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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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Financing

Franchisors who want faster remodels should reach into their pocketbooks

The Bottom Line: Burger King is spending $550 million to get more of its restaurants remodeled, not counting its own upgraded restaurants. More brands should do this.

Financing

10 restaurant chains that closed the most locations last year

Restaurant chains navigated a difficult market in 2023 due to inflation. Here are the brands that closed the most locations as a percentage of their unit count last year.

Leadership

Former Wendy's CMO Carl Loredo named Pizza Hut U.S. president

The marketing executive will take over the struggling pizza chain in early June, following the departure of David Graves.

Financing

Howard Schultz has some thoughts on Starbucks' big earnings miss

The former CEO of the coffee shop giant, who handpicked the current chief executive, said the company’s problems “begin at home.” And he urged the chain to overhaul its mobile ordering platform.

Financing

Earnings roundup: Fatburger, El Pollo Loco and Pizza Inn

Fat Brands has some trouble with the weather; strong results from El Pollo Loco and Rave Restaurant Group wants some remodels.

Financing

As it is sold, Clean Juice struggles with supply issues

Operators have closed or rebranded nearly half of the chain’s locations over the past year and a half. And then as the chain was sold last week, franchisees were told the company lost its distribution contract.

Operations

President Biden vetoes joint employer legislation

The president declined to sign off on a bill that would have scuttled an effort to make franchisors jointly liable for their franchisees’ workers, sending the issue back to Congress.

Financing

Restaurant job growth appears to be slowing

The restaurant industry added 6,600 jobs in April, according to new federal data, continuing a pattern of slower overall job growth.

Financing

Looking for the next Chipotle? These 3 chains are already there

The Bottom Line: Wingstop, Raising Cane’s and Jersey Mike’s have broken free from the pack of well-established growth chains. Here’s why this trio stands out.

Financing

Wendy's hopes better store profitability will yield new unit growth

The fast-food burger chain wants to build more restaurants. To speed growth and fulfill the chain's potential, it needs to generate more sales and restaurant profits.

Financing

For Starbucks, 2 years of change hasn't yielded promised results

The Bottom Line: The coffee shop giant’s sales struggles worsened earlier this year, despite a flurry of efforts to improve operations and employee satisfaction.

Financing

An in-depth look at a fast-growing c-store chicken concept

A Deeper Dive: Jim Norberg, CEO of Krispy Krunchy Chicken, joins the podcast to talk about the chain’s rapid growth and how it plans a push into marketing and delivery.

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