Posted on 07/04/2011 1:19:27 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
We live in a backwards world where great things happen to bad people, bad things happen to good people, and where Sarah Palin is considered a legitimate presidential candidate. The greatest example of the inverse nature of our universe is the success, or lack of success found by restaurants around the world, particularly the United States. We live in a world where Noah’s Bagels nears bankruptcy while McDonalds thrives on our fatty flesh (and charging for sauce packets? GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE.).
In a list published by The Street, twenty restaurant chains are at risk of going under. Some are on their way up, others on their way down, and some are just chilling out in mediocrity. The list was compiled using an Altman score which combines a bunch of different factors to measure the health of a company (and its investment quality). Over a 3.1, you’re all good; under a 1.8 and you’re screwed; anywhere in between is a glorious grey mass. It should be noted that a company filing for bankruptcy does not equal its’ speedy dismissal from this Earth. Marie Callender’s went bankrupt earlier this year, and while they’ll be closing many of their mediocre restaurants; I’m almost positive the one outside Six Flags Magic Mountain will remain open. Thank God, how else am I supposed to get free parking for Six Flags? Oh, and expensive pies.
Red Robin and Sonic are both on their way out of despair, which is a shame; there is nowhere more mediocre than a Sonic restaurant. It’s the kind of place people go to because they can’t come up with anything more interesting, or after they've already been to Carl’s Jr. four times that week. Red Robin is overpriced, and the service has always been “meh”. Seriously, charge me fifteen dollars for a burger without smiling? Screw you, bro.
Noah’s Bagels is also recovering, which is great; because I’d probably cry if the only decent bagel place in my area shut down. Domino’s Pizza is also considered a bankruptcy risk, although its’ stock has risen 85% over the past year. It remains 29% lower than it was pre-recession, but that’s partially because the pizza tasted like cardboard until about a year ago. Moral of the story: bad companies have a harder time selling their slop when no one has any money.
DineEquity, the restaurant group that owns Applebee’s and IHOP is also struggling mightily, although the almost-as-good-as-TGI-Fridays casual restaurant chain has experienced some growth recently due to a revitalization of the brand. IHOP has continued to struggle though, probably because the pancakes suck, and Denny’s is at least perceived as having a greater swath of options than a place that is dedicated 100% to pancakes, more or less.
Apparently not as many people are thinking Arby’s as the commercials claimed; the Wendy’s/Arby’s group is diverging, so that the company can focus on their namesake brand (Wendy’s). First step: Enough of the damned sea-salt french fries. My hamster loves them, but hey, he also licks a block of salt all day just to get his kicks. This is one company that is moving downwards right now, which seems to be the exception and not the rule on this list.
Denny’s is a weird one because while it has turned a profit four straight years, it has a negative Altman score. I’m obviously not a stock expert, but this seems weird to me. Apparently the chain has underperformed and taken heat for giving away too much food; all I know is that those grand slam breakfasts are freaking awesome -- as is the heartburn that follows.
Here’s a list of the twenty riskiest restaurant stocks, better head out to your favorite’s to hopefully push them back towards the black! The list goes from least risky to most risky:
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers
Sonic
Ruby Tuesday
J. Alexander’s
Carrols Restaurant Group
Einstein Noah Restaurant Group
O’Charley’s
Kona Grill
Ruth’s Hospitality Group
McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant
Bravo Brio Restaurant Group
Domino’s Pizza
Rick’s Cabaret International
DineEquity
Morton’s Restaurant Group
Wendy's/Arby's
Granite City Food & Brewery
Denny’s
Good Times Restaurants
Cosi
“But to the author, I will say:
Resistance is futile!
Prepare to be liberated!”
How about changing the last sentence to: “Prepare to be conserved”.
Todd Palin must be one hell of a man!
(swoon)
Hey, that’s socialism in action.
Don’t like it?
Take it up with Premier Hussein.
Jake Sundstrom
Attractions Host at Disneyland
Now I'm not calling Jake a bit shallow in the experience department when he is observing popular trends, but Jake might want to get out of the leftburbs for just a minute or two.
Granite City is about the best of that bunch.
Yes...Wendy’s is way too expensive for what you get.
Stay in the value menu and its not to bad. I bring my own drink, and hit the drive thru. I eat pretty good for 3.50.
Not out on the road near as much as I use to. So likely won’t be making that stop any more (plus the wallet screams “he!! no” now)
I'd love to see the nationwide opening of 'Sarah's Caribou Burgers'. I'd buy a lot of them!
Dude's paying 15 bucks for a burger at Red Robin? Where is he? On the moon?
He's probably upset they don't give him enough crayons to solve the placemat maze.
We have Subways popping up like zits on a teenager around here. Lots of them doubling up with gas stations/convenience stores.
I like Subway, but there's just something about the heavy smell of the breads that permeate every inch of the place. And some of their breads don't smell all that great.
5 Guys is about the same cost as Wendy’s...and 100X better.
1) Sonic survives because in many small town, it’s the ONLY fast food joint for miles.
2) I have been saying this since 2008, Kiss Wendy’s Goodbye.
3) Why go to Denny’s, especially in urban areas. it’s basically a black hang out with Open Season on whitey actually listed on the menu.
4) Arbys will be a crap shoot.
5) Domino’s are located near military bases and college campuses. They already have a built in market of stoned college kids and 24 hour enlisted guys who will always by their product.
Typical liberal. Maybe taking up parking spaces that would be used by paying customers is cutting into the sales, but apparently he doesn't care as long as he gets free parking for Six Flags. Liberals claim to care about other people, but really its all only ever about themselves.
I love 5 Guys french fries and hot dogs but their burgers make sick to my stomach.
They serve food at Rick’s but thats now what men go there for! LOL
Bite me, Bozo (to the author of the article)
Yea I shoulda stopped there, but I didn’t and was subjected to his “suggestion” for Wendy’s: “First step: Enough of the damned sea-salt french fries.”
The Sea Salt Natural Cut fries are the best thing Wendy’s has done for a while. Second being the Applewood bacon.
Now where Wendy’s fraked up (besides the entire getting into bed with Arby’s after Dave Thomas died) was spending money on developing vanilla frosties and frosty shakes. Neither are frosties and neither are any good.
Jack in the Box’s shakes are thicker than Frosty shakes and the fake frosty blizzard knockoffs are straw food where they should be spoon food. So may as well go to DQ if I want a Blizzard.
Hell even Arctic Circle does better and you don’t see many of them around any longer, unless you find one that’s a bizarre marriage of KFC/Arctic Circle.
Don’t even get me started on the downfall of KFC ever since Col Sanders passed away....
Whoa sorry went off on a rant...
I think that restaurants are suffering economic stresses from have a limited work pool. Fast food restaurants were a source of high school and collage student jobs. So you had bright,energetic, ethical, hygienic individuals who worked hard . They viewed a fast food job as a stepping stone. Now we have illegals and lower class people working at fast food places that cost these businesses more. The current work pool individuals are not reliable, make mistake that result in waste, don’t show for work or do something that results in litigation.
Little Caeser’s Veterans Program
http://franchise.littlecaesars.com/VeteransProgram/VeteransProgramInformation.aspx
I watched a FOX interview with an owner of some IHOP restaurants who said Obamacare is basically going to cause him to raise his prices by 5%. He owns 10 IHOPs in Illinois and his revenue per employee is $58,000 per year and profit is 3,000 per employee per year.
The penalty for not providing health insurance under Obamacare will be $2,000 per employee and the penalty isn’t deductible, so he’ll actually have to make $2,800 additional profit per employee. Most restaurant profits per employee are similar, so Obamacare will directly cause a 5% increase in the price of eating out. And his workers still won’t have health insurance.
Wow! Arctic Circle. I haven’t been to one since I was a kid in Montana. Glad to see they still exist.
I second that motion on KFC. The Colonel would be spinning in his grave if he knew how low-rent his product has become.
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