The tax law, passed almost a year ago, isn’t so new anymore. Let’s take what we’ve learned over that time and apply it to ideas for structuring your restaurant business. 1. The Lower Tax…
I have been very confused by the high valuations certain QSR concepts are obtaining on sale. After working in the restaurant and franchise marketplace for almost 40 years, I have seldom seen EBITDA multiples…
I have been studying a number of the restaurant industry rankings that come out this time of year and gleaning what they tell us about the current and future state of the industry. Let’s…
With restaurant profits tight, one tactic that is relevant to continued business success is leveraging and expanding a restaurant’s trade name and reputation. I call it “brand extension” as it seems to work for…
Last month I addressed specific financial fixes for casual dining. This month, I’ll dig deeper into three areas of concern: dealing with problem stores, leases and senior debt. There are always underperforming stores, both…
Obviously, the casual dining world has its ups and downs. Right now we are in a down period, with some major players struggling the last few years. There seems to be a light at…
One of the biggest winners under the new tax law is real estate, particularly restaurant real estate. Purchasing sites, making improvements, entering into sale-leasebacks, making renovations and remodels are all constant themes in our…
The tax reform legislation is teeming with new rules, but I’d like to focus on how the new law affects the restaurant industry and how operators should respond to the changes. Along the way,…
Over the years, our firm has been involved in many refranchising programs and seen both good and bad approaches. One of the most problematic programs was the Applebee’s refranchising, which was initiated to pay…
