The restaurant industry has been one of the most prolific users of sale-leaseback financing. Over the last few years, cap rates have been favorable. That means the price the potential tenant gets for their…
I must be asked once a week by a chef or someone looking to invest with them: “What makes a successful chef-driven restaurant?” The reason is we’ve become a country of foodies. Chefs dream…
I love numerous profit centers in restaurants. I also love maximizing the use of the real estate. With the addition of a café concept and a boutique hotel to his high-end Restaurant Alma, award-winning…
There has been a great deal of speculation about the post-election tax policy and when it will, if at all, be implemented. What we would like to do in this article is not just…
A discussion of the financial aspects of the restaurant industry would not be complete without a look at market trends and new market segments. As the model of creating profitable restaurants continues to evolve,…
2016 was an interesting year in restaurant finance. All the year’s action—the growing impact of activist shareholders, changes at the SBA franchise registry, the overall beating in casual dining’s performance and yet, new finance…
Iconic restaurant companies are unique to the U.S. restaurant industry. Every major U.S. city has restaurant companies that have developed multi-brands and have established a special position in the city, like Union Square Hospitality…
My last few columns have dealt with non-traditional restaurant venues. What is significant about them is they create more revenue sources. It is not that people, if they had their druthers, wouldn’t prefer traditional…
Probably the best known nontraditional restaurant sites—and maybe, in some ways, they are traditional—are food courts. In my quest to get a handle on them, I have come to the conclusion I’m not sure…
