RR Premium

Cracker Barrel 1QFY24 Sales Declined -1.9% Y/Y In-Line with Expectations

Cracker Barrel 1QFY24 Sales Declined -1.9% Y/Y In-Line with Expectations

Consumers have been resilient, but sentiment remains weak by historic standards, with many consumers feeling economically distressed & pessimistic, pressuring discretionary spending. However, sequential monthly traffic improvements during the quarter reflected investments to improve its guest experience & marketing investment to emphasize the chain’s strong value proposition across its dayparts.

read more
The Value of an Entry-Level Fast-Food Job

The Value of an Entry-Level Fast-Food Job

Damien Sanders recently graduated college with an economics degree, and now he works at Restaurant Research LLC. However, he didn’t start out as a hot shot Analyst – rather, he cut his teeth working at Zaxby’s & Bojangles during college, learning many life lessons along the way. In this Q&A, Damien explains why the fast-food industry provides such a good launching pad for young people prepping for a career…

read more
Time for Lenders to Reboot Their Franchise Finance Operations

Time for Lenders to Reboot Their Franchise Finance Operations

The restaurant franchise finance asset class currently benefits from strong unit-level sales and food cost deflation. Loan collateral has held up well generally speaking and the economy & capital markets are certainly stronger than the Great Recession that started around 2008. In this post, we conduct a Q&A with the head of a prominent franchise finance group & present some supporting data about why it may be time for lenders to jump back into the pool.  

read more
Jack in the Box Inc. Fiscal 4Q23: Jack’s Comps Up +3.9% Y/Y

Jack in the Box Inc. Fiscal 4Q23: Jack’s Comps Up +3.9% Y/Y

Jack reported strong results, indicating that it is still performing well with higher-income consumers & evenly across all other deciles of income. However, uncertainty remains as it relates to price elasticity in California given the need to hike menu prices in that market next year to address the AB1228 minimum wage hike to $20/hr.

read more
Emerging Chain Highlights: BIGGBY® COFFEE

Emerging Chain Highlights: BIGGBY® COFFEE

We had never heard of BIGGBY® COFFEE until a team member’s spouse declared: “BIGGBY® COFFEE is going to be the next Starbucks!” Naturally, that got our attention as this is not something you hear every day. We pressed Julie our “source” – why would she say this about Biggby’s?  

read more
State of Restaurant Franchise Finance

State of Restaurant Franchise Finance

Wally just got back from Vegas where he attended the Restaurant Finance Monitor conference to escape the tyranny of raising his young children, get to a warm climate, shmooze, lose some money at the Casinos, and also take the pulse of the state of restaurant finance which he outlines in this post.

read more
CAVA Group, Inc. 3Q23: Consolidated Rev +26% Y/Y, CAVA Rev +50% Y/Y, Comps +14%

CAVA Group, Inc. 3Q23: Consolidated Rev +26% Y/Y, CAVA Rev +50% Y/Y, Comps +14%

CAVA’s management attributed its astounding growth to the broad appeal & proven portability of its innovative Mediterranean concept which more than offset ongoing consumer headwinds. CAVA is creating & defining the next major cultural cuisine category with a substantial white space opportunity. Further, management suggested that online life has failed to replace the real-life emotional connections that humans crave as consumers seek restaurants that make them feel welcomed, warm & cared for.

read more
Actionable Intelligence Report Thumbnail