CEO Hamid Hashemi says company plans four new units a year
.svg?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=95&format=jpg&disable=upscale "Nation's Restaurant News")
iPic Entertainment Inc. completed its $15 million initial Regulation A public offering Thursday, sometimes called a “mini IPO,” and announced plans to add four restaurant-theater units in the coming year.
“We have four sites that are under construction,” said Hamid Hashemi, iPic founder and CEO, in an interview with Nation’s Restaurant News.
“The plan is to open four locations a year, starting in 2019. Every location will have a restaurant attached.”
iPic founder and CEO Hamid Hashemi
The Boca Raton, Fla.-based company, which now has 16 units, said the next four iPic venues will be in: Delray Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Frisco, Texas; and Norwalk, Conn. Hashemi said 16 more locations are at various stages in the pipeline.
The company raised $15 million in an offering of 818,429 shares at $18.50. At mid-afternoon Thursday, iPic shares were trading down about 15.3 percent from the offering price.
“Of our 16 locations, 10 have restaurants,” said Sherry Yard, who was named iPic’s chief operating officer in January. The others have lounges. “They are all designed and curated for each community.”
Yard said the restaurants and theaters share efficiencies, with handheld items such as short-rib bao served for those attending movies and more a upscale, knife-and-fork menu in the full-service dining rooms.
Yard, who worked with the Wolfgang Puck organization before joining iPic’s Tuck Hospitality Group division four years ago, said the restaurants and bars serve as independent destinations. They include the brands Tuck Room Tavern, The Tuck Room, City Perch Kitchen Bar and Tanzy Restaurant, which features Italian cuisine.
“We are restaurants first and movies second,” Hashemi said, adding that 52 percent of revenues come from food and beverage while 31 percent flow from traditional movie box office sales.
iPic units have six to eight auditoriums with a combined 450 to 500 seats and the those with attached restaurants have an additional 150 to 200 seats. The company has 121 separate screens at its current 16 locations.
The company was founded in 2010. “Initially the goal was to bring the two forms of entertainment under one roof,” Hashemi said, noting that about 78 percent of moviegoers dine before or after seeing a film.
Earlier iPic units are being upgraded to the company’s newest third-generation proprietary seating, Hashemi said.
IPic earlier received private-placement investments from Regal Cinemas and PVR Cinemas, the largest exhibitor in India.
TriPoint Global Equities LLC, working with its online division BANQ, was the Lead managing selling agent for the IPO. Roth Capital Partners LLC was the book-running agent, and and Telsey Advisory Group LLC was the co-manager for the offering.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless
