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Date
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 at 11 a.m. ET
Call participants
- Chief Financial Officer — Anthony J. Sirica
- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer — Michael Weinstein
Takeaways
- Cash Position -- $11.05 million in cash reported at quarter-end.
- Debt -- $7.6 million in debt outstanding, with an additional $5 million drawdown before quarter-end for Las Vegas leasehold improvements.
- Sales Trends — Las Vegas -- Revenue declined approximately 11%, consistent with citywide trends.
- Sales Trends — Florida -- Sales fell 10%, with management noting similar declines across other area restaurants.
- Sales Trends — Washington, D.C. -- Revenue declined 5%, but cost management led to reduced losses compared to the prior period.
- Sales Trends — New York City -- Business described as “very profitable,” though litigation at Bryant Park is offsetting a significant portion of profit.
- Pricing Strategy -- Menu prices remained “pretty much stable,” with “no measurable” increases overall.
- Customer Behavior -- Reduced traffic primarily from price-sensitive segments, attributed to broader macroeconomic pressures such as grocery and gas prices.
- Expense Controls -- Payroll and select operating costs were lowered, notably in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., leading to improved cash flow and reduced losses, respectively.
- Upcoming Location -- The new America restaurant in Las Vegas is targeted for early July opening, with management expressing optimism for its impact on business mix.
- Bryant Park Litigation -- Litigation is ongoing, with trial anticipated late this year or early next, and a likely appeal extending the process by an additional 1–1.5 years.
- Meadowlands Referendum -- A legislative referendum for the Meadowlands project may appear on the November ballot; cited polls show public support ranging from 51% to 66%.
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Risks
- Chairman Michael Weinstein stated that “We are challenged with sales everywhere,” describing a “sales problem” across all regions.
- Management reported ongoing litigation at Bryant Park continues to “offset a good portion” of profitability at that location, with no short-term resolution expected.
Summary
Ark Restaurants Corp. (ARKR +2.22%) reported broad sales declines across all core markets, with management directly attributing the weakness to macroeconomic pressure on price-sensitive diners. Operational adjustments, including payroll controls, improved cash flow efficiency in Las Vegas and reduced losses in Washington, D.C. Management remains focused on opening the new America concept in Las Vegas and navigating unresolved legal and regulatory developments at Bryant Park and the Meadowlands, respectively.
- Polling on the Meadowlands project referenced majority support, with results of “51%-49%,” “62%” and “66%” cited by management.
- Chairman Michael Weinstein repeatedly characterized overall business conditions as unchanged versus prior quarters, reinforcing the persistent nature of current trends.
Industry glossary
- Leasehold Improvements: Capital expenses invested into leased restaurant properties to enhance or prepare facilities for operation or rebranding.
Full Conference Call Transcript
Anthony J. Sirica: Good morning, everybody. As always, Michael will discuss the business and Bryant Park and the Meadowlands situation. As far as the balance sheet goes, we did draw down 5 million before the end of the quarter to finance our leasehold improvements in Las Vegas. Our cash at the end of the quarter was $11.05, and our debt was 7.6. Other than that, the balance sheet remains very stable. And in good shape. that is really, it is pretty uneventful as far as the balance sheet goes.
Michael Weinstein: This is Michael. I will just do a brief review of what is going on. it is sort of a repeat of the last quarter and the quarter before that. We have not increased prices. By any measurable amount. There are certain increases on certain items, but the menu pricing remains pretty much stable. We are challenged with sales everywhere. Essentially, the check averages remain pretty much the same. But we are losing what we consider the bottom end of our business with people who are being challenged by their own home expenses. and prices at grocery stores and gas prices, etcetera. it is pretty much across the board. The Vegas sales are down about 11%.
Which is sort of in line with City of sin in terms of citizenships. However, our cash flow there has actually improved as we have gotten better at managing payroll expenses and certain other expenses. We are really very well managed there. In Florida, everything's down 10%. We check with other operators and vendors and they are pretty much in line with all restaurants. Washington DC, same situation down 5% in sales. But, again, we are we have new management there. We are operating more efficiently with less payroll. So we are actually running a little bit ahead of last year in terms of not having the losses we had last year. New York, Roger is doing very well.
We challenged with events at Bryant Park because of litigation that we are going through. We are still very profitable. But our litigation expenses offset a good portion of the debt profitability. So all in all, not much different from the last quarter. it is just a sales problem. I would say to you that overall, we are very pleased with the product we are putting out. Services, food, We are hopeful that we will be opening our new America in Las Vegas in early July. We think that is gonna help us dramatically. We think we are turning what is, you know, basically a restaurant that services customers of the hotel into what should be a sought after destination.
In terms of Bryant Park litigation, it is ongoing. Suggestion to everybody who is interested that they go to the website the court website to see all of the filings. So far, there is nothing to indicate that this litigation is going to end soon. The trial will probably take place somewhere in very late this year, calendar year, early next year. I am sure whoever wins that child will be faced with an appeal from the office's side, which will take another 1 to 1.5 years. Meadowlands. We are at the point where we are hopeful that a referendum will be suggested by the legislature to be put up for a vote in November.
There is strong opposition always from the Atlantic City legislators and there is strong push forward to get this done by the Northern legislators who will know more in the next month or so whether or not that referendum will be put on the ballot. The polling from the public is fairly positive. I mean, there are 3 polls that have been done. All of them in favor 1 of them very close, 51%-49% in favor. But the 2 others show anywhere from 62% to 66% in favor. So I think the polling is it should be persuasive, but again, this is Jersey politics. And we are just hopeful we get on the balance sheet. With that, any questions?
Operator: We will now be conducting a question and answer session. Moment please while we poll for questions. Thank you. There are no questions at this time. I would like to hand the floor back over to Michael Weinstein for any closing remarks. See you next quarter.
Michael Weinstein: Thank you very much.
Operator: Thank you. This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you again for your participation.
