Rave Restaurant Group Q4 revenues slide 40% as COVID-19-related challenges continueRave Restaurant Group Q4 revenues slide 40% as COVID-19-related challenges continue

Joanna Fantozzi

Rave Restaurant Group continues to struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the company reported a domestic same-store sales decrease of 39% for pizza buffet chain Pizza Inn and a 37.9% domestic same-store sales decrease for fast-casual pizza chain, Pie Five, in the fourth quarter ended June 28, 2020. The restaurant group also reported a revenue drop of 40% to $1.6 million for the company’s fourth quarter as a whole.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges to both of our brands but, as our recovery efforts progress, it is encouraging to see our focus on safety, convenience, quality and value resonating with our customers,” Brandon Solano, CEO of Rave Restaurant Group, Inc., said in a statement. “I continue to be inspired by the coordinated response from our franchisees and restaurant support team to drive traffic and incremental sales through new channels and operations.”

Solano said that they have been working on individual strategies for both brands. At Pizza Inn, they quickly developed a contactless virtual buffet for at-home orders during the height of the pandemic. In May, the company introduced the Right-Way Buffet, to allow for food safety and social distancing on the buffet line. The company also hired sanitizer captains to make sure the transition was smooth.

Related:Rave Restaurant Group’s financial challenges worsened by COVID-19 as Pie Five sees Q3 same-store sales drop 21.4%

At Pie Five, the company is focusing almost entirely on third-party delivery and plans to roll out menu enhancements to entice people to order and to join the brand’s Circle of Trust loyalty program.

Rave Restaurant Group’s income before taxes was $32,000 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to a loss before taxes of $1.1 million for the same period of the prior year, or an increase of $0.05 per share to $0.00 per share.

For the 2020 fiscal year, the company reported a same-store sales decrease of 10.5% for the year ended June 28, 2020. Net income decreased by $3.5 million to a net loss of $4.2 million for 2020 or a net loss of $0.28 per share, compared to net loss of $0.7 million or $0.05 cents per share in the prior year.

Rave Restaurant Group finished out the fourth quarter of 2020 with a unit count of 232 locations both domestically and internationally.

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