News Summary

• The business model of a restaurant "group" has been around for years.
• But experts say these groups are becoming bigger players as the industry struggles post-pandemic.
• Being big, they say, offers better buying power and a barrier against risk.
• But some say that past a certain scale, the trend can still involve a certain amount of homogenization, where even seemingly standalone restaurants start to look and taste a little bit the same.
• The extent of the growth of the restaurant group model is difficult to pin down.