EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1399520
Filing Year: 2023
Filename: 1399520_10-K_2023_0001558370-23-003329.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business
Description of the Business
We are a global restaurant company that develops, owns and operates, manages and licenses upscale and polished casual, high-energy restaurants and lounges and provides turn-key food and beverage (“F&B”) services and consulting service for hospitality venues including hotels, casinos and other high-end locations. Turn-key F&B services are food and beverage services that can be scaled, customized and implemented by us for the client at a particular hospitality venue. Our vision is to be a global market leader in the hospitality industry by melding high-quality service, ambiance, high-energy and cuisine into one great experience that we refer to as “Vibe Dining”. We design all our restaurants, lounges and F&B services to create a social dining and high-energy entertainment experience within a destination location. We believe that this design and operating philosophy separates us from more traditional restaurant and foodservice competitors.
Our primary restaurant brands are STK, a multi-unit steakhouse concept that combines a high-energy, social atmosphere with the quality and service of a traditional upscale steakhouse, and Kona Grill, a polished casual bar-centric grill concept featuring American favorites, award-winning sushi, and specialty cocktails in a polished casual atmosphere. Our F&B hospitality management services are marketed as ONE Hospitality and include developing, managing and operating restaurants, bars, rooftop lounges, pools, banqueting and catering facilities, private dining rooms, room service and mini bars tailored to the specific needs of high-end hotels and casinos. We also provide hospitality advisory and consulting services to certain clients. Our F&B hospitality clients operate global hospitality brands such as the W Hotel, ME Hotel, Hippodrome Casino, and Curio Collection by Hilton.
We opened our first restaurant in January 2004 in New York, New York. We currently own, operate, manage or license 63 venues including 25 STKs and 25 Kona Grills in major metropolitan cities in North America, Europe and the Middle East and 13 F&B venues in six hotels and casinos in the United States and Europe. We intend to open eight to twelve new venues in 2023, including a Kona Grill restaurant in Columbus, OH which opened in January 2023. There are currently three Company-owned STK restaurants (Charlotte, NC, Boston, MA and Washington D.C.) and two Company-owned Kona Grill restaurants (Riverton, UT and Phoenix, AZ) under construction.
Brands and Locations
The table below reflects our venues by restaurant brand and geographic location:
Venues
STK(1)
Kona Grill
ONE Hospitality(2)
Total
Domestic
Owned
Managed
-
Licensed
-
Total domestic
International
Owned
-
-
-
-
Managed
-
Licensed
-
-
Total international
-
Total venues
(1) Locations with an STK and STK Rooftop are considered one venue location. This includes the STK Rooftop in San Diego, CA, which is a licensed location.
(2) Includes concepts under the Company’s F&B hospitality management agreements and other venue brands such as ANGEL, Bao Yum, Heliot, Hideout, Radio and Rivershore Bar & Grill. Effective January 1, 2022, our agreement with the Hippodrome Casino was amended and extended for five years whereby the Company changed from manager to consultant for the Heliot ­­­­Steak House and F&B Hospitality services for the casino.
We expect to continue expanding our operations domestically and internationally primarily through a mix of owned, licensed and managed restaurants using a disciplined and targeted site selection process. We refer to our licensing and management strategy as our “capital light strategy” because it requires significantly less capital than expansion through owned restaurants only. Refer to Item 2 - Properties for additional details regarding the domestic and international locations in which we operate.
STK
STK is a global steakhouse restaurant concept with locations in major metropolitan cities. STK artfully blends the modern steakhouse and a chic lounge, offering a high-energy, fine dining experience in a social atmosphere with the quality and service of a traditional upscale steakhouse. Each STK location features a large, open restaurant and bar area with a DJ playing music throughout the restaurant, offering our customers a high-energy, fun “destination” environment that encourages social interaction. We believe this Vibe Dining concept truly differentiates us from other upscale steakhouses. Our menu provides a variety of portion sizes and signature options to appeal to a broad customer demographic.
We operate thirteen owned, seven managed and five licensed STK restaurants in North America, Europe and the Middle East. Our STK restaurants average approximately 10,000 square feet, and we typically target locations that range in size from 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. In 2022, the average domestic restaurant revenues and average domestic check per person for owned and managed STK restaurants that have been open at least 18 months at December 31, 2022 were $19.1 million and $131, respectively.
We are focused on expanding our global STK footprint. We believe that the locations of our STK restaurants are critical to our long-term success, and we devote significant time and resources to analyze prospective restaurant sites. We intend to continue our focus on (i) metropolitan areas with demographic and discretionary spending profiles that favor our high-end concept and (ii) finding partners with excellent track records and brand recognition. We also consider factors such as traffic patterns, proximity to high-end shopping areas and office buildings, hotels and convention centers,
area restaurant competition, accessibility and visibility. We have identified over 75 additional major metropolitan areas across the globe where we could grow our STK brand to 200 restaurants over the foreseeable future. We expect to open five to six STKs annually.
Kona Grill
Kona Grill is a bar-centric grill concept featuring American favorites, steaks, seafood, award-winning sushi, and specialty cocktails in a polished casual atmosphere. Kona Grill offers freshly prepared food and attentive service in an upscale, contemporary ambiance that creates an exceptional dining experience that we believe exceeds many traditional casual dining restaurants. Menu items are crafted to have memorable flavor profiles that appeal to a wide range of customers. The diverse menu is complemented by a full-service bar offering a broad assortment of wines, craft cocktails, and beers. We believe that the Kona Grill brand is complementary to our STK brand and enables us to capture market share in the Vibe Dining segment.
We own and operate 25 Kona Grill restaurants within 17 states in the United States. Our Kona Grill restaurants average approximately 7,000 to 8,000 square feet. In 2022, the average restaurant revenues were $5.3 million and average spend per transaction was $61. We believe we can grow the Kona Grill brand to 200 restaurants over the foreseeable future. We expect to open three to five Kona Grills annually.
ONE Hospitality
Our ONE Hospitality platform is composed of our F&B hospitality management and consulting agreements with hotels, casinos, and other high-end locations as well as our other brands and venue concepts, which are described below:
● F&B Services. Our F&B services for hospitality venues provide attractive and comprehensive tailored food and beverage solutions to our hospitality clients. Our fee-based hospitality food and beverage solutions include developing, managing and operating restaurants, bars, rooftops, pools, banquet and catering services, private dining rooms, in-room dining services and mini bars on a contract basis. Currently, we operate five venues pursuant to F&B hospitality management agreements with hotels and casinos in the United States and in Europe. Historically, our clients have provided the majority of the capital required for the development of the facilities we manage on their behalf.
● ANGEL. ANGEL Rooftop bar and Dining is a sophisticated Southern-Mediterranean restaurant with two indoor and outdoor bars, a floral garden patio, and a plunge pool located within the Hotel Calimala in Florence, Italy.
● Bao Yum. A fast-casual concept that offers a whimsical twist on classic bao. Bao Yum serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert bao along with a variety of salads, soups, sandwiches and snacks. Bao Yum currently operates within the Westminster Curio Hotel in London and in Austin, Texas through a licensing agreement with Reef Kitchens.
● Heliot. Heliot Steak House is an award-winning steakhouse and bar within the Hippodrome Casino in London that offers impressive views of the main casino gambling floor.
● Hideout. The Hideout by STK is an outdoor, poolside restaurant and bar within the W Hotel in Westwood, California, which complements our owned STK and F&B hospitality services also offered within the W Hotel in Westwood.
● Radio. Radio Rooftop is a premier rooftop restaurant and lounge bar concept boasting striking city views with a signature location on top of the ME Milan hotel.
● Rivershore Bar & Grill. Rivershore Bar & Grill celebrates the end of the Oregon Trail with a beautiful river view, American favorites and friendly, professional service in Oregon City, Oregon.
Our F&B hospitality contracts generate revenues for us through management fees, which are typically calculated as a percentage of the operation’s revenues, and we earn additional milestone and incentive fees based on the operation’s profitability. We typically target F&B hospitality service opportunities where we believe we can generate at least $500,000 of annual pre-tax income.
We expect our F&B hospitality services business to be an important driver of our growth and profitability, enabling us to generate leads to develop managed STK restaurants and management fee income with minimal capital expenditures. We believe we are well positioned to leverage the strength of our brands and the relationships we have developed with global hospitality providers to drive the continued growth of our F&B hospitality business. We continue to receive inbound inquiries regarding new opportunities globally, and we continue to work with existing hospitality clients to identify and develop additional opportunities in their venues. We expect to enter into one to two new F&B hospitality agreements annually.
We exercised our option to renew the management agreement with ME London to manage STK, Radio, Marconi and in-room dining. Effective January 1, 2023, ME London elected not to renew Radio, Marconi and in-room dining per the agreement. Therefore, we will continue to manage the STK restaurant at ME London.
Sourcing and Supply Chain
We seek to ensure that consistently high-quality food and beverages are served at all of our venues through the coordination and cooperation of our purchasing and culinary teams.
Our culinary and purchasing teams establish product specifications on a global basis, which are then disseminated to all locations through recipe books for all dishes served at our properties. We are committed to culinary innovation which allows us flexibility in our preparations and offerings in order to manage costs and ensure regular availability.
We maintain consistent pricing standards and procedures for all top-volume purchases at our restaurants.
We select high quality suppliers and negotiate pricing on a national level in each country where one or more of our restaurants operate. We test new suppliers on a regional basis for an extended period before using them on a national basis. We periodically review supplier consistency and satisfaction with our location chefs and continually research and evaluate products and supplies to ensure the meat, seafood and other menu ingredients that we purchase comply with our high-quality specifications. We believe we have strong relationships with national and regional foodservice distributors who can continue to supply us with our products on a consistent basis. Products are shipped directly to the restaurants from our suppliers.
Our corporate beverage program establishes guidelines for ordering beverage products at our properties. We provide beverage managers at each location with national guidelines for standardized products. Our concepts emphasize the bar as a driver of activity in the restaurants and in 2022, the sale of beverages accounted for approximately 24% of restaurant revenues.
On a company-wide basis, no supplier of food accounts for more than 35% of our total food and beverage purchases and no brand of alcohol accounts for more than 25% of our alcohol purchases. We believe that our food and beverage supplies are available from a significant number of alternate suppliers and that the loss of a supplier would not have a material adverse effect on our costs of supplies.
Advertising and Marketing
The primary focus of our advertising and marketing is to increase awareness of our brands and our overall reputation for quality, service and delivering a high-energy experience. Our marketing efforts are designed to strengthen our brand recognition in markets where we operate and to create brand awareness in new markets before opening a new location. We use digital/social media channels, targeted local media such as magazines, billboards and other out-of-home advertising, and a strong network of public relations teams to increase the frequency with which our existing customers visit our restaurants and to attract new customers. We conduct frequent promotional programs tailored to the city, brand and clientele of each location. We utilize a network of local and national public relations firms to support these promotional programs. Additional marketing functions include the use of our websites, www.STKsteakhouse.com and www.KonaGrill.com, to facilitate online reservations, to-go/delivery orders and gift card sales to drive revenue.
Competition
The restaurant and hospitality industries are intensely competitive with respect to price, quality of service, location, ambiance of facilities and type and quality of food. We experience competition from a variety of sources, including upscale steakhouse chains such as Ruth Chris, Del Frisco’s, Fleming’s, Mastro’s and The Capital Grille, local upscale
steakhouses and polished casual chains, such as The Cheesecake Factory, Bonefish and BJ’s. There is also competition from other Vibe Dining restaurants such as Nobu, Lavo and Tao and other high-end hospitality services companies such as the Gerber Group, Lettuce Entertain You and ESquared Hospitality. To the extent that we operate lounges and similar venues in hotels and resorts, we are subject to our host venues being able to compete effectively in attracting customers who would frequent our establishments.
Seasonality
Our business is subject to fluctuations due to seasonality and adverse weather. Because of the seasonality of the business and the industry, results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved for any other quarter or the full calendar year. Typically, our fourth quarter has higher sales volumes than other quarters in the year.
Intellectual Property
Our rights in our registered and unregistered intellectual property, including trademarks and service marks, are significant to our business. We own the U.S. federal registration rights to “STK,” “Kona Grill,” and several related word marks and design marks related to our brands. We depend on registered and unregistered trademarks and service marks to maintain the identity of our locations. We license the rights to use certain trademarks we own or license to our licensees in connection with their operations. We also own several other trademarks and service marks. It is our policy to defend our marks against encroachment by others.
Human Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2022, we employed 51 employees within our support center, 32 employees in multi-unit leadership and an aggregate of 262 full-time, salaried employees at our venues. We rely on hourly-wage employees for kitchen staff, servers, bussers, runners, polishers, hosts, bartenders, barbacks, reservationists, administrative support, and interns. The average headcount for employees in our domestic restaurants is 90. Combining full-time and part-time employees, we employ and manage directly approximately 3,700 persons and through ONE Hospitality we manage approximately 500 employees worldwide. We have never experienced a work stoppage, and none of our employees are represented by a labor organization.
Our human capital objectives include attracting, developing, rewarding, and retaining our existing and new employees. We offer our employees online training courses and on-the-job training. Restaurant management trainees undergo training in order to understand all aspects of our restaurant operations. We provide our employees with cash-based performance bonuses. We also have an equity incentive compensation plan to provide certain management-level or other key employees with stock-based awards. We have implemented programs to attract and retain both restaurant managers and hourly employees. We monitor our progress with metrics such as employee performance measures, turnover rates and restaurant customer surveys.
Government Regulation
Our operations are subject to extensive federal, state and local governmental regulation, including health, safety, labor, sanitation, building and fire agencies in the state, county, municipality or jurisdiction in which the restaurant is located. In certain states, our restaurants are subject to “dram shop” statutes, which generally provides a person injured by an intoxicated person the right to recover damages from an establishment that wrongfully served alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person. We maintain the necessary restaurant, alcoholic beverage and retail licenses, permits and approvals. Federal and state labor laws govern our relationship with our employees and affect operating costs. The development and construction of new restaurants are also subject to compliance with applicable zoning, land use and environmental regulations. A failure to comply with one or more regulations could result in the imposition of sanctions, including the closing of restaurants for an indeterminate period of time, fines or third-party litigation.
Available Information
We are required to file reports with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.
We maintain a website at www.togrp.com, including an investor relations section at ir.togrp.com, on which we routinely post information, such as webcasts of quarterly earnings calls and other investor events in which we participate and any related material. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports, as well as other reports relating to us that are filed with or furnished to the SEC can be accessed in the investor relations section of our website free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC.
We also make available on our website and in print to any stockholder who requests it, our Audit, Compensation, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee charters, as well as the Code of Conduct that applies to all directors, officers and associates of the Company. We do not incorporate any information found or accessible through our websites into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors
RISK FACTORS
Ownership of our common stock involves certain risks. Holders of our common stock and prospective investors should carefully consider the following risks and other information contained in this document, including our historical financial statements and related notes included herein. The following risk factors could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. This could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline, perhaps significantly, and you may lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties below are all those that we have identified as material but may not be the only risks and uncertainties facing us. Our business is subject to general risks and uncertainties that affect many other companies, including overall economic and industry conditions.
Economic Conditions and Competition
Our business is dependent on discretionary spending patterns, business travel and general economic conditions.
We depend on consumer discretionary spending, business travel and the overall economic environment. Disruptions in the economy, including recessions, high unemployment, foreclosures, bankruptcies, inflation and other economic impacts, could affect consumers’ ability and willingness to spend discretionary dollars. Reductions in business travel and dining, which we believe accounts for a majority of our weekday revenues at our hotel-based restaurants and food and beverage services operations, would adversely affect our revenues. Reductions in discretionary income and spending also would impact our casino-based restaurants and food and beverage services operations. If uncertain economic conditions were to persist for an extended period of time or worsen, consumers might make long-lasting changes to their discretionary spending behavior, including dining out less frequently. Adverse changes in consumer discretionary spending could be affected by many different factors that are out of our control, including international, national and local economic conditions, any of which could harm our business prospects, financial condition, operating results and cash flows. Continued uncertainty in or a worsening of the economy, generally or in a number of our markets, and our customers’ reactions to these trends could adversely affect our business and cause us to, among other things, reduce the number and frequency of new location openings, close locations and delay any re-modeling of existing locations. Our success will depend in part upon our ability to anticipate, identify and respond to changing economic and other conditions.
We have a limited number of venues, and we operate multiple venues in some cities and are therefore sensitive to economic and other trends and developments in these cities.
We have a relatively small number of restaurants and F&B service locations, and we operate multiple venues in some cities. We typically operate one to five venues in the cities where we operate. Accordingly, particularly in cities where we have multiple venues, our business is susceptible to adverse changes in these markets whether as a result of declining economic conditions, declining stock market performance, negative publicity, changes in customer preferences or for other reasons, and any such adverse changes may have a disproportionate effect on our overall results of operations compared to some of our competitors that may have less restaurant concentration or that do not operate in our markets. Any regional occurrences such as local labor strikes, natural disasters, prolonged inclement weather, acts of terrorism or other national emergencies, accidents, energy shortages, system failures or other unforeseen events in or around these cities could result in temporary or permanent closings of our venues, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations as a whole.
Competition in the restaurant industry is intense.
The restaurant and hospitality industry is intensely competitive with respect to price, quality of service, location, ambiance of facilities and type and quality of food. The industry is also characterized by the continual introduction of new concepts and is subject to rapidly changing consumer preferences, tastes, trends and eating and purchasing habits. Our success depends in part on our ability to anticipate and respond quickly to changing consumer preferences, and other factors affecting the restaurant and hospitality industry, including new market entrants and demographic changes. Shifts in consumer preferences away from upscale steakhouses or beef in general, which are significant components of our concepts’ menus and appeal, whether as a result of economic, competitive or other factors, could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
A substantial number of national and regional restaurant chains, as well as independently owned restaurants, compete with us for customers, restaurant locations and qualified management and other restaurant staff. There is also competition from non-steak but upscale and high-energy restaurants, and other high-end hospitality services companies and high-energy nightlife concepts. To the extent that our restaurants and F&B hospitality services operations are in hotels, casinos, resorts and similar client locations, we are subject to competition in the broader lodging and hospitality markets that could draw potential customers away from our locations.
Some of our competitors have greater financial, marketing and operating resources than we do, have been in business longer, have greater name recognition and are better established in the markets where our restaurants and F&B hospitality services operations are located or where we may expand. In addition, improved product offerings in the fast casual segment of the restaurant industry, combined with the effects of negative economic conditions and other factors, may lead consumers to choose less expensive alternatives. Our inability to compete successfully with other restaurants, other F&B hospitality services operations and other segments of the industry may harm our ability to maintain acceptable levels of revenue growth, limit our development of new restaurants or concepts, or force us to close one or more of our restaurants or F&B hospitality services operations.
We may also need to evolve our concepts to compete with popular new restaurant or F&B hospitality services operation formats, concepts or trends that emerge from time to time, and we cannot provide any assurance that any changes we make to any of our concepts in response will be successful or not adversely affect our profitability.
Health and Safety
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on our restaurant traffic and our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected our business and results. We incurred COVID-19 related costs of $2.5 million and $5.8 million in 2022 and 2021, respectively. We have made operational changes to adhere to government requirements on safety and sanitation in our restaurants. However, we cannot guarantee that changes to our operational policies and training will be effective to keep our employees and customers safe from COVID-19. COVID-19 may impact the willingness of customers to dine outside of the home. While it is not possible at this time to estimate the full impact that COVID-19 could have on our business going forward, the spread of the virus and the measures taken by governments or by us in response could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Health concerns arising from outbreaks of flu viruses or other diseases, or regional or global health pandemic could severely affect our business.
The United States and other countries have experienced, or may experience in the future, outbreaks of viruses, such as coronavirus, norovirus, Avian Flu or “SARS,” and H1N1 or “swine flu,” or other diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as “mad cow disease.” If a virus is transmitted by human contact, our employees or customers may become infected, or may choose, or be advised, to avoid gathering in public places, any of which may adversely affect the guest traffic at our restaurants and the ability to adequately staff our restaurants, receive deliveries on a timely basis or perform functions at the corporate level. We also may be adversely affected if jurisdictions in which we have restaurants impose mandatory closures, seek voluntary closures or impose restrictions on operations. Even if such measures are not implemented and a virus or other disease does not spread significantly, the perceived risk of infection or significant health risk may adversely affect our business.
To the extent that a virus or disease is food-borne, or perceived to be food-borne, future outbreaks may adversely affect the price and availability of certain food products and cause our customers to eat less of a product. For example, health concerns relating to the consumption of beef or to specific events such as the outbreak of “mad cow disease” may adversely impact sales of our beef-related menu items. In addition, public concern over “avian flu” may cause fear about the consumption of chicken, eggs and other products derived from poultry. The inability to serve beef or poultry-based products would restrict our ability to provide a variety of menu items to our customers. If we change our menu in response to such concerns, we may lose customers who do not prefer the new menu, and we may not be able to sufficiently attract new customers to produce the revenue needed to restore the profitability of our restaurant operations. We also may generate different or additional competitors for our intended customers as a result of such a menu change and may not be able to successfully compete against such competitors.
Failure to protect food supplies and adhere to food safety standards could result in food borne illnesses and adversely affect our business.
Failure to protect our food supply or enforce food safety policies, such as proper food temperature and adherence to shelf-life dates, could result in food-borne illnesses to our guests. Also, our reputation of providing high-quality food is an important factor in our guests choosing our restaurants. Whether or not traced to our restaurants or those of our competitors, instances of food borne illness or other food safety issues could reduce the demand for certain or all of our menu offerings. If any of our guest become ill from consuming our products, the affected restaurants may be forced to close, and we may be subject to legal liability. An instance of food contamination from one of our restaurants or suppliers could have far-reaching effects, as the contamination, or the perception of contamination could affect any or all of our restaurants. Publicity related to either product contamination, recalls, or food-borne illness, including Bovine-Spongiform Encephalopathy, which is also known as BSE or mad cow disease, aphthous fever, which is also known as hoof and mouth disease, and hepatitis A, listeria, salmonella and e-coli may also injure our brand and may affect the selection of our restaurants by our guests or licensees based on fear of such illnesses. In addition, the occurrence of food-borne illnesses or food safety issues could also adversely affect the price and availability of affected ingredients, which could result in disruptions in our supply chain and/or lower margins for us and our licensees.
Labor and Supplies
Changes to wage, immigration and labor laws could increase our costs substantially.
Under the minimum wage laws in most domestic jurisdictions, we are permitted to pay certain hourly employees a wage that is less than the base minimum wage because these employees receive tips as a substantial part of their income. As of December 31, 2022, approximately 34% of our employees earn this lower minimum wage in their respective locations since tips constitute a substantial part of their income. If cities, states or the federal government change their laws to require all employees to be paid the general employee minimum base wage regardless of supplemental tip income, our labor costs would increase substantially. Certain states in which we operate restaurants also have adopted or are considering adopting minimum wage statutes that exceed the federal minimum wage. We may be unable or unwilling to increase our prices to pass these increased labor costs on to our customers, in which case, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.
A restaurant company employer may claim a credit against the company’s federal income taxes for FICA taxes paid on certain tip wages (the “FICA tip credit”). We utilize the federal FICA tip credit to reduce our federal income tax expense. Changes in the tax law could reduce or eliminate the FICA tip credit, which could negatively impact our results of operations and cash flows in future periods.
Further, the U.S. Congress and Department of Homeland Security may implement changes to federal immigration laws, regulations or enforcement programs. Some of these changes may increase our obligations for compliance and oversight, which could subject us to additional costs and make our hiring process more cumbersome or reduce the availability of potential employees. Even if we operate our restaurants in strict compliance with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and state requirements, some of our employees may not meet federal work eligibility or residency requirements, which could lead to a disruption in our work force. Although we require all of our new employees to provide us with the government-specified documentation evidencing their employment eligibility, some of our employees may, without our knowledge, be unauthorized workers. Unauthorized workers are subject to seizure and deportation and may subject us to fines, penalties or loss of our business license in certain jurisdictions. Additionally, a government audit could result in a disruption to our workforce or adverse publicity that could negatively impact our brand and our use of E-Verify and/or potential for receipt of letters from the Social Security Administration requesting
information (commonly referred to as no-match letters) could make it more difficult to recruit and/or retain qualified employees.
Potential changes in labor laws or increased union recruiting activities could result in portions of our workforce being subjected to greater organized labor influence. Although we do not currently have any unionized employees, labor legislation could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results by imposing requirements that could potentially increase our costs, reduce our flexibility and impact our ability to service our customers. In addition, a labor dispute involving some or all of our employees could harm our reputation, disrupt our operations and reduce our revenues and resolution of disputes may increase our costs.
The loss of key personnel or difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified personnel could adversely affect our business and financial results.
Our success depends substantially on the contributions and abilities of key executives and other employees, and on our ability to recruit and retain high-quality employees to work in and manage our restaurants. We must continue to recruit, retain and motivate management and other employees sufficient to maintain our current business and support our projected growth. A loss of key employees or a significant shortage of high-quality restaurant employees to maintain our current business and support our projected growth could adversely affect our business and financial results.
The restaurant industry has faced labor challenges coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although, we have been able to fully staff our restaurants in this challenging labor environment, there is no assurance that we will be able to continue to effectively manage our employee base and avoid a labor shortage.
We occupy most of our restaurants and some of our food and beverage hospitality services locations under long-term non-cancelable leases under which we may remain obligated to perform even if we close those operations, and we may be unable to renew leases at the end of their terms.
Most of our restaurants and some of our food and beverage hospitality operations are located in premises that we lease. Many of our current leases are non-cancelable and typically have terms ranging from 10 to 15 years with renewal options for terms ranging from 1 to 5 years. We believe that future leases that we enter into will be on substantially similar terms. Fixed payments and/or minimum percentage rent payments under our operating leases and management agreements account for a significant portion of our operating expenses. This may increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions, limit our ability to obtain additional financing, and limit our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our business.
We primarily depend on cash flow from operations to pay our obligations and to fulfill our other cash needs. If our business does not generate sufficient cash flow from operating activities and sufficient funds are not otherwise available to us from borrowings under our credit facility or other sources, we may not be able to meet our operating lease and management agreement obligations, grow our business, respond to competitive challenges or fund our other liquidity and capital needs, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
If we were to close or fail to open a restaurant or other venue at a location we lease, we would generally remain committed to perform our obligations under the applicable lease, which could include, among other things, payment of the base rent for the balance of the lease term. Our obligation to continue making rental payments and fulfilling other lease obligations in respect of leases for closed or unopened restaurants could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Alternatively, at the end of the lease term and any renewal period for a restaurant, we may be unable to renew the lease without substantial additional cost, if at all. If we cannot renew such a lease we may be forced to close or relocate a restaurant, which could subject us to construction and other costs and risks.
Additionally, negative effects on our existing and potential landlords due to the inaccessibility of credit and other unfavorable economic factors may adversely affect our business and results of operations. If our landlords are unable to obtain financing or remain in good standing under their existing financing arrangements, they may be unable to provide construction contributions or satisfy other lease covenants to us. If any landlord files for bankruptcy protection, the landlord may be able to reject our lease in the bankruptcy proceedings. While we would under some circumstances have the option to retain our rights under the lease, we could not compel the landlord to perform any of its obligations and would be left with damages (which are subject to collectability risk) as our sole recourse. Our development of new locations may also be adversely affected by the negative financial situations of potential developers, landlords and host sites. Such parties may delay or cancel development projects or renovations of existing projects due to the instability in
the credit markets and economic uncertainty. This could reduce the number of high-quality locations available that we would consider for our new operations or cause the quality of the sites in which the restaurants and food and beverage hospitality services operations are located to deteriorate. Any of these developments could have an adverse effect on our existing businesses or cause us to curtail new projects.
We depend upon frequent deliveries of food, alcohol and other supplies, which subjects us to the possible risks of shortages, interruptions and price fluctuations.
Our ability to maintain consistent quality throughout our locations depends in part upon our ability to acquire fresh, quality products, including beef, seafood, produce and related items, from reliable sources in accordance with our specifications. We currently purchase our food products from various suppliers. We have elected to purchase our beef from a limited number of suppliers. If there were any shortages, interruptions or significant price fluctuations in beef or seafood or if our suppliers were unable to perform adequately or fail to distribute products or supplies to our restaurants, or terminate or refuse to renew any contract with us, this could cause a short-term increase of our costs or cause us to remove certain items from our menu, increase the price of certain offerings or temporarily close a location, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
In addition, we purchase beer, wine and spirits from distributors who own the exclusive rights to sell such alcoholic beverage products in the geographic areas in which our locations reside. Our continued ability to purchase certain brands of alcoholic beverages depends upon maintaining our relationships with those distributors, of which there can be no assurance. If any of our alcohol beverage distributors cease to supply us, we may be forced to offer brands of alcoholic beverage which have less consumer appeal or that do not match our brand image, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Increases in commodity prices would adversely affect our results of operations.
Our profitability depends in part on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in commodity costs, which have a substantial effect on our total costs. The purchase of beef represents approximately 23% of our food and beverage costs. The market for beef is subject to extreme price fluctuations due to seasonal shifts, climate conditions, the price of feed, industry demand, energy demand and other factors. Our ability to forecast and manage our commodities could significantly affect our gross margins. Energy prices can also affect our operating results because increased energy prices may cause increased transportation costs for beef and other commodities and supplies, and increased costs for the utilities required to run each location. Historically we have passed increased commodity and other costs on to our customers by increasing the prices of our menu items. While we believe these price increases have historically not affected customer traffic, there can be no assurance that additional price increases would not affect future customer traffic. If prices increase in the future and we are unable to anticipate or mitigate these increases, or if there are shortages for beef, our business and results of operations would be adversely affected.
Strategy and Operations
Unsuccessful implementation of any or all of the initiatives of our business strategy, including opening new restaurants and attracting new F&B hospitality service opportunities, could negatively impact our operations.
One key element of our growth strategy is opening new restaurants and F&B hospitality services locations. We believe there are opportunities to open approximately seven to twelve new locations (restaurants and/or hospitality services operations) annually, with a focus on operating under licensing or management agreements (referred to as our “capital light strategy”). However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to open new restaurants or F&B hospitality services locations at the rate that we currently expect.
Our success in growing our business through the opening of new restaurants and F&B hospitality locations is dependent upon a number of factors, including our ability to: cost-effectively operate in markets that we are not familiar with, find suitable license and food and beverage partners, find suitable locations, reach acceptable lease terms, have adequate capital, find acceptable contractors, obtain licenses and permits, manage construction and development costs, recruit and train appropriate staff and properly manage the new venue. Unanticipated costs or delays in the development or construction of future restaurants could impede our ability to open new restaurants timely and cost-effectively, which could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Specifically, some of the factors that adversely affect the cost and time associated with the development and construction of our restaurants include: labor disputes, shortages of materials or skilled labor, adverse weather conditions, unforeseen engineering
problems, environmental problems, construction or zoning problems, local government regulations, modifications in design, and other unanticipated increases in cost.
Additionally, our venues are expensive to build, and we, our managed unit partners and our licensees incur significant capital and pre-opening expense. Our business and profitability may be adversely affected if the “ramp-up” period for a new location lasts longer than we expect or if the profitability of a new location dips after our initial “ramp-up” marketing program ends. New locations may not be profitable, and their sales performance may not follow historical or projected patterns. If we are forced to close any new operations, we will incur losses for certain buildout costs and pre-opening expenses incurred in connection with opening such operations.
We face a variety of risks associated with doing business with licensees.
We rely in part on our licensees and the manner in which they operate the STK restaurants to develop and promote our business. As of December 31, 2022, we had five licensed STK restaurants.
Our licensees are required to operate our restaurants according to the specific guidelines we set forth, which are essential to maintaining brand integrity and reputation, as well as in accordance with all laws and regulations applicable to us, and all laws and regulations applicable in the countries in which we operate. We provide training to these licensees to integrate them into our operating strategy and culture. However, since we do not have day-to-day control over all of these restaurants, we cannot give assurance that there will not be differences in product and service quality, operations, labor law enforcement, marketing or profitability or that there will be adherence to all of our guidelines and applicable laws. In addition, if our licensees fail to make investments necessary to maintain or improve the restaurants, guest preference for our brand could suffer. Our licensees are subject to business risks similar to those we face such as competition; customer acceptance; fluctuations in the cost, quality and availability of raw ingredients; increased labor costs; difficulty obtaining acceptable site leases; and difficulty obtaining proper financing. Failure of licensed restaurants to operate effectively could adversely affect our cash flows from those operations or have a negative impact on our reputation and our business.
The success of our licensed operations depends on our ability to establish and maintain good relationships with our licensees. The value of our brand and the rapport that we maintain with our licensees are important factors for potential licensees considering doing business with us. If we are unable to maintain good relationships with licensees, we may be unable to renew license agreements and opportunities for developing new relationships with additional licensees may be adversely affected. This, in turn, could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Although we have developed criteria to evaluate and screen prospective developers and licensees, we cannot be certain that the developers and licensees we select will have the business acumen necessary to open and operate successful licensed restaurants in their licensing areas, or that the licensees, once selected, will be able to negotiate acceptable lease or purchase terms for prospective sites or to obtain the necessary approvals for such sites, or that financing will be available to construct and open new venues.
To the extent that our operations are located in hotels, casinos or similar destinations, our results of operations and growth are subject to the risks facing such venues.
Our ability to grow and realize profits from our operations in hotels, casinos and other branded or destination venues are dependent on the success of such venues’ business. We are subject to the actions and business decisions of our clients and third parties, in which we may have little or no influence in the overall operation of the applicable venue and such actions and decisions could have an adverse effect on our business and operations.
Litigation and Brand Risk
We face the risk of adverse publicity in connection with our operations, including as a result of increased social media usage.
The quality of our food and our facilities are two of our competitive strengths. Therefore, adverse publicity, whether accurate or not, relating to food quality, public health concerns, illness, safety, injury or government or industry findings concerning our venues or those operated by others could negatively impact us. Any shifts in consumer preferences away from the kinds of food we offer, particularly beef, whether because of dietary or health concerns or otherwise, would make our locations less appealing and could reduce customer traffic and/or impose practical limits on pricing.
The use of social media platforms allows individuals to access a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons. Consumers value readily available information concerning goods and services that they have or plan to purchase and may act on such information without further investigation or authentication. Many social media platforms immediately publish content from their subscribers and participants, often without filters or checks on the accuracy of the content posted. Information concerning our company may be posted on such platforms at any time. If customers perceive or experience a reduction in our food quality, service or ambiance or in any way believe we have failed to deliver a consistently positive experience, this information can be immediately and broadly disseminated. This information may be adverse to our interests or may be inaccurate, each of which may harm our performance, prospects or business.
We face the risk of litigation in connection with our operations.
We are, from time to time, the subject of complaints or litigation from our consumers alleging, among other things, illness, injury or other food quality, health or operational concerns. The inappropriate use of social media by our employees or customers could lead to litigation and result in negative publicity that could damage our reputation. In addition, third party and employee claims against us based on, among other things, alleged discrimination, harassment or wrongful termination, or labor code violations may divert financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit our future performance. Regardless of whether any claims against us are valid or whether we are liable, claims may be expensive to defend and may divert time and money away from our operations. In addition, they may generate negative publicity, which could reduce customer traffic and sales. Although we maintain what we believe to be adequate levels of insurance commensurate with the nature and extent of our operations, insurance may not be available at all or in sufficient amounts to cover any liabilities with respect to these matters. A significant increase in the number of these claims or in the number of such claims that are successful could materially adversely affect our brand, financial condition or operating results. Like most employee practices liability insurance policies, our policy does not provide protection against hour and wage claims, and therefore litigation in the area could adversely impact our financial condition.
We may not be able to protect our brands, trademarks, service marks or other proprietary rights.
We have registered, or have applications pending to register, the trademarks STK, Kona Grill and Konavore with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in certain foreign countries in connection with restaurant services. Our brands, which include our trademarks, service marks and other intellectual property and proprietary rights, are important to our success and our competitive position. In that regard, we believe that our trade names, trademarks and service marks are valuable assets that are critical to our success. Accordingly, we devote substantial resources to the establishment and protection of our brands. However, the actions we take may be inadequate to prevent imitation of our products and concepts by others, to prevent various challenges to our registrations or applications or denials of applications for the registration of trademarks, service marks and proprietary rights in the U.S. or other countries, or to prevent others from claiming violations of their trademarks and proprietary marks. In addition, others may assert rights in our trademarks, service marks and other proprietary rights or may assert that we are infringing rights they have in their trademarks, service marks, patents or other proprietary rights. Any such disputes could force us to incur costs related to enforcing our rights. In addition, the use of trade names, trademarks or service marks similar to ours in some markets may keep us from entering those markets.
Each of our intellectual property marks is pledged as collateral securing our credit and guaranty agreement with Goldman Sachs Bank USA (“Goldman Sachs”). Default under these agreements could enable Goldman Sachs to sell (at auction or otherwise) our trademarks, which would have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue our business.
Other Risks
Our operations may be negatively impacted by seasonality, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters or acts of terror.
Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations, adverse weather conditions and natural disasters that may at times affect the regions in which our restaurants and F&B hospitality services operations are located, regions that supply or produce food products for our restaurants, or locations of our distribution network. As a result of the seasonality of our business due to weather, holiday events and other factors, our quarterly results for any one quarter or fiscal year may not be indicative of results to be expected for any other quarter or for any year.
In addition, if adverse weather conditions or natural disasters such as fires and hurricanes affect our restaurants, we could experience closures, repair and restoration costs, food spoilage, and other significant reopening costs, any of which would adversely affect our business. We could also experience shortages or delayed shipments at our restaurants if adverse weather or natural disasters affect our distribution network, which could adversely affect our restaurants and our business as a whole. Additionally, during periods of extreme temperatures (either hot or cold) or precipitation, we may experience a reduction in customer traffic, which could adversely affect our restaurants and our business as a whole. Weather conditions are impossible to predict as is the negative impact on our business that such conditions might cause. Catastrophic weather conditions are likely to affect the supply of and costs for food products. If we do not anticipate or react to changing food costs by adjusting our purchasing practices or menu prices, our operating margins would likely deteriorate.
Terrorism, including cyber-terrorism or efforts to tamper with food supplies, could have an adverse impact on our brand and results of operations.
Security breaches, loss of data and other disruptions could compromise sensitive information related to our business, prevent us from accessing critical information or expose us to liability, which could adversely affect our business and our reputation
We utilize information technology systems and networks to process, transmit and store electronic information in connection with our business activities. As the use of digital technologies has increased, cyber incidents, including deliberate attacks and attempts to gain unauthorized access to computer systems and networks, have increased in frequency and sophistication. These threats pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data, all of which are vital to our operations and business strategy. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in preventing cyber-attacks or successfully mitigating their effects.
We estimate that approximately 80% of our sales are by credit or debit cards. Other restaurants and retailers have experienced security breaches in which credit and debit card information has been stolen. We may in the future become subject to claims for purportedly fraudulent transactions arising out of the actual or alleged theft of credit or debit card information, and we may also be subject to lawsuits or other proceedings relating to these types of incidents. Further, in 2015, the major credit card networks shifted the liability associated with EMV (Europay/Mastercard/Visa) chip card technology to the merchants. With this liability shift, any restaurant or merchant that is not using an approved chip-and-pin point-of-sale device would be liable for counterfeit or fraudulent charges.
Despite the implementation of security measures (such as the employment of internal resources and external consultants to conduct auditing and testing for weaknesses in our informational technology environment), our internal computer systems and those of our third-party contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage or disruption from hacking, computer viruses, software bugs, unauthorized access or disclosure, natural disasters, terrorism, war, and telecommunication, equipment and electrical failures. There can be no assurance that we will promptly detect any such disruption or security breach, if at all. Unauthorized access, loss or dissemination could disrupt our operations, our ability to process and prepare company financial information, and manage various general and administrative aspects of our business. To the extent that any such disruption or security breach results in a loss of or damage to our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure or theft of confidential, proprietary or personal information, we could incur liability, suffer reputational damage or poor financial performance or become the subject of regulatory actions by state, federal or non-US authorities, any of which could adversely affect our business.
We are subject to numerous and changing U.S. federal and foreign government regulations. Failure to comply with or substantial changes in government regulations could negatively affect our sales, increase our costs or result in fines or other penalties against us.
Each of our venues is subject to licensing and regulation by the health, sanitation, safety, labor, building environmental (including disposal, pollution, and the presence of hazardous substances) and fire agencies of the respective states, counties, cities, and municipalities in which it is located, as well as under federal law. These regulations govern the preparation and sale of food, the sale of alcoholic beverages, the sale and use of tobacco, zoning and building codes, land use and employee, health, sanitation and safety matters. Alcoholic beverage control regulations govern various aspects of our locations’ daily operations, including the minimum age of patrons and employees, hours of operation, advertising, wholesale purchasing and inventory control, handling and storage. Typically, our locations’ licenses to sell alcoholic beverages must be renewed annually and may be suspended or revoked at any time for cause. A failure to comply with one or more regulations could result in the imposition of sanctions, including the closing of
venues for an indeterminate period of time, or third-party litigation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on us and our results of operations.
Government regulation can also affect customer traffic at our locations. A number of states, counties and cities have enacted menu labeling laws requiring multi-unit restaurant operators to disclose certain nutritional information. For example, the Affordable Care Act establishes a uniform, federal requirement for restaurant chains with 20 or more locations operating under the same trade name and offering substantially the same menus to post nutritional information on their menus, including the total number of calories. The law also requires such restaurants to provide to consumers, upon request, a written summary of detailed nutritional information, including total calories and calories from fat, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, sugars, dietary fiber, and total protein in each serving size or other unit of measure, for each standard menu item. The Food and Drug Administration is also permitted to require additional nutrient disclosures, such as trans-fat content. Our compliance with the Affordable Care Act or other similar laws to which we may become subject could reduce demand for our menu offerings, reduce customer traffic and/or reduce average revenue per customer, which would have an adverse effect on our revenue. Any reduction in customer traffic related to these or other government regulations could affect revenues and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Our foreign operations are subject to all of the same risks as our domestic restaurants and food and beverage hospitality services operations, and additional risks that include, among others, international economic and political conditions and the possibility of instability and unrest, differing cultures and consumer preferences, diverse government regulations and tax systems, the ability to source fresh ingredients and other commodities in a cost-effective manner and the availability of experienced management.
We are subject to governmental regulation in the domestic and international jurisdictions where we operate, including antitrust and tax requirements, anti-boycott regulations, import/export/customs regulations and other international trade regulations, the USA PATRIOT Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Any new regulatory or trade initiatives could impact our operations in certain countries. Failure to comply with any such legal requirements could subject us to monetary liabilities and other sanctions, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may not be able to comply with certain debt covenants on our debt.
Our credit agreement requires us to achieve specified financial and operating results and maintain compliance with specified financial ratios. Our ability to comply with these provisions may be affected by events beyond our control, including the effects on our business of COVID-19 and related government actions and consumer behavior. If we were to default under our covenants and such default were not cured or waived, our indebtedness could become immediately due and payable. If we breach these covenants and fail to comply with the credit agreement, and the lenders accelerate the amounts outstanding, our business and results of operations would be adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to borrow under our revolving credit facility depends on several factors, including compliance with specified leverage incurrence ratios. If we are not able to borrow under our revolving credit facility to bridge losses we incur while our operations are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and if alternative financing is not available to us on acceptable terms or at all, our business and results of operations would be adversely affected.
Failure of our internal controls over financial reporting could harm our business and financial results.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is a process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting is not intended to provide absolute assurance that we would prevent or detect a misstatement of our financial statements or fraud. Any failure to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting could limit our ability to report our financial results accurately and timely or to detect and prevent fraud. A significant financial reporting failure or material weakness in internal control over financial reporting could cause a loss of investor confidence and decline in the market price of our stock.
We cannot be certain that we will be able to maintain adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting. Refer to Part II -Item 9A, “Controls and Procedures” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for management’s assessment as of December 31, 2022. Any failure to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial
reporting could limit our ability to report our financial results accurately and timely or to detect and prevent fraud. A significant financial reporting failure or material weakness in internal control over financial reporting could cause a loss of investor confidence and decline in the market price of our stock, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigation by regulatory authorities, such as the SEC or Nasdaq.
Insiders have substantial control over us, and they could delay or prevent a change in our corporate control even if our other stockholders wanted it to occur.
Our executive officers, directors, and principal stockholders hold a significant percentage of our outstanding common stock. Accordingly, these stockholders are able to control or have a significant impact on all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. This could delay or prevent an outside party from acquiring or merging with us even if our other stockholders affirmed such action. In addition, such concentrated control may adversely affect the price of our common stock and sales by our insiders or affiliates, along with any other market transactions, could affect the market price of our common stock.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our bylaws and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our bylaws contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. Our Board of Directors (the “Board”) is divided into three classes, each of which generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected each year. As a result, at a given annual meeting, only a minority of the Board may be considered for election. Since our staggered Board may prevent our stockholders from replacing a majority of our Board at any given annual meeting, it may entrench management and discourage unsolicited stockholder proposals that may be in the best interests of stockholders.
Moreover, our Board has the ability to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred stock without stockholder approval. Under the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our Board may authorize and issue up to 10,000,000 shares of one or more series or class of preferred stock with rights superior to those of holders of common stock in terms of liquidation and dividend preference, voting and other rights. The issuance of preferred stock would reduce the relative rights of holders of common stock vis-à-vis the holders of preferred stock without the approval of the holders of common stock. In addition, to the extent that such preferred stock is convertible into shares of common stock, its issuance would result in a dilution of the percentage ownership of holders of common stock on a fully diluted basis. In addition, the issuance of a series of preferred stock could be used as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control of our company.
We are also subject to the anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together, these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve a payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
The price of our common stock could be subject to volatility related or unrelated to our operations.
The trading price of our common stock could fluctuate significantly due to a number of factors, including market perception of our ability to meet our growth projections and expectations, quarterly operating results of other companies in the same industry, trading value in our common stock, changes in general conditions in the economy and the financial markets or other developments affecting our business and the business of others in the industry. In addition, the stock market itself is subject to extreme price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had a significant effect on the market price of securities issued by many companies for reasons related and unrelated to their operating performance and could have the same effect on our common stock.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties
We do not own any real property. Each of our “owned” restaurants operates in premises leased by its operating subsidiary. We do not have a direct ownership interest in restaurants we operate under a management agreement (“managed”) or license agreement (“licensed”).
Our STK locations are as follows:
Type of
Venue
Hotel/Casino/Special Venue
Location
Interest
STK Atlanta
-
Atlanta, Georgia
Owned
STK Bellevue
-
Bellevue, Washington
Owned
STK Chicago
-
Chicago, Illinois
Owned
STK Dallas
-
Dallas, Texas
Owned
STK Denver
-
Denver, Colorado
Owned
STK Doha
The Ritz-Carlton
Doha, Qatar
Licensed
STK Downtown (1)
-
New York, New York
Owned (2)
STK Dubai
Jumeirah Beach Residence
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Licensed
STK Ibiza
Ibiza Corso Hotel & Spa
Illes Balears, Spain
Licensed
STK Las Vegas
The Cosmopolitan
Las Vegas, Nevada
Managed
STK London
ME London
London, England
Managed
STK Los Cabos
Los Cabos Airport
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Licensed
STK Miami Beach
-
Miami Beach, Florida
Owned
STK Midtown
-
New York, New York
Owned
STK Milan
ME Milan
Milan, Italy
Managed
STK Nashville
-
Nashville, Tennessee
Owned
STK Orlando (1)
Disney Springs
Orlando, Florida
Owned
STK San Diego (1)
Andaz Hotel
San Diego, California
Owned
STK San Juan
Condado Vanderbilt Hotel
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Licensed
STK San Francisco
-
San Francisco, California
Owned
STK Scottsdale
-
Scottsdale, Arizona
Managed
STK Stratford
The Gantry London
London, England
Managed
STK Toronto
-
Toronto, Canada
Managed
STK Westminster
The Westminster London
London, England
Managed
STK Westwood
W Hotel
Los Angeles, California
Owned
(1) Location includes an owned rooftop lounge, except for the STK Rooftop San Diego which is a licensed location.
(2) Ownership in location is 64.81%.
Our Kona Grill locations are as follows:
Type of
Venue
Location
Interest
Kona Grill Alpharetta
Alpharetta, Georgia
Owned
Kona Grill Baltimore
Baltimore, Maryland
Owned
Kona Grill Boca Park
Las Vegas, Nevada
Owned
Kona Grill Boise
Meridian, Idaho
Owned
Kona Grill Carmel
Carmel, Indiana
Owned
Kona Grill Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Owned
Kona Grill Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Owned
Kona Grill Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Owned
Kona Grill Denver
Denver, Colorado
Owned
Kona Grill Eden Prairie
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Owned
Kona Grill El Paso
El Paso, Texas
Owned
Kona Grill Gilbert
Gilbert, Arizona
Owned
Kona Grill Huntsville
Huntsville, Alabama
Owned
Kona Grill Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Owned
Kona Grill Minnetonka
Minnetonka, Minnesota
Owned
Kona Grill North Star
San Antonio, Texas
Owned
Kona Grill Oak Brook
Oak Brook, Illinois
Owned
Kona Grill Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Owned
Kona Grill Plano
Plano, Texas
Owned
Kona Grill San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
Owned
Kona Grill Sarasota
Sarasota, Florida
Owned
Kona Grill Scottsdale
Scottsdale, Arizona
Owned
Kona Grill Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Owned
Kona Grill Troy
Troy, Michigan
Owned
Kona Grill Woodbridge
Iselin, New Jersey
Owned
Our ONE Hospitality brands and F&B services locations are as follows:
Type of
Venue
Hotel/Casino/Special Venue
Location
Interest
ANGEL
Hotel Calimala
Florence, Italy
Managed
Bao Yum
The Westminster London
London, England
Managed
F&B Services - Westminster London
The Westminster London
London, England
Managed
F&B Services - Hippodrome
Hippodrome Casino
London, England
Managed
F&B Services - ME Milan
ME Milan
Milan, Italy
Managed
F&B Services - W Hotel
W Hotel
Los Angeles, California
Owned
Heliot
Hippodrome Casino
London, England
Managed
Hideout
W Hotel
Los Angeles, California
Owned
Radio Rooftop Bar
ME Milan
Milan, Italy
Managed
Reef Kitchens (3 venues)
-
Austin, Texas
Licensed
Rivershore Bar & Grill
Rivershore BW Plus
Oregon City, Oregon
Managed
In addition to the locations above, we lease office space for support offices in Denver, Colorado; New York, New York; Scottsdale, Arizona; and London, England.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
We are subject to claims common to our industry and in the ordinary course of our business. Companies in our industry, including us, have been and are subject to class action lawsuits, primarily regarding compliance with labor laws and regulations. Defending lawsuits requires significant management attention and financial resources and the outcome of any litigation is inherently uncertain. We believe that accruals for these matters are adequately provided for in our consolidated financial statements. We may have to make payments from time to time to settle or resolve legal matters. We do not believe the ultimate resolutions of these matters will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position and results of operations. However, the resolution of lawsuits is difficult to predict. A significant increase in the number of these claims, or one or more successful claims under which we incur greater liabilities than is currently anticipated, could materially and adversely affect our consolidated financial statements.
For information regarding litigation refer to Note 15. “Commitments and Contingencies” in our consolidated financial statements included in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” For more information about the impact of legal proceedings in our business, see Item 1A. “Risk Factors”.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol "STKS". As of February 28, 2023, there were 76 holders of record of our common stock.
Dividends
We have not declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock and do not intend to declare or pay any cash dividend in the foreseeable future. The payment of dividends, if any, is within the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our earnings, our capital requirements, compliance with debt covenants, overall financial condition and such other factors as the Board of Directors may consider. As a Delaware corporation, we are also limited by Delaware law as to the payment of dividends. We currently intend to retain our earnings to finance our growth.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
On September 7, 2022, the Company announced a repurchase program of up to $10.0 million of outstanding common stock, which program terminates in September 2024. The table below sets forth information with respect to share repurchases under the program in the fourth quarter of 2022. We purchased an additional 118,085 shares totaling $0.7 million during the first two months of 2023.
Period
Total number of shares purchased
Average price paid per share
Total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plan
Maximum dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under the plan
October 1-31, 2022
16,224
$ 6.50
16,224
$ 6,391,022
November 1-30, 2022
245,688
$ 6.09
245,688
$ 4,887,917
December 1-31, 2022
320,026
$ 6.28
320,026
$ 2,867,788
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
None

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. [Reserved]

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following management’s discussion and analysis of our consolidated financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes to those statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
We currently own, operate, manage or license 63 venues including 25 STKs and 25 Kona Grills in major metropolitan cities in North America, Europe and the Middle East and 13 F&B venues in six hotels and casinos in the United States and Europe. We intend to open eight to twelve new venues in 2023, including a Kona Grill restaurant in Columbus, Ohio which opened in January 2023. The four venues that were opened in 2022 are below:
● Owned STK restaurant in San Francisco, California;
● Owned STK restaurant in Dallas, Texas;
● Licensed virtual Bao Yum in Austin, Texas
● Managed STK restaurant at The Gantry London hotel in London, United Kingdom
There are currently three Company-owned STK restaurants (Charlotte, NC, Boston, MA and Washington D.C.) and two Company-owned Kona Grill restaurants (Riverton, UT and Phoenix, AZ) under construction. We are in ongoing discussions for additional owned, managed and licensed venues both in the U.S. and international.
The table below reflects our venues by restaurant brand and geographic location:
Venues
STK(1)
Kona Grill
ONE Hospitality(2)
Total
Domestic
Owned
Managed
-
Licensed
-
Total domestic
International
Owned
-
-
-
-
Managed
-
Licensed
-
-
Total international
-
Total venues
(1) Locations with an STK and STK Rooftop are considered one venue location. This includes the STK Rooftop in San Diego, CA, which is a licensed location.
(2) Includes concepts under the Company’s F&B hospitality management agreements and other venue brands such as ANGEL, Bao Yum, Heliot, Hideout, Marconi, Radio and Rivershore Bar & Grill. Effective January 1, 2022, our agreement with the Hippodrome Casino was amended and extended for five years whereby the Company changed from manager to consultant for the Heliot ­­­­Steak House and F&B Hospitality services for the casino.
Overview of the Impact of COVID-19
In response to COVID-19, the Company took significant steps to adapt its business to increase sales while providing a safe environment for guests and employees. COVID-19 related expenses were $2.5 million and $5.8 million for 2022 and 2021, respectively, composed primarily of sanitation, supplies and safety precautions taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
2022 Financial Highlights
Total revenue increased $39.5 million, or 14.2% to $316.6 million for 2022 compared to $277.2 million for 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to strong execution of our sales initiatives combined with the opening of STK San Francisco and STK Dallas in August 2022 and November 2022, respectively. Same store sales increased 10.8% in 2022 compared to 2021. STK same store sales increased 17.1% while Kona Grill same store sales increased 2.5%. On a
three-year basis, same-store sales increased 47.7% for 2022 compared to 2019; STK same store sales increased 69.1% on a three-year basis while Kona Grill same store sales increased 26.3%.
Restaurant operating profit decreased $1.6 million, or 3.1% to $50.8 million for 2022 compared to $52.4 million in 2021. Consistent with the restaurant industry, costs faced significant inflationary pressures during 2022. Restaurant operating profit as a percentage of owned restaurant net revenue was 16.9% in 2022 compared to 19.8% in 2021.
Operating income decreased $3.1 million to $16.3 million for 2022 from $19.4 million for 2021. The decreased is attributed to higher general and administrative and pre-opening expenses and offset by higher managed, licensed and incentive fee revenue and lower COVID-19 related expenses.
Net income attributable to The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc was $13.5 million in 2022 compared to $31.3 million in 2021. We recognized an $18.5 million gain on CARES Act Loan Forgiveness in 2021.
Our Growth Strategies and Outlook
Our growth model is primarily driven by the following:
Expansion of STK. We expect to continue to expand our operations domestically and internationally through a mix of owned, licensed and managed STK restaurants using a disciplined and targeted site selection process. We have identified over 75 additional major metropolitan areas across the globe where we expect we could grow our STK brand to 200 restaurants over the foreseeable future. We expect to open five to six STKs annually, primarily through company-owned locations and management or licensing agreements, provided that we have sufficient interest from prospective licensees, acceptable locations and quality restaurant managers available to support that pace of growth.
In 2022, we opened two owned STK restaurants in San Francisco, California and Dallas, Texas and one managed STK restaurant in London, United Kingdom. Additionally, we have Company-owned STK restaurants in Charlotte, North Carolina, Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C under construction and several restaurants under lease or in lease negotiation.
Expansion of Kona Grill. We expect to expand our operations domestically using a disciplined and targeted site selection process. We believe we could grow the Kona Grill brand to 200 restaurants over the foreseeable future. We expect to open three to five Kona Grills annually, primarily through company-owned locations, provided that we have acceptable locations and quality restaurant managers available to support that pace of growth. We opened the first Kona Grill since the Company acquired the Kona Grill brand in Columbus, Ohio in January 2023 and have two restaurants under construction in Riverton, Utah and Phoenix, Arizona.
Expansion through New F&B Hospitality Projects. We expect our F&B hospitality services business to be an important contributor of our growth and profitability, enabling us to generate leads to develop managed STK restaurants and management fee income with minimal capital expenditures. We believe we are well positioned to leverage the strength of our brands and the relationships we have developed with global hospitality providers to drive the continued growth of our F&B hospitality business. We continue to receive inbound inquiries regarding new opportunities globally, and we continue to work with existing hospitality clients to identify and develop additional opportunities in their venues. We expect to enter into at least one to two new F&B hospitality agreements annually. In 2022, we opened a licensed virtual location in conjunction with REEF Kitchens in Austin, Texas that features offerings from Bao Yum.
Increase Same Store Sales and Increase Our Operating Efficiency. In addition to expanding into new cities and hospitality venues, we intend to continue to increase revenue and profits in our existing operations through continued focus on high-quality, high-margin food and beverage menu items. We believe that our operating margins will improve through growth in same store sales, as defined below in Key Performance Indicators, and a reduction of store-level operating expenses.
Acquisitions. We will continue to evaluate potential acquisition opportunities.
As our footprint increases, we expect to benefit by leveraging system-wide operating efficiencies and best practices through the management of our general and administrative expenses as a percentage of overall revenue.
Key Performance Indicators
We use the following key performance indicators in evaluating our restaurants and assessing our business:
Same Store Sales (“SSS”). SSS represents total food and beverage sales at domestic owned and managed restaurants opened for at least a full 18-month period at the beginning of each quarter, which removes the impact of new restaurant openings in comparing the operations of existing restaurants. For STK SSS, this measure includes total revenue from our owned and managed STK locations, excluding revenues from our owned STK restaurant located in the W Hotel in Los Angeles, California due to the impact of the F&B hospitality management agreement with the hotel. Revenues from locations where we do not directly control the event sales force are excluded from this measure. We have presented three-year comparable sales to illustrate how sales at our restaurant base before the COVID-19 pandemic compare to sales post COVID-19 restrictions.
Our comparable restaurant base for STK SSS consisted of ten domestic restaurants for the year ended December 31, 2022. For Kona Grill SSS 24 domestic restaurants are included in the comparable restaurant base. STK and Kona Grill SSS increased 17.1% and 2.5%, respectively, for 2022 compared to the prior year. On a three-year basis, STK SSS increased 69.1% while Kona Grill SSS increased 26.3%.
Number of Restaurant Openings. Number of restaurant openings reflects the number of restaurants opened during a particular fiscal period. For each restaurant opening, we incur pre-opening costs, which are defined below. Typically, new restaurants open with an initial start-up period of higher than normalized sales volumes (also referred to in the restaurant industry as the “honeymoon” period), which decrease to a steady level approximately 18 to 24 months after opening. However, operating costs during this initial period are also higher than normal, resulting in restaurant operating margins that are generally lower during the start-up period of operation and increase to a steady level approximately 18 to 24 months after opening. Some new restaurants may experience a “honeymoon” period that is either shorter or longer than this time frame.
In 2022, we opened three STK restaurants including two owned restaurants in San Francisco, California and Dallas, Texas, a managed STK restaurant in London, United Kingdom and opened one venue under a licensing agreement.
Average Check Per Person and Average Spend. Average check is calculated by dividing total restaurant sales by total number of guests for a specified period. Average spend per transaction is calculated by dividing total restaurant sales by total number of transactions for a specified period. Our management team uses these indicators to analyze trends in customers’ preferences, customer expenditures and the overall effectiveness of menu changes and price increases. For our comparable STK restaurants, our average check was $131 for 2022 compared to $114 for 2021. The average spend per transaction was $61 for Kona Grill restaurants for 2022 compared to $56 for 2021.
Average Comparable Restaurant Revenue. Average comparable restaurant revenue consists of the average sales of our comparable restaurants over a certain period of time. This measure is calculated by dividing total comparable restaurant sales in a given period by the total number of comparable restaurants in that period. For purposes of this calculation, STK Downtown restaurant and rooftop are considered a single venue. This indicator assists management in measuring changes in customer traffic, pricing and development of our brand. Our average comparable STK restaurant revenues were $19.1 million and $16.3 million for 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our average comparable Kona Grill restaurant revenues were $5.3 million and $5.1 million for 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Key Financial Terms and Metrics
We evaluate our business using a variety of key financial measures:
Segment reporting
Our reportable operating segments are as follows:
● STK. The STK segment consists of the results of operations from STK restaurant locations, competing in the full-service dining industry, as well as management, license and incentive fee revenue generated from the STK brand and pre-opening expenses associated with new restaurants under development.
● Kona Grill. The Kona Grill segment includes the results of operations of Kona Grill restaurant locations and pre-opening expenses associated with new restaurants under development.
● ONE Hospitality. The ONE Hospitality segment is composed of the management, license and incentive fee revenue and results of operations generated from the Company’s other brands and venue concepts, which include ANGEL, Bao Yum, Heliot, Hideout, Marconi, Radio and Rivershore Bar & Grill. Additionally, this segment includes the results of operations generated from F&B hospitality management agreements with hotels, casinos and other high-end locations.
● Corporate. The Corporate segment consists of the following: general and administrative costs, stock-based compensation, lease termination expenses, transaction costs, COVID-19 related expenses and other income and expenses. This segment also includes STK Meat Market, an e-commerce platform that offers signature steak cuts nationwide, the Company’s major off-site events group, which supports all brands and venue concepts, and revenue generated from gift card programs. The Corporate segment’s total assets primarily include cash and cash equivalents, the Kona Grill tradename, and deferred tax assets.
See Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements for further information on our segment reporting.
Revenues
Owned restaurant net revenues. Owned restaurant net revenues consist of food and beverage sales by owned restaurants net of any discounts associated with each sale and of any ancillary F&B hospitality services at owned locations. Additionally, revenues from offsite banquets, our major off-site events group, and our gift card programs are included in owned restaurant net revenues. For the year ended December 31, 2022, beverage sales comprised 24% of food and beverage sales, and food sales comprised the remaining 76%. This indicator assists management in understanding the trends in gross margins of the restaurants.
Our primary owned restaurant brands are STK and Kona Grill. We specifically look at comparable sales from both owned and managed restaurants to understand customer count trends and changes in average check as it relates to our primary restaurant brands.
Management, license and incentive fee revenue. Management, license and incentive fee revenues include fees received pursuant to management and license agreements. Management agreements typically call for a management fee based on a percentage of revenue, a monthly marketing fee based on a percentage of revenues and an incentive fee based on a managed venue’s net profits. Similarly, royalties from the licensee in license agreements are generally based on a percentage of the licensed restaurant’s revenue. These management, license and incentive fees are recognized as revenue in the period the restaurant’s sales occur. Initial licensing fees and upfront fees related to management and license agreements are recognized as revenue on a straight-line basis over the term of the agreement.
We evaluate the performance of our managed and licensed properties based on sales growth, a key driver for management and license fees, and on improvements in operating profitability margins, which, combined with sales, drives incentive fee growth.
Cost and expenses
Owned restaurant cost of sales. Owned restaurant cost of sales includes all owned restaurant food and beverage expenditures. We measure cost of goods as a percentage of owned restaurant net revenues. Owned restaurant cost of sales are generally influenced by the cost of food and beverage items, menu mix, discounting activity and restaurant
level controls. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors - Increases in commodity prices would adversely affect our results of operations.”
Owned restaurant operating expenses. We measure owned restaurant operating expenses as a percentage of owned restaurant net revenues. Owned restaurant operating expenses include the following:
● Payroll and related expenses. Payroll and related expenses consist of manager salaries, hourly staff payroll and other payroll-related items, including taxes, insurance and fringe benefits. We measure our labor cost efficiency by tracking total labor costs as a percentage of owned restaurant net revenues.
● Occupancy. Occupancy comprises all occupancy costs, consisting of both fixed and variable rent, deferred rent expense, which is a non-cash adjustment included in our Adjusted EBITDA calculation as defined below, common area maintenance charges, real estate property taxes, utilities and other related occupancy costs and is measured by considering both the fixed and variable components of certain occupancy expenses.
● Direct operating expenses. Direct operating expenses consist of supplies, such as paper, smallwares, china, silverware and glassware, cleaning supplies, credit card fees and linen costs. Direct operating expenses are typically measured as a variable expense based on owned restaurant net revenues.
● Outside services. Outside services include music and entertainment costs, such as the use of live DJ’s, promoter costs, security services, outside cleaning services and commissions paid to event staff for banquet sales and delivery service fees.
● Repairs and maintenance. Repairs and maintenance consist of general repair work to maintain our facilities, and computer maintenance contracts. We expect these costs to increase at each facility as they get older.
● Marketing. Marketing includes the cost of promoting our brands and, at times, can include the cost of goods used specifically for complementary purposes. Marketing costs will typically be higher during the first 18 months of a restaurant’s operations.
General and administrative. General and administrative expenses are comprised of all corporate overhead expenses, including payroll and related benefits, stock-based compensation expense, professional fees, such as legal and accounting fees, insurance and travel expenses. Certain centrally managed general and administrative expenses are allocated specifically to restaurant locations and are reflected in owned restaurant operating expenses and include shared services such as reservations, events and marketing. We expect general and administrative expenses to be leveraged as we grow, become more efficient, and continue to focus on best practices and cost savings measures.
Depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense consists principally of charges related to the depreciation of fixed assets including leasehold improvements, equipment and furniture and fixtures and loss on disposal of fixed assets.
Pre-opening expenses. Pre-opening expenses consist of costs incurred prior to opening an owned or managed STK restaurant at either a leased or F&B location. Pre-opening expenses are comprised principally of manager salaries and relocation costs, employee payroll, training costs for new employees and lease costs incurred prior to opening. Pre-opening expenses have varied from location to location depending on a number of factors, including the proximity of our existing restaurants; the amount of rent expensed during the construction and in-restaurant training periods; the size and physical layout of each location; the number of management and hourly employees required to operate each restaurant; the relative difficulty of the restaurant staffing process; the cost of travel and lodging for different metropolitan areas; the timing of the restaurant opening; and the extent of unexpected delays, if any, in obtaining necessary licenses and permits to open the restaurant.
Other Items
EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Restaurant Operating Profit. We present EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Restaurant Operating Profit to supplement other measures of financial performance. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Restaurant Operating Profit are not required by, or presented in accordance with, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). We define EBITDA as net income before interest expense, provision for income taxes and depreciation and amortization. We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA before non-cash rent expense, pre-opening expenses, lease termination expenses, stock-based compensation, COVID-19 related expenses and non-recurring gains and losses. Not all of the items defining Adjusted EBITDA occur in each reporting period but have been included in our definitions of these terms based on our historical activity. We define Restaurant
Operating Profit as owned restaurant net revenue minus owned restaurant cost of sales and owned restaurant operating expenses.
We believe that EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Restaurant Operating Profit are appropriate measures of our operating performance because they eliminate non-cash or non-recurring expenses that do not reflect our underlying business performance. We believe Restaurant Operating Profit is an important component of financial results because: (i) it is a widely used metric within the restaurant industry to evaluate restaurant-level productivity, efficiency, and performance, and (ii) we use Restaurant Operating Profit as a key metric to evaluate our restaurant financial performance compared to our competitors. We use these metrics to facilitate a comparison of our operating performance on a consistent basis from period to period, to analyze the factors and trends affecting our business and to evaluate the performance of our restaurants. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool and our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to that reported by other companies; accordingly, you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA is a key measure used by management and is a metric used in our debt compliance calculation. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA and Restaurant Operating Profit are frequently used by analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in our industry. We use Adjusted EBITDA and Restaurant Operating Profit, alongside other GAAP measures such as net income, to measure profitability, as a key profitability target in our budgets, and to compare our performance against that of peer companies despite possible differences in calculation.
Please refer to the table on page 28 for our reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA and for a reconciliation of operating income to Restaurant Operating Profit.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth certain statements of operations data for the periods indicated (in thousands):
For the year ended December 31,
Revenues:
Owned restaurant net revenue
$
300,859
$
264,404
Management, license and incentive fee revenue
15,779
12,774
Total revenues
316,638
277,178
Cost and expenses:
Owned operating expenses:
Owned restaurant cost of sales
75,365
67,468
Owned restaurant operating expenses
174,689
144,529
Total owned operating expenses
250,054
211,997
General and administrative (including stock-based compensation of $3,985 and $3,618 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively)
29,081
25,573
Depreciation and amortization
12,134
10,790
COVID-19 related expenses
2,534
5,821
Transaction costs
Lease termination expenses
1,912
Agreement restructuring expenses
-
Pre-opening expenses
5,519
1,037
Write-off of trademark costs and other
-
Total costs and expenses
300,332
257,793
Operating income
16,306
19,385
Other expenses (income), net:
Interest expense, net of interest income
2,113
3,780
Loss on early debt extinguishment
-
Gain on CARES Act Loan Forgiveness
-
(18,529)
Total other expenses (income), net
2,113
(14,149)
Income before provision for income taxes
14,193
33,534
Provision for income taxes
1,586
Net income
13,319
31,948
Less: net (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interest
(215)
Net income attributable to The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc.
$
13,534
$
31,348
The following table sets forth certain statements of operations data as a percentage of total revenues for the periods indicated. Certain percentage amounts may not sum to total due to rounding.
For the year ended December 31,
Revenues:
Owned restaurant net revenue
95.0%
95.4%
Management, license and incentive fee revenue
5.0%
4.6%
Total revenues
100.0%
100.0%
Cost and expenses:
Owned operating expenses:
Owned restaurant cost of sales (1)
25.0%
25.5%
Owned restaurant operating expenses (1)
58.1%
54.7%
Total owned operating expenses (1)
83.1%
80.2%
General and administrative (including stock-based compensation of 1.3% and 1.3% for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively)
9.2%
9.2%
Depreciation and amortization
3.8%
3.9%
COVID-19 related expenses
0.8%
2.1%
Transaction costs
0.0%
0.1%
Lease termination expenses
0.1%
0.7%
Agreement restructuring expenses
-%
0.2%
Pre-opening expenses
1.7%
0.4%
Write-off of trademark costs and other
0.2%
-%
Total costs and expenses
94.9%
93.0%
Operating income
5.1%
7.0%
Other expenses (income), net:
Interest expense, net of interest income
0.7%
1.4%
Loss on early debt extinguishment
-%
0.2%
Gain on CARES Act Loan Forgiveness
-%
(6.7)%
Total other expenses (income), net
0.7%
(5.1)%
Income before provision for income taxes
4.5%
12.1%
Provision for income taxes
0.3%
0.6%
Net income
4.2%
11.5%
Less: net (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interest
(0.1)%
0.2%
Net income attributable to The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc.
4.3%
11.3%
(1) These expenses are being shown as a percentage of owned restaurant net revenue.
The following table presents a reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the periods indicated (in thousands):
For the year ended December 31,
Net income attributable to The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc.
$
13,534
$
31,348
Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest
(215)
Net income
13,319
31,948
Interest expense, net of interest income
2,113
3,780
Provision for income taxes
1,586
Depreciation and amortization
12,134
10,790
EBITDA
28,440
48,104
COVID-19 related expenses
2,534
5,821
Transaction costs
Stock-based compensation
3,985
3,618
Lease termination expense (1)
1,912
Agreement restructuring expense
-
Pre-opening expenses
5,519
1,037
Non-cash rent (2)
(164)
(32)
Gain on CARES Act Loan forgiveness
-
(18,529)
Loss on early debt extinguishment
-
Write-off of trademark costs and other
-
Adjusted EBITDA
41,324
43,194
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interest
Adjusted EBITDA attributable to The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc.
$
41,252
$
42,687
(1) Lease termination expense are costs associated with closed, abandoned and disputed locations or leases.
(2) Non-cash rent expense is included in owned restaurant operating expenses and general and administrative expense on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.
The following table presents a reconciliation of Operating income to Restaurant Operating Profit for the periods indicated (in thousands):
For the year ended December 31,
Operating income as reported
$
16,306
$
19,385
Management, license and incentive fee revenue
(15,779)
(12,774)
General and administrative
29,081
25,573
Depreciation and amortization
12,134
10,790
COVID-19 related expenses
2,534
5,821
Agreement restructuring expenses
-
Pre-opening expenses
5,519
1,037
Lease termination expense
1,912
Transaction costs
Write-off of trademark costs and other
-
Restaurant Operating Profit
$
50,805
$
52,407
Restaurant Operating Profit as a percentage of owned restaurant net revenue
16.9%
19.8%
Restaurant Operating Profit by brand is as follows (in thousands):
For the year ended December 31,
STK restaurant operating profit (Company owned)
$
37,259
$
34,598
STK restaurant operating profit (Company owned) as a percentage of STK revenue (Company owned)
21.5%
24.7%
Kona Grill restaurant operating profit
$
13,695
$
17,785
Kona Grill restaurant operating profit as a percentage of Kona Grill revenue
10.8%
14.4%
The following tables show our operating results by segment for the periods indicated (in thousands). Prior year amounts have been revised to conform to the current year segment presentation.
STK
Kona Grill
ONE Hospitality
Corporate
Total
For the year ended December 31, 2022
Total revenues
$
187,402
$
126,341
$
2,344
$
$
316,638
Operating income (loss)
40,343
7,217
1,282
(32,536)
16,306
Capital asset additions
$
19,116
$
10,496
$
$
2,878
$
32,629
As of December 31, 2022
Total assets
$
113,911
$
78,691
$
5,746
$
92,676
$
291,024
STK
Kona Grill
ONE Hospitality
Corporate
Total
For the year ended December 31, 2021
Total revenues
$
151,436
$
123,181
$
1,725
$
$
277,178
Operating income (loss)
39,863
12,982
(33,926)
19,385
Capital asset additions
$
7,581
$
2,307
$
$
1,409
$
11,467
As of December 31, 2021
Total assets
$
95,579
$
69,006
$
5,735
$
59,515
$
229,835
Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021
Revenues
Owned restaurant net revenue. Owned restaurant net revenue increased $36.5 million, or 13.8%, to $300.9 million for 2022 from $264.4 million for 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to strong execution of our sales initiatives combined with the opening of STK San Francisco and STK Dallas in August 2022 and November 2022, respectively. Same store sales increased 10.8% in 2022.
Management, license and incentive fee revenue. Management and license fee revenues increased $3.0 million, or 23.5%, to $15.8 million for 2022 from $12.8 million for 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to strong revenues at our managed restaurants in North America.
Cost and Expenses
Owned restaurant cost of sales. Food and beverage costs for owned restaurants increased $7.9 million, or 11.7%, to $75.4 million for 2022 from $67.5 million for 2021. The increase was primarily due to the incremental sales increases noted above. As a percentage of revenues, cost of sales decreased 50 basis points to 25.0% for 2022 from 25.5% for 2021 primarily due to product mix management, pricing and operational cost reduction initiatives partially offset by significant commodity price increases.
Owned restaurant operating expenses. Owned restaurant operating expenses increased $30.2 million, or 20.9%, to $174.7 million for 2022 from $144.5 million for 2021. Owned restaurant operating costs as a percentage of owned restaurant net revenue increased 340 basis points from 54.7% in 2021 to 58.1% for 2022 primarily due to higher average wage and operating costs.
General and administrative. General and administrative costs increased $3.5 million, or 13.7% to $29.1 million for 2022 from $25.6 million for 2021. The increase was attributable to additional investments required ahead of growth, increased accounting and legal fees partially offset by a decrease in performance based variable compensation. As a percentage of revenues, general and administrative costs were 9.2% in both 2022 and 2021.
Depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense increased $1.3 million to $12.1 million for 2022 from $10.8 million for 2021. The increase was primarily related to the opening of two owned STK restaurant in the second half of 2022 and capital expenditures to enhance the guest experience.
Lease termination expenses. Lease termination expense was $0.3 million and $1.9 million in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Lease termination expenses are costs associated with closed, abandoned and disputed locations or disputed leases.
Agreement restructuring. Agreement restructuring expense for 2021 was $0.5 million, related to the restructuring of agreements with our management and license partners. We do not expect to incur additional agreement restructuring expenses going forward.
COVID-19 related expenses. COVID-19 related expenses were $2.5 million and $5.8 million for 2022 and 2021, respectively, composed primarily of sanitation, supplies and safety precautions taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Pre-opening expenses. We incurred $5.5 million of pre-opening expenses primarily related to payroll, training, and non-cash rent for STK San Francisco which opened August 2022, STK Dallas which opened November 2022, Kona Grill Columbus which opened January 2023 and two new restaurants which are currently under construction. Total pre-opening expenses related to non-cash rent were $1.1 million. Pre-opening expenses for 2021 were $1.0 million, primarily related to STK Bellevue, which opened in July 2021. Detail of pre-opening expenses by category is provided in the table below for 2022 (in thousands).
Preopen Expenses
Preopen Rent
Total
Training Team
$
1,186
$
-
$
1,186
Restaurants (1)
3,200
1,133
4,333
Total
$
4,386
$
1,133
$
5,519
(1) Includes STK San Francisco, STK Dallas, Kona Grill Columbus, Kona Grill Phoenix and Kona Grill Riverton.
Write-off of trademark costs and other. Other expenses were $0.6 million for 2022 composed primarily of trademark defense and litigation expenses.
Interest expense, net of interest income. Interest expense, net of interest income, was approximately $2.1 million and $3.8 million for 2022 and 2021, respectively. In conjunction with the Third Amendment to the Credit Agreement in August 2021, we made a $22.2 million pre-payment on the loan.
Loss on early debt extinguishment. During August 2021, we entered into the Third Amendment to the Credit Agreement with Goldman Sachs Bank USA and made a $22.2 million pre-payment on the term loan. We recognized a loss on early debt extinguishment of $0.6 million in 2021.
Provision for income taxes. The provision for income taxes for 2022 was $0.9 million compared to $1.6 million for 2021. Our effective tax rate was 6.2% and 4.7% for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our effective tax rate differs from the statutory U.S. tax rate of 21% primarily due to the following: (i) tax credits for FICA taxes on certain employees’ tips; (ii) taxes owed in foreign jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Italy; (iii) taxes owed in state and local jurisdictions; and (iv) windfall tax benefits from equity compensation offset by compensation limited for certain individuals with compensation in excess of $1 million.
Net (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interest. Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest decreased $0.8 million to a net loss of $0.2 million for 2022 compared to net income of $0.6 million for 2021.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Executive Summary
Our principal liquidity requirements are to meet our lease obligations, working capital and capital expenditure needs and to pay principal and interest on our outstanding debt. Subject to our operating performance, which, if significantly adversely affected, would adversely affect the availability of funds, we expect to finance our operations for at least the next 12 months, including the costs of opening currently planned new restaurants, through cash provided by operations, construction allowances provided by landlords of certain locations and borrowings under our credit agreement. We also may borrow on our revolving credit facility or issue equity to support ongoing business and fund additional expansion. We believe these sources of financing are adequate to support our immediate business operations and plans. As of December 31, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents of $55.1 million. We had $74.3 million in long-term debt, which consisted of borrowings under our Credit Agreement as of December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2022, the availability on our revolving credit facility was $10.6 million, subject to the restrictions described in Note 5 to our consolidated financial statements.
Capital expenditures in 2022 were $32.7 million of which $17.8 million primarily related to the construction of two new STK restaurants in San Francisco, California and Dallas, Texas which opened in 2022, Kona Grill Columbus which opened in January 2023 and several restaurants that were under construction as of December 31, 2022. We spent $10.0 million on maintenance capital expenditures for existing restaurants which included additional furniture, fixtures and equipment commensurate with the higher sales volumes at our restaurants. In addition, we spent approximately $2.3 million for furniture, fixtures and equipment for restaurants that we plan to open in the future. Net capital expenditures, inclusive of $2.2 million in landlord contributions, was $30.5 million for 2022. Capital expenditures by type for 2022 is provided below (in thousands).
STK
Kona Grill
Other
Total
New Venues
$
12,555
$
5,226
$
2,258
$
20,039
Maintenance
5,279
4,748
-
10,027
Other
1,741
2,563
Total
$
18,243
$
10,387
$
3,999
$
32,629
Our future cash requirements will depend on many factors, including the pace of expansion, conditions in the retail property development market, construction costs, the nature of the specific sites selected for new restaurants, and the nature of the specific leases and associated tenant improvement allowances available, if any, as negotiated with landlords.
Our operations have not required significant working capital, and, like many restaurant companies, we may have negative working capital during the year. Revenues are received primarily in credit card or cash receipts, and restaurant operations do not require significant receivables or inventories, other than our wine inventory. In addition, we receive trade credit for the purchase of food, beverages and supplies, thereby reducing the need for incremental working capital to support growth.
Credit Agreement
On October 4, 2019, in conjunction with the acquisition of Kona Grill, we entered into our Credit Agreement with Goldman Sachs Bank USA. On August 6, 2021, we entered into the Third Amendment to the Credit Agreement to extend the maturity date for both the term loan and revolving credit facility to August 2026. The Credit Agreement provides for a secured revolving credit facility of $12.0 million and a $25.0 million term loan (reduced from $48.0 million). The term loan is payable in quarterly installments of $0.1 million, with the final payment due in August 2026.
On December 13, 2022, we entered into the Fourth Amendment to the Credit Agreement that:
● Allows for a new $50.0 million delayed draw term facility, available to draw for twelve months and subject to a 1.75x Net Leverage Ratio incurrence test (as defined in the Credit Agreement) for permitted acquisitions, stock repurchases and new restaurant capital expenditures;
● Allows the Company to redeem, repurchase or otherwise acquire its own capital stock in an aggregate amount of up to $50.0 million subject to a 1.75x Net Leverage Ratio incurrence test and no default or event of default;
● Changes the interest rate from London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR“) plus a margin to Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) plus an applicable margin; and
● Requires the Company to pay interest on an undrawn portion of the delayed draw term loan up to $35.0 million, beginning 90 days following the effective date until December 13, 2023.
We borrowed $50.0 million on the delayed draw term facility on December 28, 2022.
Loans under the amended Credit Agreement bear interest at a rate per annum using the SOFR rate subject to a 1.00% floor plus an interest rate margin of 6.50%. Prior to the Fourth Amendment to the Credit Agreement, the amended Credit Agreement had several borrowing and interest rate options, including the following: (a) a LIBOR rate (or a comparable successor rate) subject to a 1.00% floor (b) a base rate equal to the greatest of (i) the prime rate, (ii) the federal funds rate plus 0.50%, (iii) the LIBOR rate for a one-month period plus 1.00% or (iv) 4.00%. Loans under the Third Amendment to the Credit Agreement bore interest at a rate per annum using the applicable indices plus an interest rate margin of 5.00% (for LIBOR rate loans) and 4.00% (for base rate loans).
As of December 31, 2022, we were in compliance with the covenants under the amended Credit Agreement. Based on current projections, we believe that we will continue to comply with the covenants in the Credit Agreement, as amended, throughout the twelve months following the issuance of the financial statements.
See Note 5 and Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements for further information on our long-term debt and commitments and contingencies.
CARES Act Loans
On May 4, 2020, two of our subsidiaries obtained CARES Act Loans from BBVA USA under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) created by the CARES Act. Repayment of the CARES Act Loans was guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”). The ONE Group, LLC received a loan of $9.8 million related to the operations of STK restaurants, and Kona Grill Acquisition, LLC received a loan of $8.5 million related to the operation of Kona Grill restaurants.
The CARES Act Loans were eligible for forgiveness if the proceeds were used for qualified purposes within a specified period and if at least 60% was spent on payroll costs. We used all of the proceeds from the CARES Act Loans for qualified purposes in accordance with the CARES Act and SBA regulations, and these funds supported the re-opening of in person dining and the return of approximately 3,000 furloughed employees to work.
We applied for forgiveness of the CARES Act Loans in February 2021, and loans were forgiven in June 2021 and July 2021. As a result, we recognized an $18.5 million gain on CARES Act Loan forgiveness for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Capital Expenditures and Lease Arrangements
When we open new Company-owned restaurants, our capital expenditures for construction increase. For owned restaurants, where we build from a shell state, we have typically targeted an average cash investment of approximately $3.8 million for a 10,000 square-foot STK restaurant and approximately $2.5 million for an 8,000 square-foot Kona Grill restaurant, in each case, net of landlord contributions and excluding pre-opening costs. For STK locations where we may be the successor restaurant tenant, which anticipate total cash investment of $2.0 million to $3.0 million. Typical cash pre-opening costs are $0.6 million to $0.8 million, excluding the impact of cash and non-cash pre-opening rent. In addition, some of our existing restaurants will require capital improvements to either maintain or improve the facilities. We may add seating or provide enclosures for outdoor space in the next twelve months for some of our locations, when we believe that will increase revenues for those locations.
Our hospitality F&B services projects typically require limited capital investment from us. Capital expenditures for these projects are primarily be funded by cash flows from operations and equipment financing, depending upon the timing of these expenditures and cash availability.
We typically seek to lease our restaurant locations for periods of 10 to 20 years under operating lease arrangements, with a limited number of renewal options. Our rent structure varies, but our leases generally provide for the payment of both minimum and contingent rent based on sales, as well as other expenses related to the leases such as our pro-rata share of common area maintenance, property tax and insurance expenses. Many of our lease arrangements include the opportunity to secure tenant improvement allowances to partially offset the cost of developing and opening the related restaurants. Generally, landlords recover the cost of such allowances from increased minimum rents. However, there can be no assurance that such allowances will be available to us on each project that we select for development.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes the statement of cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 (in thousands):
For the year ended December 31,
Net cash provided by (used in):
Operating activities
$
25,251
$
30,966
Investing activities
(32,629)
(11,467)
Financing activities
39,102
(20,275)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash
(217)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
$
31,507
$
(771)
Operating Activities. Net cash provided by operating activities was $25.3 million for 2022 compared to $31.0 million for 2021. The decrease in net cash provided by operating activities during 2022 compared to 2021 was primarily attributable to payments on accrued expenses partially offset by collection on accounts receivable.
Investing Activities. Net cash used in investing activities for 2022 was $32.7 million primarily for the construction of STK restaurants in Dallas, Texas and San Francisco, California; and Kona Grill restaurants in Riverton, Utah and Columbus, Ohio, as well as capital expenditures for existing restaurants compared to $11.5 million for 2021.
Financing Activities. Net cash provided by financing activities was $39.1 million for 2022 compared to net cash used by financing activities of $20.3 million for 2021. During 2022, we borrowed $50.0 million under the amended Credit Agreement, partially offset by $7.1 million in purchases of common stock and $2.0 million to pay employee taxes for shares withheld upon vesting of restricted stock units. During 2021, we made a $22.2 million payment for the partial paydown of the term loan in conjunction with the Third Amendment to the Credit Agreement.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Note 2 of our consolidated financial statements for a detailed description of recent accounting pronouncements.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Critical accounting estimates are those that management believes are the most important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results and require the most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain, especially in light of the current economic environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Judgments and uncertainties may result in materially different amounts being reported under different conditions or using different assumptions.
Our significant accounting estimates are discussed in additional detail in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements. We base our estimates on historical experience and various assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances and we evaluate those estimates on an ongoing basis. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We believe that our significant accounting estimates involve a higher degree of judgment and/or complexity for the reasons discussed below:
Income Taxes
We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the respective tax bases of our assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using current enacted rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which we expect the temporary differences to reverse. We routinely evaluate the likelihood of realizing the benefit of our deferred tax assets and may record a valuation allowance if, based on all available evidence, we determine that some portion of the tax benefit will not be realized.
In addition, our income tax returns are periodically audited by federal, state and foreign tax authorities. These audits include questions regarding our tax filing positions, including the timing and amount of deductions taken and the allocation of income amongst various tax jurisdictions. We evaluate our exposures associated with our various tax filing positions and record a related liability. We adjust our liability for unrecognized tax benefits and income tax provision in the period in which an uncertain tax provision is effectively settled, the statute of limitations expires for the relevant taxing authority to examine the tax position or when more information becomes available.
As of December 31, 2022, we had a valuation allowance of $0.6 million that relates to foreign tax credits we do not expect to utilize as a result of generating income in a jurisdiction with a higher income tax rate than the U.S. The recording of deferred taxes requires significant management judgment regarding the interpretation of applicable statutes, the status of various income tax audits, and our particular facts and circumstances.
Our income taxes are impacted by the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Job Act in December 2017 (the “TCJA”), which, amongst other things, enacted global intangible low-taxed income provisions that do not allow us to defer the earnings of our U.K. and Italy subsidiaries.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Disposal of Property and Equipment
Long-lived assets, which include property and equipment and right-of-use assets for operating leases, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of these assets may not be fully recoverable. The impairment evaluation is generally performed at the individual restaurant level, as we believe this is the lowest level of identifiable cash flows. We believe that historical cash flows, in addition to other relevant facts and circumstances, are the primary basis for estimating future cash flows. Relevant facts and circumstances include, among others, significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results, significant changes in the manner of use of the acquired assets or the strategy for the overall business, and significant negative industry or economic trends. Recoverability of restaurant assets is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an individual restaurant’s assets to the estimated identifiable undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by those restaurant assets. This process requires the use of estimates and assumptions, which are subject to a high degree of judgment. If the carrying amount of an individual restaurant’s assets exceeds its estimated undiscounted future cash flows an impairment charge is recognized as the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair value. The estimated fair value is determined for these assets in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement. Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation and the operating lease right-of-use assets as of December 31, 2022 were $94.1 million and $85.2 million, respectively.
From time to time, we have decided to close or dispose of restaurants. Typically, such decisions are based on operating performance or strategic considerations and must be made before the actual costs or proceeds of disposition are known, and management must make estimates of these outcomes. Such outcomes could include the sale of a leasehold, mitigating costs through a tenant or subtenant, or negotiating a buyout of a remaining lease term. In these instances, management evaluates possible outcomes, frequently using outside real estate and legal advice, and records provisions for the effect of such outcomes. The accuracy of such provisions can vary materially from original estimates, and management regularly monitors the adequacy of the provisions until final disposition occurs.
For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we did not identify any event or changes in circumstances that indicated that the carrying values of our restaurant long-lived assets were impaired and therefore, no impairment loss related to long-lived assets has been recognized.
Impairment of Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
Indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment annually or on an interim basis if events or changes in circumstances between annual tests indicate a potential impairment. First, we determine if, based on qualitative factors, it is more likely than not that an impairment exists. Factors considered include, but are not limited to, historical financial performance, expected future cash flows, changes in management or key personnel, macroeconomic and industry conditions and the legal and regulatory environment. If the qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that an impairment exists, then a quantitative assessment is performed.
The quantitative assessments require the use of estimates and assumptions regarding future cash flows. Key assumptions include projected revenue growth and operating expenses, discount rates, royalty rates and other factors that could affect fair value or otherwise indicate potential impairment. These estimates are subjective, and our ability to realize future cash is affected by factors such as changes in economic conditions and operating performance. Changes in circumstances existing at the measurement date or at other times in the future, or in the estimates associated with management’s judgments and assumptions made in assessing the fair value of our trademarks, could result in an impairment loss of a portion or all of our trademarks.
Leases
Contracts are evaluated to determine whether they contain a lease at inception, and leases are classified as either operating or financing. For operating leases, we recognize a lease liability equal to the present value of the remaining lease payments, and a right of use asset equal to the lease liability, subject to certain adjustments, such as prepaid rents, initial direct costs and lease incentives received from the lessor. For leases that do not have a rate implicit in the lease, we use our incremental borrowing rate to determine the present value of the lease payments. Our incremental borrowing rate is the rate of interest that we would have to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term on an amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment.
The lease term at the lease commencement date is determined based on the non-cancellable period for which we have the right to use the underlying asset, together with any periods covered by an option to extend the lease if we are reasonably certain to exercise that option, periods covered by an option to terminate the lease if we are reasonably certain not to exercise that option, and periods covered by an option to extend (or not to terminate) the lease in which the exercise of the option is controlled by the lessor.
Certain of our leases also provide for percentage rent, which are variable lease costs determined as a percentage of gross sales in excess of specified, minimum sales targets. These percentage rents are recognized as rent expense prior to the achievement of the specified sales target provided achievement of the sales target is considered probable.
We currently lease all of our restaurant locations under leases classified as operating leases. Management makes judgments regarding the probable term for each lease and considers a number of factors to evaluate whether renewal options in the lease contracts are reasonably certain of exercise, such as length of time before option exercise, expected value of the leased asset at the end of the initial lease term, importance of the lease to overall operations, costs to negotiate a new lease, and any contractual or economic penalties. The lease term can impact the lease classification and accounting for a lease as either an operating or financing lease, the incremental borrowing rate, the rent holidays and/or escalations in payments that are taken into consideration when calculating the rent expense and the related lease liability and right-of-use asset, and the term over which leasehold improvements for each restaurant are depreciated. These judgments may produce materially different amounts of depreciation, amortization and rent expense and materially different lease liabilities and right-of-use assets than would be reported if different assumed lease terms were used.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Commodity Price Risk
We are exposed to market price fluctuations in beef, seafood, produce and other food product prices. Given the historical volatility of beef, seafood, produce and other food product prices, these fluctuations can materially impact our food and beverage costs. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted commodity prices due to supply and labor shortages. While we have taken steps to qualify multiple suppliers who meet our standards as suppliers for our restaurants and enter into agreements with suppliers for some of the commodities used in our restaurant operations, we do not enter into long-term agreements for the purchase of such supplies. There can be no assurance that future supplies and costs for such commodities will not fluctuate due to weather and other market conditions outside of our control and we may be subject to unforeseen supply and cost fluctuations. Dairy costs can also fluctuate due to government regulation. Because we typically set our menu prices in advance of our food product prices, our menu prices cannot immediately take into account the changing costs of food items. To the extent that we are unable to pass the increased costs on to our customers through price increases, our results of operations would be adversely affected. We do not use financial instruments to hedge our risk to market price fluctuations in beef, seafood, produce and other food product prices at this time.
Inflation
Inflation significantly affected our operations in 2022. The impact of inflation on labor, food and occupancy costs could, in the future, significantly affect our operations. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in inflation due to supply and labor shortages. We pay many of our employees hourly rates related to the applicable federal or state minimum wage. Food costs as a percentage of revenues have been somewhat stable due to procurement efficiencies and menu price increases, although no assurance can be made that our procurement will continue to be efficient or that we will be able to raise menu prices in the future. Costs for construction, taxes, repairs, maintenance and insurance all impact our occupancy costs. We believe that our current strategy, which is to seek to maintain operating margins through a combination of menu price increases, cost controls, careful evaluation of property and equipment needs, and efficient purchasing practices, has been an effective tool for dealing with inflation. There can be no assurance, however, that future inflationary or other cost pressure will be effectively offset by this strategy.
Interest Rate Risk
Under our Credit Agreement, we are exposed to market risk from changes in interest rates on our borrowings. Borrowings under the Credit Agreement are subject to rates based on SOFR plus an interest rate margin of 6.5%. As of December 31, 2022, we had $74.3 million of borrowings subject to variable interest rates.
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
We are subject to foreign currency exchange risk for our restaurants operating in the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Mexico and the Middle East. If foreign currency exchange rates depreciate in these countries or regions, or any other country or region in which we may operate in the future, we may experience declines in our international operating results but such exposure would not be material to the consolidated financial statements. We currently do not use financial instruments to hedge foreign currency exchange rate changes.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Our Consolidated Financial Statements required by this Item are set forth in Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, as our controls are designed to do, and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the risk and cost benefit relationship related to controls and procedures.
Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, have reviewed the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2022 and, based on this evaluation, have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2022.
Report of Management on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Internal control over financial reporting is a process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Internal control over financial reporting includes maintaining records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect our transactions; providing reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary for preparation of our financial statements; providing reasonable assurance that receipts and expenditures are made in accordance with management authorization; and providing reasonable assurance that unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of company assets that could have a material effect on our financial statements would be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting is not intended to provide absolute assurance that a misstatement of our financial statements would be prevented or detected.
Our management has assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022. In making its assessment of internal control over financial reporting, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (the “COSO”) of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013). Based on this assessment, our CEO and CFO concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2022.
Deloitte & Touche LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited the financial statements included in this Annual Report, has issued an attestation report on our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022.
Remediation Efforts to Address the Previously Disclosed Material Weaknesses
As previously disclosed in our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 16, 2022, we identified two material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
Our remediation efforts previously identified in Item 9A. “Controls and Procedures” of our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K to address the identified material weaknesses have been completed. As of December 31, 2022, we completed the execution of the following remediation measures, including testing of the design and concluding on the operating effectiveness of the related controls:
● We redesigned the control over the review of journal entries to ensure the appropriate segregation of duties. Specifically, we limited the accounting personnel within the Company that have the authority to approve journal entries and modified our journal entry review process to require senior members of the management
team, who are outside of the journal entry recording process, review journal entries in order to enforce proper segregation of duties.
● We increased the precision and specificity in the design of our control activities within the business processes related to payroll, accounts payable and property and equipment, including the controls over the completeness and accuracy of the information used in performing these control activities.
● We educated control owners and enhanced policies to ensure that all design elements are addressed in the performance of control activities, including the retention of documentation supporting the effective operation of such control activities.
● We have improved the control activities related to information technology user access security. Specifically we have reviewed and restricted both user and privileged access, enhanced the user provisioning and termination processes and instituted detailed quarterly security reviews for both in house applications and IT systems maintained by third parties.
● We hired additional experienced accounting personnel and provided access to accounting literature and research to enable the control owners in evaluating technical accounting pronouncements for certain transactions.
Based upon the above, we believe the steps taken have improved the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and determined that these new or redesigned controls are operating effectively.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Except for the improvements to our internal control over financial reporting to remediate the material weaknesses discussed above, there have been no other changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2022 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc.
Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022, of the Company and our report dated March 9, 2023, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.
Basis for Opinion
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Report of Management on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Denver, Colorado
March 9, 2023

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other Information
None.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Information required by this item is incorporated by reference from the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Information required by this item is incorporated by reference from the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
Information required by this item is incorporated by reference from the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Information required by this item is incorporated by reference from the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Information required by this item is incorporated by reference from the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules
(a)(1)
Financial Statements. For the financial statements included in this annual report, see “Index to the Financial Statements” on page.
(a)(3)
Exhibits. The list of exhibits filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is set forth on the Exhibit Index immediately preceding such exhibits and is incorporated by reference in this Item 15(a)(3).
(b)
Exhibits. See Exhibit Index.
(c)
Separate Financial Statements. None.