QSR’s Post

Qdoba Restaurant Corporation said this week that it has signed 10 agreements for 77 additional units in the U.S. as the chain focuses on rapid expansion through franchising. Last year it signed 22 franchise agreements bringing its unit development pipeline to about 450. https://lnkd.in/e2ZaKWu4

TGI Fridays files for bankruptcy in the US The chain was founded in New York in 1965, its 56 franchises are operating in 41 countries across the globe under the TGI Fridays brand, including Russia NEW YORK, November 2/ The owner of TGI Fridays restaurants has filed for bankruptcy in the United States, the casual dining chain’s press service said. "TGI Fridays Inc., the owner and operator of 39 domestic restaurants in the TGI Friday's casual dining chain, today filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the Northern District of Texas," the company said. The chain, founded in New York in 1965, expects "to use the time and legal protections made available through the Chapter 11 restructuring process to allow the Company to explore strategic alternatives in order to ensure the long-term viability of the brand," it noted. Fifty-six franchises are operating in forty-one countries across the globe under the TGI Fridays brand, including Russia. Franchise locations both in the US and overseas will continue operating and servicing customers as usual as they are not affected by the bankruptcy process. According to Bloomberg, Red Lobster, Bucca di Beppo, Rubio's Coastal Grill and Tijuana Flats restaurant chains also filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. #business #finance #financialservices

🐔 Denver-based Birdcall, which has 12 corporate-owned stores, is now franchising the concept with an initial focus on the Western and Southwestern states. The brand is planning to open up to seven restaurants by year's end. https://lnkd.in/eyqaE4Ug

Qdoba Restaurant Corporation expands franchise networks in the US after inking multiple franchise deals for 2025 https://lnkd.in/dk_hXusf #QDOBA #Restaurants #Frachising

Working with restaurants in the franchise industry, we often view business operations with a keen eye for detail - spotting trends, tracing patterns, and understanding market dynamics. It's no secret that the restaurant industry, like many, has been dealt severe blows over the last four years due to the pandemic, drastic customer changes, and most recently, rampant inflation. And it seems that even the most enduring brands are not immune - the latest to be ensnared in these challenges is Red Lobster. Red Lobster, a fixture in the American dining scene for decades, is reportedly on the brink of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This comes after a tumultuous period in which the seafood chain was forced to shutter almost a hundred of its locations and auction off assets amidst crushing financial strain. Thai Union Group, the majority owner, is said to be racing to offload its stake in the struggling chain. But Red Lobster isn't taking this lying down. The appointment of Jonathan Tibus, as the new CEO, is a strategic move designed to steady the ship. Tibus, known for his expertise in steering distressed restaurant chains, could be pivotal in Red Lobster's fight for survival. A Chapter 11 filing may provide an avenue for renegotiating leases and contracts with creditors, wiping off debt, and ultimately allowing the chain to regain its footing. Yet, this struggle is not unique to Red Lobster. It's unfortunately becoming a familiar narrative for many in the restaurant industry, who have been grappling with the fallout from COVID-19, significant customer changes, and spiraling inflation. Red Lobster's recent crisis further underscores the fragility and vulnerability of the sector. These are challenging times, but they're also times of transformation. As we navigate these unsure waters together, let's discuss what this shake-up means for the franchise industry at large. Do you believe this is a temporary stumble or are we witnessing a tectonic shift in the sector? #restaurants #franchise #franchising

California Pizza Kitchen may be celebrating its 40th anniversary, but it’s also starting fresh. For the first time in its history, CPK has a domestic franchise system, something that was previously only reserved for international development. To begin the new venture, the brand signed its first agreement with Las Vegas-based franchisee Sundine, which will acquire three units in its home market and develop six more in Nevada and Utah. https://lnkd.in/gqCKzvCB

Can You Finally Open a Panda Express Franchise? (Cost + Analysis) Fast-casual restaurants are sprouting up all over the United States and they’re expected to continue growing at a rate of 10.6% until 2032 in spite of challenges to the industry as a whole. These types of restaurants are known to serve high-quality food in a casual setting. Many also deem them to be healthier compared to fast-food. Whatever the case, fast-casual restaurants are on the rise and one of the top players is Panda Express. https://lnkd.in/gHJaRHAX

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza is sold to a Burger King franchisee The 51-unit pizza chain is being sold to Kuljeet Singh, who is also a franchisee of Round Table Pizza. The deal splits the brand from sister chain BurgerFi. By Lisa Jennings Restaurant Business Online Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza & Wings has a new owner. The 51-unit chain was sold out of bankruptcy by parent company BurgerFi International Inc. first to lender TREW Capital Management in a credit bid for $44 million, as previously announced. TREW now has sold the pizza chain to Florida Burger Inc. A principal of the company is Kuljeet Singh, a franchisee of both the Round Table Pizza and Burger King brands, said Jeff Crivello, the former Famous Dave's of America Dave’s CEO who leads TREW Capital and acquired BFI’s debt earlier this year. Crivello did not disclose the sale price, but said it was in the ballpark of the $44 million credit bid. The deal splits Anthony’s from its sister-brand BurgerFi, which TREW also acquired in the bankruptcy auction for a credit bid of $10 million—and which may also soon have a new owner. Crivello said a sale of the fast-casual burger chain is also in the works, and that deal could be announced by the end of the week. The buyer has not yet been disclosed. BurgerFi has 93 units, of which only 17 are company-owned. The now-former parent company BFI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sept. 11 after four rocky years as a public company. To some, bringing the better-burger concept under the same roof as the full-service pizza chain was an unlikely pairing. BurgerFi was acquired first by a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that took the chain public in 2020 and became BFI. The next year, BFI acquired the then 61-unit Anthony’s for $161 million in stock and assumed debt. At the time, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Anthony’s was entirely company-owned and mostly operated in Florida. Under BFI, Anthony’s launched franchising, but only one franchised location opened. It is also the only dual-branded Anthony’s/BurgerFi location. Under BFI, however, both brands struggled, with a number of executive changes, rapidly declining sales and turnaround efforts that fell flat. During the bankruptcy, 10 underperforming Anthony’s locations were shuttered, along with more than 30 BurgerFi units over the past two years. Carl Bachmann, the former CEO of BFI, left the company on Nov. 15 and has joined the new owner of Anthony’s, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. His role with Anthony’s was not made clear. Last year, Singh was the owner of DC Burger, which acquired 37 Burger King locations in Virginia for $22 million from Toms King Holdings. At the time, court documents indicated Singh and his wife Jessica Singh also owned 80 Round Table Pizza locations in Northern California, Oregon and Washington...Click-Thru to read more. https://lnkd.in/eeqaJ65y

McDonald's’s largest global franchisee is working on a 20-year renewal agreement Arcos Dorados expects to add 90 to 100 units in 2025 Alicia Kelso Nation's Restaurant News Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc., Latin America’s largest restaurant company and the world’s largest independent McDonald’s franchisee, said it will renew its master franchise agreement with the quick-service giant. Arcos Dorados received a renewal notice from McDonald’s Aug. 1 to replace the parties’ existing MFA with a new, 20-year MFA to be effective Jan. 1, 2025. The franchisee shared its intention to exercise its renewal option on Monday and the parties are now working to finalize the new agreement. In addition to renewing the partnership through Jan. 1, 2045, the agreement is also expected to include a 6% royalty rate for the first 10 years, 6.25% for the subsequent five years, and 6.5% for the final five years. In addition to a steady royalty rate for the next decade, Arcos Dorados and McDonald’s expect the renewed agreement to support additional growth in the franchisee’s 20 existing countries and territories, with approximately 90 to 100 new units expected to open in 2025. Late last year, McDonald’s announced plans to target a 50,000-unit global footprint by 2027, or about 10,000 more locations than it has today. If this goal comes to fruition, it will mark the fastest period of growth in the company’s 69-year history. For its part, Arcos Dorados operates nearly 2,400 restaurants throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The franchisee became a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2011. Its current market capitalization is $1.8 billion, while its share price has grown steadily by about 60% in the past 10 years. On the news of a renewal agreement Tuesday morning, Arcos Dorados’ share price jumped 16%. https://lnkd.in/eQdJTN6n

Day 2 of the FAT Brands Franchise Summit underway, with chairman Andy Wiederhorn addressing the crowd (1,600 people here, which is pretty crazy). Some stats: FAT Brands now the 25th largest restaurant group (adding nine brands to the portfolio in two years will do that). 18 brands. $2B in systemwide sales. $650M in revenue. 2,300 locations, 185 of which are corporate. 800 franchisees, about half of which are single-unit operators. A pipeline of 1,100 stores. Growth cadence of 125 openings per year or so. 267 over the last two. $750M in purchasing power. Twin Peaks working toward going public. Another acquisition likely coming in the next few months. And maybe most importantly for the world, the cookie brands, which recently went into FAT Brands’ burger chains as an offering, are being added to the remaining concepts, from Twin Peaks to Smokey Bones, etc.