Twin Peaks sports bar in Louisville, Kentucky.
Google Maps
Sports bar chain Twin Peaks starts trading Thursday on the Nasdaq using the ticker “TWNP,” making it the first restaurant initial public offering of the new year and a potential litmus test for others looking to go public.
The IPO market has been tepid for several years, particularly for consumer companies. Soaring inflation, higher interest rates, cautious consumers and the risk of lower valuations scared many companies away from going public. Market conditions meant that some companies chose to seek a sale rather than trying their luck with the public markets. Even the rare success, like Cava’s IPO, didn’t convince others to follow its path.
But many are hopeful that the IPO market will thaw this year.
“Last year was a stronger year than 2023, and we’re expecting 2025 to have more IPOs than 2024,” said Nick Einhorn, vice president of research for Renaissance Capital, a provider…
