The State of the Restaurant Industry: What Lies Ahead

Thursday, April 27, 2023 | 2:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M. ET

McDonald Hopkins Event

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A lot has changed in the past several years due to COVID and almost no industry was more impacted than the restaurant and hospitality industry.

During this panel discussion you will learn more about the current state of the restaurant industry from the perspective of bankers, attorneys, operators and strategic buyers. The discussion will also touch on key trends and challenges still facing operators and franchisors after three years of pandemic uncertainty.

The panel will be led by McDonald Hopkins' Michael Kaczka, a Member in the firm’s Strategic Advisory and Restructuring Department and Franchising, Licensing and Distribution Practice Group. Michael will be joined by Dirk Ahlbeck (Apple Growth Partners), Robert Hunter (Peoples Bank), and David Strang (Strang Corporation).

Topics will include:

Key market trends
Opportunities to grow and be successful in the current market
Latest developments in automation/AI trends

This decision only adds to to the growing circuit split on the application of the “hypothetical test” or the “actual test” in bankruptcy, and may lead a higher court to consider the issue. For franchisees in the Sixth Circuit who desire to reorganize in bankruptcy, however, this decision provides clarity about which test parties may use to determine if a contract could be assumed.

This ruling reveals the limits to the rejection power of the Bankruptcy Code. While a bankrupt franchisee can use bankruptcy to unburden itself of future monetary liabilities due to a franchisor, such franchisee cannot completely rid itself of those bargained-for equitable remedies that are there to protect the integrity of the brand and the confidential, proprietary information that the franchise arrangement is designed to protect.

The State of the Restaurant Industry: What Lies Ahead

Register for the event

Speakers

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