The National Restaurant Association will no longer manage or own its annual convention, commonly called the Restaurant Show.

A main point of contention in the bankruptcy case of RMH Franchise Holdings is whether their franchise agreements were terminated prior to a bankruptcy filing. A court says, "No."

Darden Restaurants (DRI) has just proved to be the exception to the recent rule among restaurant operators. They reported an excellent quarter, with blended same store sales up 3.3%, and traffic up a bit, which hardly anybody else is accomplishing. Visit www.rogerlipton.com to view free restaurant company descriptions and other articles.

Piper Jaffray analysts Nicole Miller Regan and Josh Long’s recent conference call on foodservice distribution isn’t good news for restaurant chains looking for falling food commodity costs to offset rising labor expense.

If anybody thinks it is getting any easier out there, Cracker Barrel's report yesterday should provide a dose of reality. Comp sales declined 0.4% in the fourth quarter ending July 31, but the average check increased by 3.5% (menu price increase was 2.7%), so traffic was down about 3.5%.

Dave & Buster's Entertainment reported their second quarter results last Thursday and the stock responded positively, up 7-8% on the slight sales "beat," the more material EPS beat, and positive company commentary regarding results of the new Virtual Reality platform. Visit www.rogerlipton.com to view free restaurant company descriptions and other articles.

In this second quarter ending June 30, 2018, the value of the Restaurant Finance Monitor Stock Index increased 14.63%, which brings the YTD performance to 14.84%, including dividends. That easily beat the S&P 500 Index which gained 2.9% during the quarter.

I don’t normally disclose our “bottom line” in terms of our position (long or short) in companies that I write about. However, Papa John’s is sufficiently liquid in terms of trading volume and adequately controversial in terms of the investment community’s dialogue. Visit www.rogerlipton.com to view free restaurant company descriptions and other articles.

Cristin O’Hara appreciates a good story. The fact that restaurant operators often have an interesting story to tell is one of the reasons that drew her into restaurant finance in the first place. O’Hara currently serves as the managing director and head of the Restaurant Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Papa John Schnatter’s loose lips now put him in the same camp as former race luminaries Jimmy The Greek and Donald Sterling. The only thing I’ll say here about Schnatter’s faux pas: It’s not good for selling pizzas.

The recent press release by Restaurant Brands International (NYSE-QSR) relating to initiatives at Tim Hortons, 
its now admitted troubled subsidiary that contributes about half of its corporate EBITDA, tells us a
lot about the prospects for the company over the next few years. Visit www.rogerlipton.com to view free restaurant company descriptions and other articles.

Dine Brands Global, previously known as DineEquity, operator and franchisor (franchisor mostly) of the IHOP and Applebee’s brands, has had its share of challenges in recent years. Visit www.rogerlipton.com to view free restaurant company descriptions and other articles.

As senior vice president of acquisitions at National Retail Properties (NNN-NYSE), Josh Lewis is helping the net lease REIT acquire on average between $650 million and $850 million in restaurant and retail properties each year. But it was not long ago Lewis was sitting on the other side of the table helping restaurant operators structure sale-leaseback transactions.

Starbucks (SBUX), the house that Schultz built, is a success story that has inspired many. It is also a Top 10 holding in the Restaurant Finance Monitor and deserves comment. Starbucks has led both technologically and culturally through its 175,000 “green aprons.” However, on June 26, its founder, Howard Schultz, will move on to bigger, and hopefully better things.

Bill Lenehan is CEO of that new REIT entity—Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE-FCPT) – and he is helping other restaurant chains and individual franchise operators by acquiring their properties and then leasing them back via long-term net leases.

36% of the stock float was sold short, so the numbers came through “adequately”, and the stock didn’t go down, so the short-term traders panicked, covered their positions and drove the stock higher. Visit www.rogerlipton.com to view free restaurant company descriptions and other articles.