August 22, 2005

Chain Update

Panera Bread and Famous Dave’s are among the chain restaurants that announced significant financial or operational news in recent weeks.

• Panera Bread Co. announced that its same-store sales for the four weeks that closed Aug. 9 increased by 8.9% vs. the year-ago period. Company-owned units posted 8.2% growth in same-store sales, while franchised stores posted 9.1%.
• CKE Restaurants reported selected same-store sales results for the four weeks and full quarter that closed on Aug. 15. For the four-week period, same-store sales at Carl’s Jr. units were flat compared to the year-ago period, while Hardee’s posted a 1% same-store sales decline. For the quarter, Carl’s Jr. posted a 1% increase in same-store sales, while Hardee’s reported flat same-store sales vs. the same quarter a year earlier.
• Famous Dave’s of America entered a licensing agreement that will allow JP’s Bar-B-Que North to franchise 10 restaurants in the Tampa Bay, Fla., area. JP’s owner, Jim Gyarmathy, previously purchased the rights to open five units in southwest Florida.
• Papa John’s International agreed to sell 84 company-owned units in Colorado and Minnesota to new franchisee PJCOMN Acquisition Corp., an affiliate of private equity firm Milestone Capital Management. The deal, which covers 49 stores in the Denver/Colorado Springs market and 35 in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market, is expected to close at the end of the third quarter or beginning of the fourth quarter.

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