Sports bar chain Twin Peaks’ IPO could be the first of several restaurant IPOs this year

The news: Sports bar chain Twin Peaks began trading on Thursday using the ticker “TWNP.”

• The IPO completes the Hooters rival’s spinoff from parent company Fat Brands, which owns several other restaurant chains including Johnny Rockets, Fatburger, and Ponderosa Steakhouse.
• Fat Brands shareholders received 5% of the newly formed Twin Hospitality Group, while Fat Brands retained the remaining 95% ownership.

Why it matters: The IPO marks the first major restaurant public offering since Pinstripes went public over a year ago. Investors’ response to the sports bar chain could help determine whether other restaurant groups go public this year. Potential IPOs include:

• Panera Brands, parent company of Panera Bread, Einstein Bros. Bagels, and Caribou Coffee, has been itching to go public for several years and has had several false starts since 2021, including a December 2023 confidential filing that it planned to go public. But the company got cold feet amid a challenging environment for restaurants.
• Inspire Brands—parent of brands including Jimmy John’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, and Baskin-Robbins—was reportedly exploring an IPO at a $20 billion valuation last year, per Bloomberg. It’s likely waiting for more favorable market conditions.

Our take: The IPO market has been largely frozen for years as companies hesitated to go public amid rising prices, high interest rates, and cautious consumer spending. Even Cava’s successful debut failed to spark a wave of restaurant IPOs.

Whether Twin Peaks starts a trend or remains an outlier will likely depend on the broader economic landscape and investors’ appetite for new public offerings in the sector.

This article is part of EMARKETER’s client-only subscription Briefings—daily newsletters authored by industry analysts who are experts in marketing, advertising, media, and tech trends. To help you start 2025 off on the right foot, articles like this one—delivering the latest news and insights—are completely free through January 31, 2025. If you want to learn how to get insights like these delivered to your inbox every day, and get access to our data-driven forecasts, reports, and industry benchmarks, schedule a demo with our sales team.