It seems, from the article, that HoJo suffered from the classic problem of being stuck in the middle as market tastes altered. At the bottom, the ultra-cheap fast food joints selling McSlop; at the top, real restaurants. Being in the middle is often a problem for corporations as their price-taking is undermined by low-cost competitors while their appeal is undermined by high-end providers. When barriers to entry are low, this combination spells disaster.