---
title: "Why restaurant chain franchisees are struggling right now"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/5f58977a-8493-478f-9cda-263e79fb0fda
source: "Restaurant Business"
original_url: https://restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/why-restaurant-chain-franchisees-are-struggling-right-now
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
published: 2026-04-29T18:54:41.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T14:58:05.524Z
image: https://cdn.informaconnect.com/platform/files/public/2026-04/background/generated-image%20%283%29.png?VersionId=auHSfkC8abFJQIKXtxMV4j.MJJl.c3BZ
---

# Why restaurant chain franchisees are struggling right now

**TL;DR:** Austin Titus, president of Accurate Franchising, discusses the struggles of franchisees on the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive. Franchisees are facing challenges due to high costs and weak sales and traffic, with several filing for bankruptcy.

*originally published in Restaurant Business on 2026-04-29. [Read the original](https://restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/why-restaurant-chain-franchisees-are-struggling-right-now).*

## Story

Why are franchisees struggling right now?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Austin Titus, the president of Accurate Franchising.

Accurate Franchising is a consulting firm that works with franchisors and franchisees and so we talk about all kinds of things on this episode.

We talk about struggles franchisees are having and why. Several franchisees have filed for bankruptcy and many are having challenges after a few difficult periods, with high costs and weak sales and traffic. We explain what’s happened and how operators can deal with it.

Titus talks about red flags franchisees can look for when considering a franchise brand to invest in. He also talks about how emerging chains can get the right franchisees early in their history and why that’s important.

We’re talking franchising on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.

*Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.*

Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze is a longtime industry journalist who writes about restaurant finance, mergers and acquisitions and the economy, with a particular focus on quick-service restaurants.

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## Entities

- Restaurants (sector)
- franchising (topic)
- restaurant industry (topic)
- Restaurant Business (publication)
- Jonathan Maze (person)
- bankruptcy (topic)
- Accurate Franchising (company)
- Austin Titus (person)
- franchisee struggles (topic)

---
Originally reported by Restaurant Business (https://restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/why-restaurant-chain-franchisees-are-struggling-right-now). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/5f58977a-8493-478f-9cda-263e79fb0fda).