Investments Blog

Fans of the well-known Duluth brewery Fitger's Brewhouse will soon see its beer in the Twin Cities.

By law, brewhouses can't distribute beers. But after working with a team of lawyers for about two years, Beau Raymond — son of Fitger's owner Rod Raymond — started a new company and will distribute some of Fitger's recipes in cans and kegs throughout the state.

That company is called Duluth Brewhouse and it will begin distributing two beers at liquor stores in the Twin Cities and…

Attic Brewing Co., when it opens in 2019, will be Germantown's only craft brewery. Founders are raising money through WeFunder, where investors make 1.5 times what they put in. We spoke with Ari S. Goldberg, founder of investment firm RNMKR, about funding craft breweries.

CEO David Belanich dishes on starting out and what it's like to work with brothers.

A popular downtown Wichita coffee shop appears to be on its way out.

According to a post on the First United Methodist Church Facebook page, the Mead's Corner Coffeeshop at 430 E. Douglas will close in July. The church has operated the coffee shop for nearly 10 years, the post says, but a recent proposed increase in rent led to a decision by the church's board of trustees to close the business.

The shop's last day of business will be July 28, the post says. Its current lease runs through August.…

Kona Grill Inc. (NASDAQ: KONA) is still losing money and announced plans to franchise its restaurant in hopes of turning things around.

On Thursday, the Scottsdale-based grill and sushi bar restaurant chain announced revenues decreased 7.1 percent in the first quarter of 2018 to $42 million, compared to the first quarter of 2017.

For the quarter, same-store sales were down 8.3 percent, which led to a net loss of $2.5 million, or 24 cents per share. While the loss isn’t great, it is better than…

Diners like the convenience and affordability of fast-food and fast-casual restaurants, a trend that shows no sign of slowing. Many of these chains have a presence across the country as they continue to expand. Here is a quick look at stories about the leading brands in the industry as recently reported by The Business Journals and other media.

Nestle announced a $7.15 billion agreement with Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) to sell the coffee giant’s consumer and food-service products globally, outside…

Old Town Alexandria is getting a Taco Bell Cantina, but one of Europe’s oldest downtowns has an issue with Greater Washington’s homegrown burger chain.

City officials in Amsterdam, the largest city in the Netherlands, have refused to give Five Guys a license to open a location in the city’s center, according to Dutch News, because the restaurant concept runs against the area’s zoning plan.

Amsterdam has been looking to reduce its number of fast-food establishments, and it sees Five Guys…

Fresh beef at McDonald's means fresh beef with Wendy's.

As the Oak Brook, Illinois-based fast food behemoth rolls out its first fresh burger patties nationwide this week, its Dublin-based competitor remains ready to remind customers that while fresh beef is new to the Golden Arches, it has long been the norm at the red pigtails.

“It gives us a platform to tell our story,” CEO Todd Penegor said on a Wednesday morning conference call with stock analysts. “We’ve been doing fresh every single…

Papa John International Inc. reported this week that its sales dropped in the first quarter, but CEO Steve Ritchie, who has been on the job since January, said the company's leaders have five “strategic priorities” to get it back on track.

Papa John's (Nasdaq: PZZA) reported lower earnings and a drop in same-store sales in the first quarter of 2018, but Ritchie said the results are “consistent with our expectations.”

The Louisville, Kentucky-based pizza chain said net income fell 41.1 percent…

Premium and ultra-premium products, regional craft beers and low-alcohol products were top performers for beer giant ABInbev in a first quarter that saw sales of its iconic Budweiser brands decline and North American sales fall by 2.3 percent overall.

Food Dive reports that AB InBev's latest results are similar to those of Molson Coors and Heineken, both of which saw recent volume declines in the U.S. Molson Coors reported a 5.8 percent sales drop domestically, while Heineken said its beer volume…