It's weird to say but Pepsi was actually a decent restaurant operator. It was just a way for them to expand their products with direct relationships but it also fit naturally with the rest of the company in terms of product distribution, marketing, and fast food services.

So they never overran the businesses. They were just there as a conduit. To be acceptable and even slightly good without having to be ground out for maximum profits. There were so many ancillary benefits you didn't really have to try all that hard.

The spin off of the core company into YUM brands and a separate Ameriserve deal really changed all that and forced the individual franchises to turn out a much higher margin into profits while getting squeezed by new third party distributors. It killed the small mom and pop local high quality franchise and turned them all into corporate dog food factories.