain Planta goes bankrupt

    Rising costs, falling consumer demand and structural changes in the restaurant industry left the brand with insufficient cash flow.

    By • May 14, 2025
  • An image of a restaurant with a logo that says "on the border mexican grill & cantina."
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    The image by Dwight Burdette is licensed under CC BY 3.0
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    Pappas Restaurants to buy On The Border out of bankruptcy

    Pappas Restaurants, which previously provided $10 million in debtor-in-posession financing through an affiliate, plans to improve On The Border’s menu operations and guest experience.

    By • May 8, 2025
  • An exterior image of a Wonder food Hall
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    Permission granted by Wonder
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    Wonder raises $600M, will nearly double unit count in 2025

    The food hall and delivery company, which bought Grubhub in 2024, has a reported valuation of $7 billion and plans to reach 90 locations this year.

    By • May 6, 2025
  • An image of two pizzas in front of a pizza oven.
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    Courtesy of Bertucci's
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    Bertucci’s goes bankrupt for 3rd time in 7 years

    The ailing brand, which closed 7 of its 22 stores, may lean on its fast casual spinoff to weather the rising costs and waning consumer confidence hurting casual restaurants.

    By • April 25, 2025
  • Jack in the Box restaurant location
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Jack in the Box will shutter up to 200 stores, mulls Del Taco sale

    The brand will also scale back its company-owned development starting next year and sell off real estate to pay down debt.

    By • April 24, 2025
  • El Pollo Loco's first LA Mex restaurants, which emphasize off-premise, opened in 2021.
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    Courtesy of El Pollo Loco
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    El Pollo Loco faces acquisition bid by Sardar Biglari

    The activist investor has already bought up almost 15% of the chicken chain and is now making a play for the whole company.

    By • April 8, 2025
  • A photo of Bar Louie's new unit layout.
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    Courtesy of Bar Louie
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    Bar Louie files for bankruptcy protections, again

    The gastropub chain’s footprint shrank from 71 units in 2021 to 48 as of March, while sales at some franchised units remain flat compared to 2015.

    By • March 28, 2025