Oliver Grant

Investor & M&A Contributor

Oliver writes the buy-side perspective for The Bottom Line. He's a partner at a hospitality-focused family office and has personally closed eleven restaurant acquisitions in the last six years.

He files monthly, mostly when the marketplace surfaces a listing he wants to argue about in print. His pieces tend to be the ones brokers screenshot and forward to their clients.

Outside TableTransfers he sits on three operator boards and teaches a unit on hospitality LBO modeling at a leading business school.

Oliver Grant, Investor & M&A Contributor

More articles from oliver-grant

FAT Brands has to sell. Here's what the AI premium does (and doesn't) buy a multi-brand QSR.

the bottom line

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12 min read

FAT Brands has to sell. Here's what the AI premium does (and doesn't) buy a multi-brand QSR.

The setup into Wingstop Q1: Citi's Buy call, the same-store sales floor, and what Smart Kitchen has to prove

the bottom line

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11 min read

The setup into Wingstop Q1: Citi's Buy call, the same-store sales floor, and what Smart Kitchen has to prove

Chipotle Q1: comps positive, AI talk modest, and the 32% loyalty number that should worry every fast casual

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9 min read

Chipotle Q1: comps positive, AI talk modest, and the 32% loyalty number that should worry every fast casual

Yelp's local-ad engine is cracking. The AI pivot won't save Q2.

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12 min read

Yelp's local-ad engine is cracking. The AI pivot won't save Q2.

Toast's Q3 Print, the Uber Partnership, and the Drive-Thru Question No Analyst Will Ask

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8 min read

Toast's Q3 Print, the Uber Partnership, and the Drive-Thru Question No Analyst Will Ask

Don't Pay the AI Premium: A Buy-Side Thesis on Restaurant M&A in 2026

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10 min read

Don't Pay the AI Premium: A Buy-Side Thesis on Restaurant M&A in 2026

Limehome's €75M Is a 90-Day Funding Window Opening — Here's the Math on Why Hotel-Tech Is Hot Again

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9 min read

Limehome's €75M Is a 90-Day Funding Window Opening — Here's the Math on Why Hotel-Tech Is Hot Again

How I'd Price a 12-Unit Cafe Group This Week, Step by Step

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13 min read

How I'd Price a 12-Unit Cafe Group This Week, Step by Step

The 2025 Restaurant Ticker Scoreboard: Chili's, Toast, Hilton — and the Spread That Should Worry Vendor CFOs

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11 min read

The 2025 Restaurant Ticker Scoreboard: Chili's, Toast, Hilton — and the Spread That Should Worry Vendor CFOs

Sweetgreen's $186M Automation U-Turn: What the Wonder Deal Says About AI ROI

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9 min read

Sweetgreen's $186M Automation U-Turn: What the Wonder Deal Says About AI ROI

Three Hotel Tapes, One Trade: MAR Up, HLT Down, H Sideways

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9 min read

Three Hotel Tapes, One Trade: MAR Up, HLT Down, H Sideways

Block/Square's Restaurant Pivot Is Bullish, Contrarian and Possibly Underpriced

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10 min read

Block/Square's Restaurant Pivot Is Bullish, Contrarian and Possibly Underpriced

Yelp's AI Bet Is a Real Call Option Investors Are Mispricing

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12 min read

Yelp's AI Bet Is a Real Call Option Investors Are Mispricing

Thoma Bravo Closes Olo: Pricing the Take-Private Discount

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9 min read

Thoma Bravo Closes Olo: Pricing the Take-Private Discount

Darden Raises FY26 Guidance. The Casual-Dining Bull Case Gets Re-rated.

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9 min read

Darden Raises FY26 Guidance. The Casual-Dining Bull Case Gets Re-rated.

The Olo Take-Private Template: What Restaurant SaaS Founders Should Learn from $10.25

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11 min read

The Olo Take-Private Template: What Restaurant SaaS Founders Should Learn from $10.25

The Big Three Distributors Print: Who Actually Owns the Independent Restaurant

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10 min read

The Big Three Distributors Print: Who Actually Owns the Independent Restaurant

Sweetgreen vs. Cava: The Unit-Economics Divergence

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9 min read

Sweetgreen vs. Cava: The Unit-Economics Divergence

The Compliance Bill Comes Due: Pricing the EU AI Act for Hospitality Investors

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9 min read

The Compliance Bill Comes Due: Pricing the EU AI Act for Hospitality Investors

Earnings Week Debrief: What Hilton, Wyndham, Chipotle and LVS Told You About AI Capex

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12 min read

Earnings Week Debrief: What Hilton, Wyndham, Chipotle and LVS Told You About AI Capex

The Hotel-PMS Map Just Tilted: Cloudbeds-Canary Strategic Alliance

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12 min read

The Hotel-PMS Map Just Tilted: Cloudbeds-Canary Strategic Alliance

What Q1 2025 Transcripts Actually Said About AI Spend

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11 min read

What Q1 2025 Transcripts Actually Said About AI Spend

EU AI Act's August GPAI Deadline Now Six Weeks Out

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10 min read

EU AI Act's August GPAI Deadline Now Six Weeks Out

The Hilton-Marriott-Hyatt AI Premium, Triangulated From One Week of Earnings

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11 min read

The Hilton-Marriott-Hyatt AI Premium, Triangulated From One Week of Earnings

The FreshAI 168: Wendy's Commits, McDonald's Wavers, and the Test of Who Really Has Scale

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9 min read

The FreshAI 168: Wendy's Commits, McDonald's Wavers, and the Test of Who Really Has Scale

What the McDonald's CEO Is Actually Saying About AI in 2025 (and What He Isn't)

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10 min read

What the McDonald's CEO Is Actually Saying About AI in 2025 (and What He Isn't)

The April Fundings Sweep: A $130M Check-Stack That Says Investors Picked Their Voice AI Horses

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10 min read

The April Fundings Sweep: A $130M Check-Stack That Says Investors Picked Their Voice AI Horses

Reading the Delaget Premium: What PAR Paid For

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10 min read

Reading the Delaget Premium: What PAR Paid For

Voice AI's Pre-Money Math: What Operators Should Underwrite

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10 min read

Voice AI's Pre-Money Math: What Operators Should Underwrite

Against the AI Premium: What Operators Should Pay

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12 min read

Against the AI Premium: What Operators Should Pay

Why Investors Should Stop Treating Toast and Block Like the Same Trade

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10 min read

Why Investors Should Stop Treating Toast and Block Like the Same Trade

Earnings Week Unpacked: Where the AI-and-Hospitality Multiples Expand From Here

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13 min read

Earnings Week Unpacked: Where the AI-and-Hospitality Multiples Expand From Here

Restaurant SaaS Valuations After May: How the Rerating Actually Works

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11 min read

Restaurant SaaS Valuations After May: How the Rerating Actually Works

Wendy's FreshAI Math: Why Investors Should Care About the Next 500 Stores

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11 min read

Wendy's FreshAI Math: Why Investors Should Care About the Next 500 Stores

Voice AI's Funding Lull Is Over — Track These Eight Names Into GTC Week

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9 min read

Voice AI's Funding Lull Is Over — Track These Eight Names Into GTC Week

Yum/Nvidia and the Restaurant-Tech Multiple Reset

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12 min read

Yum/Nvidia and the Restaurant-Tech Multiple Reset

Against the AI Premium: Why Toast's Q4 Won't Justify a Re-rating

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10 min read

Against the AI Premium: Why Toast's Q4 Won't Justify a Re-rating

The 12-Unit Cafe Valuation Primer: What Wingstop's Smart Kitchen Comp Means for Independents

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10 min read

The 12-Unit Cafe Valuation Primer: What Wingstop's Smart Kitchen Comp Means for Independents

Brussels Is Making the AI Act Easier. That's a Buy Signal for EU Restaurant Voice AI.

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9 min read

Brussels Is Making the AI Act Easier. That's a Buy Signal for EU Restaurant Voice AI.