Maze Comments on Chick on X

 

Jonathan Maze

@jonathanmaze

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1h

Chick-fil-A's FDD is out. Stand-alone locations average $9.2 million in sales a year, down 1.7%. But mall location average-unit volumes were up 1.4% to $4.6 million. Highest volume CFA now does > $20 million. Company added 178 U.S. locations last year and now has 3,287 restaurants.

McDonald's New Director

I missed this one by a month or so, but McDonald's recently added (IMHO) a celebrity director to its board, Ford CEO James Farley. I've noticed Farley on the business channels for his ease in interviews. His responses aren't canned and rehearsed directly out of Ford's PR department. 

Plus, he's a real "car-guy."

Plus, he's a cousin of the late Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley. You'll see the resemblance.

He's a far more interesting person than most on the BOD.

James D. Farley Jr. elected to McDonald's board

Liberal Politicians Are Your April Fools

Colorado officials want to ban delivered napkins, straws, etc

Pizza Giant Now Selling Sandwiches

Papa John's rolls out toasted sandwiches - NRN

Maze on New Whopper

Jonathan Maze on X

@jonathanmaze

"Finally tried the upgraded Whopper. I stopped on my way home from the airport, went through the DT and ate it in the parking lot like a surprising big percentage of fast-food visits.

Exceptional burger. The upgrades are subtle yet very effective, especially the improved bun and the packaging. Still a Whopper. It’s just a better Whopper. Impressive stuff."

ON the Move

 

Click to enlarge

Analyst Kalinowski says KPop Promo Worth $100 Million

 Netflix-McDonald's collaboration should be "Golden" for the Golden Arches.

Jonathan Maze on a Few Political and Legal Issues:

Restaurants and Politics:

Midterm elections as seen by the National Restaurant Association

I'd bet that very few McDonald's franchisees have ever touched, paged through, or read their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Especially with the number of next-gen Owner/Operators and former employees in the Operator ranks. Most signed up without reading anything.

Everyone needs "due diligence."

Big Arch Provided Modest Traffic Bump

" the Big Arch wasn't meant to be a traffic play" - NRN

California Fast Food Wage Negative Impacts

$20 wage upped prices, cut jobs - Dan Walters

Chains Play Hardball on Delivery Fees

A lot gets written about the costs of delivery impacting restaurant operators. Maybe the question should be, why would the average consumer spend the extra money to have your food delivered?

If the industry focus is on "value," why are restaurants promoting the most expensive way to access the product?

My household spent a lot of money on delivery during the pandemic. Then we enjoyed going out and our trips to the grocery store. Lately, for various reasons, we've ordered more from McDonald's (Big Arch) and a few other chains. Gosh, it's expensive! Those fees! The gratuities! At least as compared to jumping in the car and driving a few minutes to my local McDonald's.

It's my impression that some people can afford to have their food delivered. But for those who can't or won't, no amount of advertising will force them to carve out more of their budget for food delivery.

Trying to increase sales with "value" and also trying to increase delivery sales are contradictory messages.

From now on, I'll see you at the drive-thru.

Pie Five cuts ties with Uber Easts after fee hike - RestBus

BK Updates "Reclaim the Flame"

Moving away from creepy king mascot - Nations Restaurant News 

Here's the 90-second commercial BK ran during the Oscars - YouTube

"Fake News" Problems for Restaurants

For restaurants fake news is becoming a real problem - RestBusiness

Who's More Famous - the Big Arch or PJB?

This editorial from QSR magazine discusses how a brand's CEO might be a plus or a minus on social media.

The problem at McDonald's is that PJB is not content with being in charge of the world's largest restaurant chain. 

He's not satisfied with being one of the wealthiest people in the restaurant industry.

Nope, he's driven by a desire for "celebrity". 

Will he get his way? Who's going to stop him? 

Will the bobbleheads in the corporate office tell him he's not that funny?

Will the advertising people tell the emperor that he's not entertaining?

In a desperate quest for more and more "celebrity," a bureaucrat often puts aside logic and makes emotional decisions that don't belong in the corporate boardroom.

The real lesson behind McDonald's social media backlash - QSR Mag

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Former MCD O/O and Congressman in Race for U.S. Senate

International Franchise Association endorses Kevin Hern for Senate

Are "Clicks" Advertising?

From @McFranchisee on X (formerly Twitter) 

Mar 2

This video will probably get half a billion views, worth millions in free advertising. It’s like getting a Super Bowl commercial for free. I bet @McDonalds will sell at the high end of the range because of this.

It officially drops tomorrow. BTW, can’t wait to see Chris’s next video.

@McFranchisee  Mar 4

Big Arch - Chris K - CEO Video

Love it, hate it, call it cringe, or just scroll past - this thing blew up bigger than the Golden Arches themselves. It went global. Even our competitors had to respond. Probably the most unintentionally viral moment in 

@McDonalds history, out-meming even the Evil Grimace saga.

Yes, most of the hot takes roasting Chris were off-base, but the facts are: we have sold a SERIOUS amount Big Arch Burgers because of it. He’s probably grinning ear to ear with a mouth full of product right now, thanks to the massive free advertising for the burger he actually created. Sometimes the best “marketing” is the kind nobody planned. 

Desperately Seeking Celebrity Status

Some PJBs never learn. He made the same blunders in 2024

RFK Jr Targeting High Sugar Drinks

RFK Jr targeting the nation’s 2 biggest coffee chains over high sugar drinks

Good for the Brand?

 McDonald's marketing people and advertising "experts" would tell you two things:

* Any number of clicks and comments (no matter how negative) on social media is good for the brand.

* If you're over 40 years old, you're too old to understand this new world.

If a McDonald's franchisee created such headlines, they'd be getting nasty letters from the legal department accusing them of damaging the brand.

MCD CEO roasted after his tiny first bite of Big Arch burger goes viral - Fox

A Great Face for the Radio

PJB wants to be a TV personality in the worst way -And he did it - Irish Star

Learns it takes two hands to handle a Big Arch.

Burger King Reinventing the Whopper

BK is making improvements to the - Whopper - RestBusiness

BK elevating Whopper - First time in decades - QSRmag

Cattle Numbers to Remain Low

Beef prices to rise, cattle herd numbers to remain low

The Best at Self-Promotion

When a McDonald's Owner/Operator opens a new store that does under two million in sales and carries a 20% rent factor, they might have this lady to thank. This is a profile of McDonald's SVP Tabassum Zalotrawala, chief development officer for McDonald's USA.

I've seen thousands of executive profiles, but nothing quite like this. If an article is an extensive interview, it's usually about the brand or a new direction for the brand. This article is about her, not much about McDonald's. An executive bio is usually a paragraph or two. This prints to almost nine pages (all about her).

I'm wondering if she commissioned a PR writer to develop a piece about her, and they sent it around, expecting it to get edited and condensed. QSR Mag ran the entire thing.

Casual observers can only conclude that she is already job-shopping and has one foot out the door, maybe before some of her new stores open.

Meet the creative mind powering McDonald's growth 

A Good Business Requires Good Government

Even the finiest of journalists can be a little short-sighted now and then. This article by Jonathan Maze and Lisa Jennings appears to blame the turmoil in the Minnesota restaurant business on Homeland Security law enforcement activities. 

The problem in Minnesota goes back decades and has been exacerbated by decisions made by the current Minnesota Governor and Minneapolis Mayor. The world seems to have forgotten the riots of 2020 (The Summer of Love). There were riots in many blue cities, but Minneapolis was the hot spot. It was easy for Minnesota elected officials to cause the rabble to rise up again.

It's difficult, if not impossible, to run a small business in a city or state governed by incompetent and corrupt officials. We believe it's best that businesses stay at arm's length from the government. But sometimes, businesspeople have to get involved to ensure the community's survival.

The civil unrest in Minneapolis is the symptom. The disease is the worst state government of the fifty.

For Minnesota's restaurants, another economic nightmare - Restaurant Business

Wendy's Sales Plunged in Fourth Qaurter

The worst quarter in at least 20 years - Maze

What Does PJB Have Planned for Your Future? Listen In

Seeking Alpha transcript - MCD earnings call - 2/11/2026

PJB Says Value Bringing Back Customers

Wall Street was expecting a 5.3% increase in USA SSS for Q4 2025. 

The real result was + 6.8.

 Are McDonald's franchisees "buying" the sales increases?

What will happen in the fourth quarter of 2026?

Associated Press - MCD Q425 and FY 2025

Analyst's Survey Raises McQuestions

MCD "Value" creating tensions with some franchisees - CNBC

McDonald's - Most Valuable Restaurant Brand

According to QSR magazine and "Brand Finance"

Yo Quiero Chipotle

Chipotle and Taco Bell had very different years in 2025 - Maze

McDonald's Marketing Wizard, Paul Schrage Passes

For those who haven't heard, Paul Schrage passed away on January 28th

         Paul's obituary is HERE       

The Bigger They Are ...

43-store Subway franchisee files for bankruptcy - Maze

From the Recent Kalinowski Operator Survey

Stolen from Mark's Winter 2026 survey:

"We asked our franchisee contacts “Regarding the changes to the National Franchising Standards, effective January 1, 2026, are you in favor of them or not?” As it turns out, every single one of the franchisees who responded to this question said “No.” This is the first time in the 20+ year history of our McDonald’s Franchisee Survey that all respondents to a Yes-or-No question have all provided the exact same answer. As one franchisee put it: “I see a lot of civil disobedience and conflict in the future.”

NOA and the McDonald's Bill of Rights

McDonald's franchisees send a message with a "bill of rights"

Is This A Good Time to Lower QPC Prices?

 Winter weather not helping with low cattle herd numbers

Don't Miss the Discussion Here...

fegroupblog/and so it begins

QSR Magazine Drive-Thru Study

Somehow, every year, the annual QSR drive-thru study gets further and further away from reality. To claim that Taco Bell does a better job in drive-thru than McDonald's is silly. It's not a reasonable comparison. Taco Bell's AUV is $1.2 million. It's like comparing an Ace Hardware store to a Home Depot.

Maybe even sillier is comparing a KFC to a Chick-fil-A.

QSRmag drive-thru report - 2025

8000 New McDonald's

This kind of press release/article is generated ahead of the regular earnings announcements. In this case, McDonald's will release Fourth Quarter 2025 and year-end results on February Eleventh.

Will they make the 8,000-store goal? No one knows, given McDonald's global scope. We do know one thing: stakeholders in McDonald's don't care. Stakeholders want earnings, not the number of locations. If PJB delivers the expected earnings, stakeholders will not fuss over whether he expanded the system by 8,000 stores or 2,000 stores.

This is just part of the ongoing corporate charade that McDonald's Corporation is still a growth company.

A company focused on the number of global locations is not concerned with the profitability of the individual unit.

McDonald's is opening 8000 new restaurants - Geekspin

PJB Working on His Legacy

McDonald's CEO and his 2025 predictions - Entrepreneur mag

And So It Begins

McDonald's Canada freezes price of small coffee and McValue meals

"And will they be willing to sacrifice? I think McDonald's is very clearly saying we will sacrifice profits and future earnings over foot traffic."  Jo-Ann McArthur- Nourish Food Marketing,

Anonymous Seeking Attorneys

Anonymous asks:

"In prior years, you used to have links or contact info for Franchise Attorneys. In light of current circumstances, it would be very helpful if you were to start posting them again, IMO"

I found that, in doing so, people expect it to be an endorsement of certain law firms. To endorse a firm, I would need to know its track record of success and it's client base. I don't.

If attorneys had something like baseball trading cards, there would be no stats on the back. So much of what they do is confidential.

By listing attorneys, I end up getting questions I have no answers to, nor should I.  

Having said all that, I will offer that the NOA has retained the services of Robert Zarco in Miami.

Also, one of the top-rated "franchisee only" firms is Dady and Gardner in Minneapolis (the safe part of Minneapolis).

A good source for franchise attorneys is the AAFD. Their listing is at 

https://www.aafd.org/franchisee-legaline/

Also. there are a few firms that try to represent both franchisors and franchisees. I don't see how that works. How can a legal team go into a courtroom and argue passionately for the welfare of a franchisee and then go to the courtroom down the hall and argue passionately for the welfare of a huge franchisor?

Have You Guys Seen This?

Needless to say, I don't see everything a McDonald's franchisee receives. But while researching, the AI search engines found an interesting page on the McDonald's corporate website. McDonald's Operators may have already seen this, but let's take another look.

It appears to be a supplemental page for inclusion in the franchise disclosure package provided to prospective franchisees or operators getting a new store or a franchise renewal. The exact content of this page doesn't seem appear anywhere else (that I've seen). 

The last sentence caught my eye. The language doesn't seem to be included in other documents. It states:

"McDonald’s will holistically assess the outcomes of those decisions in relation to providing great value to our customers."

I'm not trying to play lawyer here, but in my layman's opinion, this closing sentence negates all other corporate statements on the matter.  I think it says, regardless of all other rhetoric, that McDonald's will do whatever it wants and implement this policy arbitrarily.

Here's a link to the page on the corporate website

When Corporate Managment is Staffed by Ivy League Liberals This is What You Get

Minneapolis McDonald's location tries to refuse service to ICE

The Land of 10,000 Communists

(This appears off-topic, but I'll get to the business issue.)

Minnesota was once a pretty normal place. The Twin Cities were

always liberal, but they were balanced politically by the small towns and the farming community. But, as agriculture changed and the cities grew, the state became more liberal. When that happens, voters tend to elect people with room temperature IQs. The stupid people take over, and we are seeing the result.

One of the contributors to this trend is the dominant newspaper, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Working in concert with the dominant talk radio station, WCCO, the news that Minnesotans get is very slanted and hides most negative news about democrats.

But there's a funny free enterprise side to this story. The Star-Tribune has helped turn Minnesota into an anti-business, high-tax state, and now they have to take their business elsewhere. The newspaper is closing its Minneapolis printing plant and moving its printing operationacross the border to Iowa, laying off 125 people in Minneapolis.

Good job, Star-Tribune, you helped destroy a perfectly good economy, and now you're trying to sneak out the back door.

Article from Twin City Business

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Ridiculous McRib Lawsuit

All this lawsuit is doing is making me and all Americans hungry for a McRib

Anonymous Says:

 Anonymous

Happy New Year! Thank you for this blog. When will the FTC look at the price fixing that is currently in place. The new Value Standards that will require following Deloitte pricing or not be able to obtain and or keep your restaurants. NFLA and NOA why are you all sitting quiet. It is the year of the horse, not the horse's ass. Wake up or go broke.

1/02/2026

Richard Adams

I don't see the NOA sitting quietly. They had a call-to-action memo out to their members almost immediately. But keep in mind, PJB timed this so it would be difficult for Operators to react, given that the Operators who are involved with their stores were dealing with their highest-volume month. And others were on vacation or enjoying family time. Even if someone figured out a way to raise hell, nobody in Chicago or in the media would have been around to listen.
So the criticism is unfair, but if nothing happens over the next few weeks, it will be justified.
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