Wall Street prices headlines. Public investors focus on next quarter’s traffic. Sponsors focus on what earnings can look like after repairs. They care about normalized cash flow and what better ownership can unlock. Public investors often see Applebee’s and IHOP as mature brands with uneven momentum. A sponsor may see two household names generating royalty streams, carrying significant brand awareness, and sitting inside a structure where costs, incentives, and capital allocation can still be improved.I hav ...