Counter Culture

We’ve seen conflicting reports lately on the state of casual dining.

The most recent article reports on a Friedman, Billings, Ramsey analyst note earlier this week that said California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro will all face negative impacts from housing woes in Arizona, California and Florida, as consumers in those states cut spending.

But another report just last week had a Raymond James analyst upgrading Brinker International, P.F. Chang’s and many other chains. Analyst Bryan C. Elliott said demand in the sector is stabilizing, and many casual-dining chains could have better-than-expected results.
Continue reading ‘Will Casual Dining Get Hit Next?’

In a series of Wall Street Transcript interviews found on Yahoo Finance, we took note of some interesting comments regarding the restaurant sector.

We were especially intrigued by a portion of an interview with KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Lynne Collier saying that California Pizza Kitchen and Cheesecake Factory are two chains that private-equity firms could show interest in buying in the coming year. “I think the M&A activity will pick up,” she is quoted as saying. “It depends on the credit markets, of course, but I expect to see more and more of this.”
Continue reading ‘Analyst Sees Cheesecake, California Pizza As Buyout Targets’

Is McDonald’s going after Starbucks?

According to a report earlier this week, McDonald’s will install coffee bars helmed by baristas in its 14,000 locations nationwide.
Continue reading ‘McDonald’s Vs. Starbucks?’