Ron Shaich: ‘Panera is one cafe’

The Bottom Line: A combination of rising costs and weakening sales, and more expensive debt, has caused real problems for restaurant chains. But the industry is also really difficult.

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.