Does private equity turn restaurants into zombified husks of their former selves? From the Crumbl and Insomnia cookie empires, to some of our country's most enduring chains like Dunkin and Panera, private equity is getting its hands in a lot of food chains. And some consumers are actively avoiding places that are private equity backed – expecting high prices, low quality, and an unsettling sameness to the food. But what's behind all the private equity money in these food chains? And what makes the hate of it so personal? To get into it, Brittany is joined by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/profile/alaina-demopoulos"target="_blank" >Alaina Demopoul</a><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/profile/alaina-demopoulos"target="_blank" >os</a>, daily features writer at the Guardian, and <a href="https://www.weareravenous.com/author/courtney-e-smith/"target="_blank" >Courtney E. Smith</a>, founder and owner of the independent food and culture site Ravenous. For more episodes about food culture, check out:<a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/09/30/nx-s1-5985223/bacteria-is-taking-over-the-food-pyramid"target="_blank" >Bacteria is taking over the food pyramid</a><a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/09/28/nx-s1-5981361/is-the-internet-choosing-your-food"target="_blank" >Is the internet choosing your food?</a><a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/09/01/nx-s1-5950472/its-healthy-to-eat-your-feelings-heres-why"target="_blank" >It's healthy to eat your feelings. Here's why.</a> Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org</a>. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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There's nothing scarier than private equity in food

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