Summary: In this episode, Tracey is joined by Eric Dutram, Zacks ETF strategist and editor of the Surprise Trader and ETF Investor portfolios, to discuss one of Tracey’s favorite topics: the restaurant chains. Tracey is always getting asked on Twitter: “Who’s the next Chipotle?” Chipotle (CMG) went public in January 2006. If you bought it at the IPO, you’ve seen a 888% return. Not too shabby. Starbucks has had an even more amazing run, though. Since its 1992 IPO, shares have jumped 17,290%. Restaurant stocks can be a lucrative investment, if you guess right. Who’s on Tracey’s and Eric’s radar as possible contenders for Chipotle’s throne? There are plenty of good restaurant chains that aren’t yet public. Some of their favorites include Panda Express, Blaze Pizza, and the “good for you” chains like Protein Bar, Toronto-based Freshii, Lyfe Kitchen out of Memphis and Sweetgreen, which has 40 restaurants nationwide and the backing of some of the big names in the restaurant industry including Shake Shack’s founder. These are companies you should keep an eye on for possible IPOs so you can get in on the ground floor if they do go public. With companies that are already public, there are a lot of smaller restaurant chains that could be the “next” Chipotle. Tracey likes Fiesta Restaurant Group (FRGI), but only for one of its brands, and El Pollo Loco (LOCO), the Mexican fire-grilled chain out of California. Eric chats about some surprising names including Fogo de Chao (FOGO), the Restaurant ETF (BITE) and a chain that has only 2,000 restaurants but which has room to expand much, much more. Tune into this week’s podcast to find out the mystery restaurant chain that Eric thinks could be the “next” Chipotle and to hear which of Fiesta’s two chains Tracey finds unique. And be sure to tweet at @TraceyRyniec or @EricDutram your picks for chains that could be the “next” Chipotle. There are a lot of local, regional chains that might be little known outside of a certain part of the country. They want to hear from you with your favorites. Chipotle: http://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/CMG?cid=cs-soundcloud-ft-pod Fiesta Restaurant: http://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/FRGI?cid=cs-soundcloud-ft-pod El Pollo Loco: http://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/LOCO?cid=cs-soundcloud-ft-pod Fogo De Chao: http://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/FOGO?cid=cs-soundcloud-ft-pod The Restaurant: http://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/BITE?cid=cs-soundcloud-ft-pod Follow us on StockTwits: stocktwits.com/ZacksResearch Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ZacksResearch Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch
