I don't think the choice is 'fake' at all. 'Operated by' really means owned by: the IP, processes, foods, experiences are created entirely separately, it's jus

I don't think the choice is 'fake' at all. 'Operated by' really means owned by: the IP, processes, foods, experiences are created entirely separately, it's just one owner. If the food is good and people like it then hey. That said, I do wonder about quality, freshness, real experience, real innovation - no doubt scale provides all sorts of advantages, but it cuts out other things as well. There are zero 'scale' restaurants in my neighbourhood and I don't miss anything really - other than a coffee chain store. There's a knock-off Chipotle which fills the only hole I might miss on occasion!