(Dave Bedard photo)

Deal for Subway chain worth up to US$9.55 billion

Arby's, Jimmy John's parent wins with 'earn-out' deal

New York | Reuters — Private equity firm Roark Capital agreed on Thursday to buy Subway, in a deal that people familiar with the matter said values the U.S. sandwich chain at up to US$9.55 billion, including debt, subject to targets in its financial performance. The deal marks the conclusion of a drawn-out auction that

(Dave Bedard photo)

Subway reportedly nears sale to Arby’s owner

Chain's parent firm considering sale since February

Reuters — Roark Capital, which owns restaurant chains Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings, is nearing a deal to buy sandwich chain Subway for about US$9.6 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. A deal could be finalized this week, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. “Subway does not intend to make any


(SwissChalet.com)

Fairfax proposes takeover of Recipe dining group

Chains include The Keg, Swiss Chalet, Harvey's

Reuters — Recipe Unlimited Corp. said on Tuesday shareholder and investment firm Fairfax Financial Holdings has proposed to take the Canadian restaurant operator private for $1.23 billion, sending its shares up nearly 50 per cent. The offer price marks a premium of more than 53 per cent to Recipe’s last close. The shares have fallen

Managing a restaurant after the pandemic will not be easy.

Comment: How many restaurants are enough?

Have we seen ‘peak restaurant’ or will the sector survive?

A question that often comes up is, did we have too many restaurants before the pandemic? Many wonder if the pandemic has only wiped out the restaurants we had “extra” of. With the labour shortage, the cost of food ingredients exploding, and the list of regulations growing almost every year, making a restaurant profitable has


Many restaurant operators have next to no cushion to increase wages.

Comment: Labour issues in food industry nothing new

Our labour market has been broken for years — the pandemic and recovery are just revealing it

“We’re hiring” signs are simply everywhere. Some blame overly generous employment insurance programs which are keeping many highly capable individuals in their homes. Others will point to the younger generation not willing to work or are blaming the virus itself, because people are in fear of it. Rumours of agism have also emerged to explain

Living in the shadow of COVID for so long, restaurants offer the perfect escape for when Canadians feel safer to go out again.

Comment: Incentivizing the cautious

Getting customers back into restaurants will be no small challenge in the wake of a pandemic

As we inch towards a more normalized economy, the focus will now be on how we can make people feel more comfortable about going out and about again. Our economy needs it, our foodservice industry desperately needs it, but it is not going to be easy. In a recent survey, conducted in mid-May by the


Even with the pandemic’s end in sight, it is unclear if people will be comfortable going out and about and patronizing their favourite restaurants again.

Comment: The great reset awaits for Canada’s restaurants

As the world ponders going back to normal the food-service sector has changed forever

It was certainly a year to be forgotten for the food service. StatsCan numbers told us this week that sales in the food-service industry dropped by a whopping 32 per cent, from Q4 2019 to Q4 2020. The food retail/service ratio, an important metric to assess how important food service is in our lives, also




In 1986, when Tim Hortons Roll Up The Rim campaign started, cities were still a few years away from launching recycling programs.

Comment: ‘Roll Up The Rim To Win’ needs an environmental reboot

Canada’s iconic fast-food brand is beginning to fall out of step with the times

Tim Hortons needs to reconsider its ‘Roll Up The Rim’ promotion. The entire campaign rests on the physicality of the cup itself. Almost 300 million cups are produced for the campaign, which usually ends in mid-April. Some winners have been required to send in the entire cup to claim their prize, instead of just ripping