BT Brands, Inc.: Form 10-K for the period ended Jan 1, 2023

In this Annual Report, and unless otherwise indicated, the terms “BT Brands,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our,” “our Company,” and “our business” refer to BT Brands, Inc. together with its consolidated subsidiaries.

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. Due to rounding, figures in tables may not sum exactly.

Overview of Our Company

BT Brands owns and operates various restaurants in the eastern two-thirds of the United States. As of April 1, 2023, including our 41.2% owned Bagger Dave’s business, we operated nineteen restaurants comprising the following:

• Eight Burger Time fast-food restaurants and one Dairy Queen franchise located in the North Central region of the United States, collectively (“BTND”);
• Bagger Dave’s Burger Tavern, Inc, a 41.2% owned affiliate, operates six Bagger Dave’s restaurants in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana (“Bagger Dave’s”);
• Keegan’s Seafood Grille in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida (“Keegan’s”);
• Pie In The Sky Coffee and Bakery in Woods Hole, Massachusetts (“PIE”).
• Village Bier Garten is a German-themed restaurant, bar, and entertainment venue in Cocoa, Florida (“VBG”).

Our objective is to build value for our shareholders in the food service industry. Our principal strategy is to acquire multi-unit restaurant concepts and individual restaurant properties at attractive earnings multiples. During fiscal 2022, we deployed a portion of our November 2021 public offering acquiring three operating restaurant properties. We operate the acquired businesses with a shared central management organization. Additional elements of our growth strategy encompass increasing sales and efforts to boost brand awareness.

Our Corporate History

The Company was incorporated in Delaware as Hartmax of NY, Inc. in January 2016. In 2020, we changed our corporate domicile from Delaware to Wyoming.

The Burger Time brand originated in August 1987 with the first restaurant in Fargo, North Dakota. Additional Burger Time restaurants opened in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the following years.

On November 12, 2021, we completed an initial public offering of 2,400,000 units of our securities at a public offering price of $5.00 per unit, each unit comprising one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an initial exercise price of $5.50 per share (the “IPO”). The net proceeds from the IPO, including the exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional warrants, were approximately $10.7 million, excluding any proceeds from the exercise of warrants and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and payment of estimated offering expenses of approximately $1.3 million.

Following our IPO, we have pursued the acquisition of restaurant properties in diverse locations across the United States. Our recent acquisitions have allowed us to diversify our operations into new restaurant segments and new geographic regions, reducing our dependency on the financial performance of our Burger Time restaurants.

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Our Restaurants

Burger Time

Burger Time restaurants feature a variety of burgers and other quick-serve foods. Our juicy, flame-broiled burgers, called “Bigger Burgers,” are made with approximately 25% more meat and are larger in diameter than our competitors' typical quarter-pound burger offerings. Our burger patties are made to our specifications by our supplier. We prepare each burger to a customer’s order and serve it hot and fresh. Other entrees include chicken sandwiches, pulled pork sandwiches, and chicken chunks. We offer an array of traditional and signature sides, many of which have evolved into regional favorites. We also offer other reasonably priced food and beverage items. From time to time, we offer specialty sandwiches and wraps at competitive prices. Our limited menu is designed to deliver quality across all products, a high taste profile, and speedy delivery. Our Burger Time brand appeals to a broad spectrum of consumers. We cater to consumers who appreciate the size and variety of our burgers and the value of our Bigger Burger, combined with the speed and efficiency provided by our single and double drive-thru windows. Subject to seasonal and local conditions, our restaurants are generally open seven days a week from 10 a.m. until 9 or 10 p.m., depending on the time of year. We offer online ordering through our website with curbside delivery. Burger Time serves the drive-thru and take-out segment of the restaurant industry.

Our operating principles for Burger Time include: (i) offering a “Bigger Burger” to deliver our customers “more good food for your money”; (ii) offering a limited menu to permit attention to quality and speed of preparation; (iii) providing fast service by way of single and double drive-thru designs and a point-of-sale system that expedites the ordering and preparation process; and (iv) great tasting quality food made fresh to order at a fair price.

Our eight Burger Time restaurants are in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. We own the real estate on which all but one of our Burger Time restaurants are situated. In addition, we lease the property for one of our Sioux Falls, South Dakota locations.

Our Burger Time units are free-standing facilities with single or double “drive-thru’ s” and walk-up service windows. The menu, store layout and equipment are designed to work together to offer exceptional food with fast service times. This integrated design allows for maximum food output with minimal labor.

Each restaurant typically employs eight to sixteen employees, including a manager and an assistant manager. Work shifts are staggered to ensure superior customer service during our busiest times. We focus on customer service and seek to staff our stores with friendly, customer-focused personnel. Our managers and assistant managers are full-time employees. We support our managers by offering competitive wages, including incentive bonuses for performance. Our experienced managers train new assistant managers in all facets of a restaurant’s operations. Our manager training stresses food quality; fast, friendly customer service; restaurant cleanliness; and proper management operations of a quick service restaurant. We also focus on food safety and sanitation, employment laws and regulations, and systems to control food and labor costs. All managers and assistant managers must obtain the required food safety (HACCP) certification applicable to their location.

Each restaurant has a point-of-sale system monitored by the management of the restaurant. These systems allow managers to monitor sales, labor, customer counts and other pertinent information. The general manager of each restaurant reports directly to a Director of Operations, who in turn reports to our Chief Operating Officer, who oversees all aspects of restaurant operations, including kitchen operations, restaurant facility management, new restaurant openings and the roll-out of key operational initiatives. All our restaurants prepare detailed monthly operating budgets and compare their actual results to their budgets.

We purchase a majority of our food, paper, packaging and related supplies for our Burger Time restaurants from Sysco Corporation, the nation’s largest distributor of food products. Sysco distributes these supplies to our restaurants on a frequent and routine basis.

As of April 1, 2023, our Burger Time restaurants employed 81 individuals, including 20 full-time and 61 part-time employees. Our full-time employees are salaried managers and assistant managers; the remaining restaurant staff are hourly employees.

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Dairy Queen Franchise

In October 2015, we acquired a 99% ownership interest in a Dairy Queen (“DQ”) franchise in Ham Lake, Minnesota. The franchise’s remaining 1% ownership interest is owned by the General Manager, with specific DQ qualifications and whose ownership is required under the operating agreement with the franchisor. We are party to a franchise agreement with DQ that, among other things, restricts our menu offerings to the established DQ menu and limits our flexibility. We are prohibited from selling non-DQ-approved items at this franchise location and may not market this restaurant as a part of Burger Time. We have no plans to enter into additional franchise agreements with DQ or any other national chain of restaurants. However, we will consider franchise opportunities if we become aware of an attractive opportunity.

Keegan’s Seafood Grille

On March 2, 2022, we acquired substantially all the assets of Keegan’s Seafood Grille, Inc., an operating restaurant located in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, for $1,150,000. Keegan’s Seafood Grille has operated in the same location for over 35 years, serving the Clearwater, Florida market. We acquired the “Keegan’s Seafood Grille” tradename and website and plan to continue to operate as Keegan’s Seafood Grille.

Keegan’s is a family-friendly casual restaurant located directly across the street from the beach. The establishment’s award-winning dishes are made in-house using the freshest local ingredients. Keegan’s motto is “Eat Fresh and Eat Wild.” Keegan’s is well known for daily fish specials, innovative seafood dishes, an extensive kids’ menu, and excellent service. Keegan’s offers a selection of beer and wine. The restaurant features indoor and outdoor dining options, is open daily for lunch and dinner, and offers take-out and curbside pickup options.

As of April 15, 2023, Keegan’s employed 41 persons, including 21 full-time and 20 part-time employees. Our employees include a full-time, salaried manager and a salaried kitchen manager; the remaining restaurant staff are hourly employees.

Pie In The Sky Coffee and Bakery

On May 11, 2022, we acquired the assets of Pie In The Sky Coffee and Bakery (“PIE”), a coffee restaurant and bakery near the Steamship Authority ferry terminal in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. We acquired the assets for an aggregate purchase price of $1,150,000. We acquired the “Pie In The Sky” tradename and the piecoffee.com web address as part of the purchase.

PIE has served the local community and ferry travelers to Martha’s Vineyard for nearly forty years. PIE serves a variety of breakfast and lunch sandwiches, all prepared on store-baked bread; handmade pastries, soups and salads are all freshly made. In addition, we offer patrons freshly roasted coffee beverages, smoothies, and brand merchandise. The store is open seven days a week, year-round, except Christmas.

As of April 15, 2023, PIE employed 47 persons, including three full-time and 44 part-time employees. Our full-time employees include three full-time, salaried managers and assistant managers and a varying number of staff, all of whom are hourly employees.

Village Bier Garten

On August 4, 2022, we acquired substantially all of the assets, including tradenames and social media accounts of Von Stephan Village Bier Garten. We have rebranded the business Village ( “VBG”), a German-themed, family-friendly casual restaurant and bar concept in Cocoa, Florida. VBG features authentic German food and imported German beers combined with regular entertainment, creating an entertaining atmosphere and delivering a memorable guest experience. The restaurant offers indoor seating and access to an outdoor shared seating area where patrons eat and enjoy live entertainment most evenings.

As of April 1, 2023, Village Bier Garten employed 31 persons, including six full-time and 25 part-time employees. Our employees include two salaried managers, two hourly assistant managers, and hourly restaurant staff.

Bagger Dave’s Burger Tavern

In June 2022, we acquired capital stock representing 41.2% ownership of Bagger Dave’s Burger Tavern, Inc., a publicly-traded company that owns and operates six Bagger Dave’s restaurants, a casual restaurant and bar concept. Bagger Dave’s provides an inviting, entertaining atmosphere specializing in burgers, tavern-style pizzas, hand-cut fries, local craft beers, milkshakes, salads and other items. Bagger Dave’s opened its first restaurant in Berkley, Michigan, in January 2008 and operates four restaurants in Michigan, one restaurant in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and one location in Centerville, Ohio, with 165 full-time employees, including a total of 22 salaried managers and assistants.

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Marketing and Advertising

Our marketing and advertising expenditures have been principally allocated to social media, with limited advertisements in newspapers and radio. In addition, we have employed product discount coupons, live remote broadcasts, customer contests, and direct mailings. We also utilize marketing incentives from our suppliers whenever possible. Our Burger Time restaurants offer an online ordering capability and curbside delivery program through the BTND website, and we expect to implement online ordering at all of our businesses. We emphasize direct database marketing supplemented by social media tools to promote our brand and local stores. Collectively, however, our marketing-related expenditures have historically comprised less than 1% of our net revenues. Generally, restaurant sales are derived from drive-by traffic and dedicated return visits from loyal customers. However, as we expand our restaurant base, our marketing and advertising expenditures may need to increase.

We expect to develop more sophisticated marketing programs, including an expanded social media presence, to build consumer brand awareness of our restaurants.

Growth Strategy

We are seeking to increase value for our shareholders in the food service industry. Our strategy is acquiring restaurant concepts and individual properties at attractive earnings multiples. Other key elements of our growth strategy encompass increasing same-store sales and introducing a campaign to boost brand awareness.

As we develop and extend our business into new food concepts and geographic areas, we expect to pursue strategies that will leverage our multiple brands, capacity, and reach, which may include:

• creating dual concept locations allowing for two or more of our brands to operate in a single space with a shared kitchen;
• offering third-party (e.g., Uber Eats) and local delivery services;
• entering into licensing agreements allowing the third-party sale of our products; and
• employing direct database marketing, including social media, to drive business.

As a public company, we may be presented with and would evaluate any other opportunities that may become available, including, for example, a reverse merger candidate in the restaurant industry, whereby a significantly larger private restaurant chain seeking to avail itself of our public company status by merging with our business.

Growth Through Acquisitions

We intend to continue to make acquisitions that provide an entrance into targeted restaurant segments and geographic areas. Restaurant businesses frequently become available for acquisition. We may purchase either individual restaurant properties or multi-unit businesses at prices projected to provide attractive returns on our investment. In addition, we may acquire operating assets where a franchise program is the focus of the acquired food service business. We intend to follow a disciplined strategy of evaluating acquisition opportunities to ensure the accretive and efficient integration of additional restaurant concepts. Successful execution of our strategy will allow us to diversify our operations both into other dining concepts and geographic locations.

In evaluating potential acquisitions, we may consider the following characteristics, among others relevant to each opportunity:

• the value proposition when comparing the purchase price to the potential return on our investment;
• established, recognized brands within a geographic footprint;
• a historical record of consistent and growing cash flow;
• record of operating performance;
• sustainable operating results;
• geographic diversification; and
• growth potential.

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When we acquire new businesses, we will operate the business or businesses with a shared central management organization. Following the acquisition, we expect to pursue a growth plan to expand the number of locations and increase comparable store sales and profits, as described below. By leveraging our management services platform, we will achieve post-acquisition cost benefits by reducing the corporate overhead of the acquired business. If we acquire restaurant chains or individual units close to each other, concentration could provide economic synergies with respect to management functions, marketing, advertising, supply chain assistance, staff training, and operational oversight.

Increase Sales

Same-store sales growth reflects the change in year-over-year sales for the comparable store base. We intend to deploy a multi-faceted sales growth strategy to optimize restaurant performance. We will apply techniques proven in the restaurant industry to increase same-store sales at all our restaurants. We also may develop new approaches that reflect our corporate character and restaurant composition. We expect to utilize customer feedback and analyze sales data to introduce, test, and hone existing and new menu items. In addition, we will investigate using public relations and experiential marketing to engage customers. Our strategies to increase same-store sales will evolve as we acquire new restaurant concepts in new markets.

Increase Brand Awareness

Increasing brand awareness is essential to the growth of our Company. We intend to develop and implement forward-looking branding strategies for our businesses. We will seek to leverage social media and employ targeted digital advertising to expand the reach of our brands and drive traffic to our stores. In addition, we intend to develop mobile applications that will allow consumers to find restaurants, order online and receive special offers. We expect our branding initiatives to evolve as we complete acquisitions.

Trademarks and Service Marks

We operate under several tradenames and have acquired a variety of trade and service marks. We have registered “It’s Burger Time” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Our trademarks and service marks, whether or not formally registered, are valuable to us and important to our marketing efforts. We may develop additional marks in the future. Our policy is to pursue registration of our marks when appropriate and to vigorously oppose infringement.

Competition

We own restaurants in the quick service, fast casual, and casual dining categories of the restaurant industry. The competitive environment in each category is intense in terms of price, service, location, and food quality. We face significant competition from a wide variety of restaurants on a national, regional, and local level. Dining choices continue to expand with the increasing popularity of food delivery services. The restaurant industry is often affected by changes in consumer tastes, dietary trends, local and national economic conditions, demographics, traffic patterns, consumer spending, population trends, and local traffic patterns. The restaurant industry has few barriers to entry, and new competitors may emerge at any time.

Seasonality

Seasonal factors and the timing of holidays cause our revenue to fluctuate from quarter to quarter. Our BTND revenue is typically lower in the first and fourth quarters because of winter weather. PIE is highly seasonal, with a significant portion of its business occurring during summer. Our Florida locations achieve peak revenue during the winter travel season.

Regulation and Compliance

Our operations are subject to a wide range of federal, state, and local government regulations, including those relating to, among others, public health and safety, zoning and fire codes, labor, and franchising. Our failure to obtain or retain food or other licenses and registrations or exemptions would adversely affect the operations of our restaurants. We operate each of our restaurants with standards and procedures designed to comply with applicable laws, codes, and regulations. To date, we have not experienced and do not anticipate any problems in obtaining required licenses, permits, or approvals; however, any difficulties, delays, or failures in obtaining such licenses, permits, registrations, exemptions, or permissions in the future could delay or prevent the opening of a location and adversely impact the viability of a restaurant.

The development and construction of any new restaurants will be subject to compliance with applicable zoning, land use, and environmental regulations. We believe federal and state environmental regulations have not had a material effect on operations, but more stringent and varied requirements of local government bodies concerning zoning, land use, and environmental factors could delay construction and increase development costs for new restaurants.

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We are also subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and various federal and state laws governing such matters as minimum wages, overtime, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, citizenship requirements, and other working conditions. Most of our hourly staff, except for Bagger Dave’s Michigan tip-compensated employees, are paid above the applicable federal or state minimum wage. Accordingly, increases in the minimum wage likely will not have a significant impact on labor costs. We also may be subject to various laws and regulations related to any future franchise operations. We are also subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based on disability in public accommodations and employment.

States, counties, and cities have enacted menu labeling laws requiring restaurant operators to disclose certain nutritional information to consumers or have enacted legislation restricting the use of certain ingredients in restaurants. Many of these requirements are inconsistent or interpreted differently from one jurisdiction to another. These requirements may be different or inconsistent with requirements that we are subject to under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, (“ACA”), as amended, which establishes federal requirements applicable to chain restaurants with 20 or more locations to post nutritional information on their menus. In addition, the ACA mandates that restaurant businesses with more than 50 full-time employees offer health benefits to full-time employees and their dependents or face possible penalties. The ACA imposes significant reporting requirements on restaurant businesses including certifying whether they offer minimum essential coverage to full-time employees. The failure to comply with ACA is significant and new regulations increasing coverage requirements and costs could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are not engaged in the business as a “franchisor.” We operate a Dairy Queen unit as a “franchisee” of Dairy Queen. Franchise operations are governed by state laws that regulate the offer and sale of franchises and the franchisor-franchisee relationship. Such laws generally require registration of the franchise offering with state authorities and regulate the franchise relationship by, for example, requiring the franchisor to deal with its franchisees in good faith, prohibiting interference with the right of free association among franchisees, limiting the imposition of standards of performance on a franchisee and regulating discrimination against franchisees in charges, royalties or fees. In addition, such laws may restrict a franchisor in the termination of a franchise agreement by, for example, requiring “good cause” to exist as a basis for the termination, advance notice to the franchisee of the termination, an opportunity to cure a default and a repurchase of inventory or other compensation.

Environmental Matters

We are subject to extensive federal, state, and local laws and regulations relating to environmental protection, including regulation of discharges into the air and water, storage and disposal of waste, and clean-up of contaminated soil and groundwater. Under various federal, state, and local laws, an owner or operator of real estate may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of hazardous or toxic substances on, in, or emanating from such property. Such liability may be imposed without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. We have not conducted a comprehensive environmental review of our properties or operations. As a result, no assurance can be given that we have identified potential environmental liabilities at our properties or that such liabilities will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

Employees

As of April 15, 2023, our corporate office had three employees. In addition, each of our restaurants has a General Manager, an assistant manager or supervisor, and a varying number of restaurant staff, all hourly employees. Including wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company, as of April 15, 2023, we had approximately 220 employees, including 51 full-time and 168 part-time employees. None of our employees are unionized or covered by collective bargaining agreements, and we consider our current employee relations to be good.

Marketable Securities

From time to time, we purchase publicly traded marketable securities. Historically, these securities consisted of investments in exchange-listed common stocks with published prices per share readily available.

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Investments

Our investments include our net investment of $1,065,187 in Bagger Dave’s as determined under the “Equity Method” of accounting. Our $304,000 total investment in Next Gen Ice, Inc. (“NGI”) includes equity in the form of 179,000 common shares received in 2020 ownership as consideration for extending the maturity of a note receivable that was repaid in August 2020. Under terms of the Note modification, we received 179,000 shares of common stock in NGI from the founders of NGI. We also received warrants expiring March 31, 2029, to purchase 358,000 shares of common stock for $1.00 per share. We attributed $75,000 to the value of the equity received. This amount was reflected as interest income in 2020. The 2020 fair value continues to be reflected as the value of this investment. On February 12, 2022, we invested $229,000 in 138,788 shares of NGI Series A1 8% Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, convertible share for share into NGI common shares. This investment is reflected at the cost of $229,000. The preferred investment included a five-year warrant to purchase 34,697 shares at $1.65 per share. Our CEO, Gary Copperud, is Chairman of the board of directors of NGI. Our Chief Operating Officer, Kenneth Brimmer, is also a member of the board of directors of NGI and serves as its Chief Financial Officer. The investment in NGI does not have a readily determinable market value, and it is carried at the historic cost determined by BT Brands.

Risks Related to a Health Emergency

COVID-19 disrupted the economy and future health emergencies may adversely impact our business.

The COVID-19 pandemic and government responses significantly impacted the economy. Although our business did not experience significant negative effects from the initial spread of COVID, its variants or another virus could negatively affect our business in the future. Possible outcomes include declines in customer traffic at our restaurants, our inability to fully staff our restaurants and, in more severe cases, may cause a temporary closure, our inability to obtain supplies, and increased commodity costs, possibly for prolonged periods of time. While most of our restaurants have remained operational, some locations were temporarily closed. More recently, we have had to modify some store hours in response to recent labor availability issues. We expect to continue to experience isolated labor shortages and supply chain issues due to disruptions to the economy.

The extent to which health emergencies may impact our business, markets, supply chain, customers and the workforce will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of a health emergency and the actions to contain it or to otherwise limit its impact, a rapidly spreading virus could contribute to the perceived health risk and may affect our business.

If any or all of the foregoing events were to occur, our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely impacted.

Risks Related to our Growth Strategy

Finding a suitable acquisition target may be challenging.

Our growth plans include continuing to acquire restaurants and developing new brands. Although we believe that acquisition opportunities will be available, competition for acquisition candidates will likely exist and intensify, and fewer opportunities may be available to us at increased prices. There can be no assurance that we can identify, acquire, manage, or successfully integrate the restaurants we acquire without substantial costs, delays, or operational or financial problems.

Acquiring or opening new restaurants is subject to risks and challenges.

We will face challenges as we acquire or open new restaurants; many of these challenges pose risks that are potentially beyond our control, including, but not limited to, our ability to acquire locations at a favorable cost, the expense and other factors involved in remodeling or updating locations, hiring managerial personnel and our lack of familiarity with local regulations. Any one of these challenges, as well as others we may not have identified, could result in significant unanticipated costs being incurred by us. If we are unable to open new restaurants, or if restaurant openings are significantly delayed or costlier, our revenue growth and earnings could be adversely impacted, and our business negatively affected.

As discussed throughout this Annual Report, difficulties of integration include coordinating and consolidating geographically separated systems and facilities, integrating the management and personnel of the acquired brands, maintaining employee morale and retaining key employees, implementing our management information systems and financial accounting and reporting systems, establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and implementing operational procedures and disciplines to control costs and increase profitability. In addition, we must have the liquidity to financially nurture our acquisitions after the consummation of transactions.

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If we acquire additional restaurant businesses, the integration and operation of acquisitions may place significant demands on our management, which could adversely affect our ability to manage our existing restaurants. In addition, we may be required to obtain additional financing to fund future acquisitions, and there can be no assurance that we can obtain additional financing on acceptable terms or at all.

Our expansion into new markets will subject us to risks.

We are now operating restaurants in markets where we have no operating experience. New markets we enter may have competitive conditions, consumer tastes and discretionary spending patterns that are difficult to anticipate. We may need to invest more than we originally planned in advertising and promotional activity in new markets. In addition, we may find it more difficult to hire, motivate and keep qualified employees. As a result, these new restaurants may be less successful than projected. Our inability to fully implement or failure to successfully execute our plans could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business could suffer if we fail to effectively acquire new or existing restaurants.

As we grow our business, one of our biggest challenges is identifying and securing suitable acquisition opportunities. Competition for acquisition opportunities such as those we seek is intense. Competitors may have significantly greater financial resources than we do, allowing them to bid more aggressively for those opportunities. These include other restaurant businesses seeking to grow through acquisitions and venture capital firms and leveraged buyout firms that specialize in restaurant industry transactions. We cannot be assured that new opportunities will be available in desirable areas or on terms that are acceptable to us in order to grow our business. If we are unable to acquire new restaurants, or if the acquisitions are significantly delayed, our revenue growth and earnings could be adversely impacted.

There are numerous factors involved in identifying, evaluating, and securing restaurant acquisition, including:

• evaluating traffic patterns and infrastructure that will drive high levels of customer traffic and sales;
• competition in new markets, including competition for restaurant sites;
• obtaining licenses or permits for development projects on a timely basis;
• the proximity of potential restaurant sites to existing restaurants;
• anticipated infrastructure development near the potential restaurant site; and
• availability of acceptable acquisition or lease terms and arrangements.

Given the numerous factors involved, we may not be able to successfully identify and secure attractive restaurant acquisitions and following an acquisition we may not be able to successfully operate the acquired business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Acquisition of existing restaurants is subject to risks that could negatively impact our operations and financial condition.

We expect to continue expanding our business through the acquisition of existing restaurant businesses. Any such business may be in geographic regions in which we have not operated and may offer food concepts significantly different from our existing business. Our strategy to pursue expansion through the acquisition of existing restaurant businesses is subject to risks and uncertainties, including all the risks of our current operations as outlined in this Annual Report and other factors, including:

• the investigation of the business of the target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs, and if we decide not to or cannot complete a specific acquisition, the costs incurred likely would not be recoverable;
• a target business may be a privately held company with very information available;
• the business that we acquire may be financially unstable;
• we may not be able to retain the management or other key personnel of the business that we acquire;
• our corporate culture could differ from the corporate culture of the business that we acquire, making the integration of the acquired target business difficult;
• our ability to assess the management of a target business may be limited;
• we may experience impairment of acquired tangible and intangible assets and goodwill;
• the target business may have unknown liabilities;
• we may incur debt to complete an acquisition, and debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
• foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
• immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest if the debt security is payable on demand;
• such debt may include covenants that prohibit us from paying dividends on our common stock;
• using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, reducing funds available for dividends on our common stock, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes;
• limitations on our flexibility in planning for changes in our business and in the industry;
• increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation;
• such debt may include covenants that limit our ability to borrow additional amounts:
• other disadvantages compared to competitors with lower leverage.

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These factors, among the many other risks and uncertainties that typically are associated with acquisitions of existing businesses, could negatively impact our Company, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Acquisitions may have unanticipated consequences that could harm our business and our financial condition.

Any acquisition that we pursue, whether completed or not, involves risks, including:

• material adverse effects on our operating results, particularly in the fiscal quarters immediately following the acquisition as the acquired restaurants are integrated into our operations;
• problems retaining key personnel;
• potential impairment of tangible and intangible assets and goodwill acquired in the acquisition;
• potential unknown liabilities;
• difficulties of integration and failure to realize anticipated synergies; and
• disruption of our ongoing business, including the diversion of management’s attention.

Future acquisitions may be through a cash purchase transaction, the issuance of our equity securities or a combination of both which could result in potentially dilutive issuances of our equity securities, or we may incur debt and assume contingent liabilities which could harm our business and financial condition.

Failure to manage new restaurants properly could negatively impact our operations and deplete our capital resources.

Though we expect to retain key personnel of any existing restaurant group to assist with managing the restaurants, we may not be able to retain such personnel for any meaningful period. Moreover, even if we retain management from the acquired business, our executive officers may not manage the new restaurants profitably for numerous reasons, including our inability to predict the consumer preferences and trends that drive the success of these types of restaurants. Any failure to effectively manage the restaurants comprising an acquired restaurant group could, among other negative effects, adversely impact our operations and deplete our capital resources, affecting our financial condition and the market price for our common stock.

Our growth strategy requires substantial additional capital to execute which may not be available.

Our growth depends principally on acquiring new restaurants and operating those restaurants on a profitable basis. The cost of acquiring a business will be based on a number of factors, including the number of restaurants comprising the group and their profitability. If we require additional capital to continue our growth plans, we may seek to raise capital by way of equity or debt financing. If we raise additional funds through issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of our common stock. Any debt financing secured by us in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to our capital-raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which might make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and pursue business opportunities, including making further attractive acquisitions or opening new restaurants. Moreover, if we issue debt securities, the debt holders would have rights senior to common stockholders to make claims on our assets. In addition, we might not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us, if at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing on satisfactory terms our ability to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited.

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Rising interest rates could negatively impact our performance and acquisition plans.

Rising interest rates could significantly increase our borrowing costs or make it difficult or impossible for us to obtain financing in the future. An increased cost of borrowing would make it more expensive for us to borrow funds to acquire new businesses, which may negatively impact our performance. If we cannot obtain financing in the future, our growth could be affected, negatively impacting our operating results.

Our growth strategy may divert management’s attention from operating our existing restaurants.

As we execute our growth strategy, management will be focused on the numerous complex and time-consuming activities required to acquire or open new restaurants, and to integrate and operate an existing restaurant group. These activities may divert management’s attention from our existing restaurants, and our existing restaurants may suffer. If the time management allocates to implementing our growth strategies interferes with its ability to manage our existing restaurants and our revenues decline at existing restaurants, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.

We may enter into additional long-term non-cancelable leases.

In connection with restaurants that we acquired over the last year, we have entered into long-term non-cancelable leases for the space in which such restaurants operate. Further, future acquisitions may be subject to long-term non-cancelable leases. Under non-cancelable leases, we may be required to pay all or a portion of the real estate taxes, insurance, common area maintenance charges and other operating costs associated with the property. In addition, some non-cancelable leases may provide for contingent rental payments based on sales thresholds. If acquired restaurants are subject to long-term non-cancelable leases or we enter into such leases when we acquire a restaurant and such restaurants are not profitable, and we decide to close one or more of them, we may nonetheless be committed to perform our obligations under the applicable leases including, among other things, paying the base rent and other expenses that we agreed to pay for the balance of the lease term. In addition, as leases for our restaurants expire, we may need to negotiate renewals which could cause us to pay increased occupancy costs or to close restaurants in desirable locations. These payments and costs, as well as the failure to negotiate new leases for restaurants, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Difficulties managing our growth could adversely affect our results of operations.

If we experience rapid and substantial growth, it will strain our administrative infrastructure and our managerial and financial resources. To manage the significant growth of our operations, we will be required to:

• improve existing, and implement new, operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures;
• install enhanced management information systems; and
• hire, train, motivate, manage and retain our employees.

We may not be able to install adequate management information and control systems in an efficient and timely manner, and our current or planned personnel, systems, procedures and controls may not be adequate to support our future operations. Our business could be seriously harmed if we cannot manage growth effectively.

Our inability to sufficiently raise menu prices could result in a decline in profitability.

We increase menu price increases to help offset costs, including the increased cost for commodities, minimum wages, employee benefits, insurance arrangements, construction, utilities and other key operating costs resulting from general inflation in the economy. If our selection and amount of menu price increases are not accepted by consumers and reduce guest traffic, or are insufficient to counter increased costs, our financial results could be negatively affected.

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Risks Related to the Nature of Our Business and Operating in the Restaurant Industry

Our inability to compete effectively may affect sales and restaurant-level profit margins, adversely affecting our business.

The restaurant industry is intensely competitive, with many well-established companies competing directly and indirectly with us. We compete in the restaurant industry with national, regional, locally owned, quick-service, casual, and full-service restaurants. Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial, marketing, personnel and other resources than we do. Many of our competitors are well-established in markets where we have existing restaurants or may acquire new ones. In addition, many of our competitors have greater name recognition nationally. Failure to successfully compete with the restaurants in our markets will place downward pressure on our customer traffic and may prevent us from increasing or sustaining our revenues and profitability. Consumer tastes, nutritional and dietary trends, traffic patterns and the type, number and location of competing restaurants often affect the restaurant. Our competitors may react more efficiently and effectively to those conditions. Further, we face growing competition from the supermarket industry, with improvements in meal preparation and delivery alternatives. Additionally, there is increased competition from limited-service and fast-casual restaurants that are aggressively pursuing delivery and “to-go” programs. Meal kit delivery companies and other eat-at-home options also compete with traditional restaurants. In addition, our competitors in the past have offered and promoted price discounts on specific menu offerings, and they may continue to do so in the future. If we cannot continue to compete effectively, our traffic, sales and restaurant-level profit margins could decline, and our business, financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.

Our Dairy Queen franchise business must comply with the Dairy Queen franchise agreement.

We own a Dairy Queen (“DQ”) franchise in Ham Lake, Minnesota. We are contractually bound to abide by the franchise agreement with DQ, including certain financial obligations, monthly royalty payments, and marketing fees comprising a significant percentage of our DQ gross sales. Failure to abide by the terms of the franchise agreement or take actions prohibited by the franchise agreements could result in termination of the franchise agreement by the franchisor. If this franchise were terminated, our operating results would be adversely affected.

Public attitudes regarding diet and health could result in new regulations influencing consumers.

Changes in attitudes regarding diet and health or new information regarding the adverse health effects of consuming certain foods could result in changes in government regulation and shifts in consumer eating habits that may impact our business, financial condition or results of operations. These changes have resulted in and may continue to result in, laws and regulations requiring us to disclose the nutritional content of our food offerings.

We may not be able to effectively respond to changes in consumer health perceptions or successfully implement the nutrient content disclosure requirements and adapt our menu offerings to trends in eating habits. The imposition of menu labeling laws and an inability to keep up with consumer eating habits could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, as well as our position within the restaurant industry in general.

Negative publicity could reduce sales at our restaurants.

We may face negative publicity, including comments on social media, relating to aspects of our business, including, among others, food quality, public health concerns, restaurant facilities, customer complaints or litigation alleging illness or injury, health inspection scores, the integrity of our suppliers’ food processing and other policies, practices and procedures, employee relationships or other matters at one or more of our restaurants. Negative publicity generated against our restaurants may adversely affect us, regardless of whether the allegations are valid or whether we are held to be responsible. In addition, the negative impact of adverse publicity relating to one restaurant may extend beyond the restaurant involved to affect our other restaurants. A similar risk exists concerning food service businesses unrelated to us if customers mistakenly associate such unrelated businesses with our operations. Employee claims against us based on, among other things, wage and hour violations, discrimination, harassment, or wrongful termination may also create not only legal and financial liability but negative publicity that could adversely affect us and divert our financial and management resources that would otherwise be exerted in favor of our operations. These risks are amplified because of the prevalence of social media. Adverse social media comments and negative publicity could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Food safety concerns could have an adverse effect on our business by reducing demand and increasing costs.

The occurrence or reports of food-borne illnesses and food safety issues have occurred in the food industry in the past and could occur in the future. Any report or publicity linking us to food-borne illness or other food safety issues, including food tampering or contamination, could adversely affect our brand, reputation, revenues, and profits. In addition, instances of food-borne illness, food tampering or food contamination occurring at restaurants of our competitors could result in negative publicity about the food service industry generally and adversely impact our sales.

Furthermore, our reliance on external food suppliers and distributors increases the risk that food-borne illness incidents could be caused by factors outside our control and that multiple locations would be affected rather than a single restaurant. We cannot assure that all food items are properly maintained during transport throughout the supply chain and that our employees will identify all products that may be spoiled or contaminated and should not be used in our restaurants. If our customers become ill from food-borne illnesses, we could temporarily close some restaurants. Furthermore, any instances of food contamination, whether or not at our restaurants, could subject our suppliers or us to a food advisory, recall or withdrawal under the Food Safety Modernization Act.

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Risks Related to Labor and Supply Chain

Increased commodity, energy and other costs could decrease our restaurant-level profit margins.

Our profitability depends in part on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in the price and availability of food commodities, including, among other things, beef, poultry, grains, dairy and produce. Prices may be affected due to market changes, increased competition, public health issues, the general risk of inflation, shortages or interruptions in supply due to weather, disease or other conditions beyond our control, or other reasons. Other events could increase commodity prices or cause shortages that could affect the cost and quality of the items we buy or require us to raise prices or limit our menu options. These events, combined with other more general economic and demographic conditions, could impact our pricing and negatively affect our sales and restaurant-level profit margins. We do not enter into forward pricing arrangements with our suppliers, making us more susceptible to changes in commodity prices.

Our profitability is also adversely affected by increases in the price of utilities, such as natural gas, whether due to inflation, shortages or interruptions in supply, or otherwise. Our profitability is also affected by the costs of insurance, labor, marketing, taxes and real estate, all of which could increase due to inflation, changes in laws, competition or other events beyond our control. Our ability to respond by raising menu prices depends on our ability to anticipate and react to such increases and other more general economic and demographic conditions, as well as the responses of our competitors and customers. All these things may be difficult to predict and beyond our control. In this manner, increased costs could adversely affect our performance.

Shortages or interruptions in the supply or delivery of fresh food products could adversely affect our operating results.

We are dependent on frequent deliveries of fresh food products that meet our specifications. Shortages or interruptions in the supply of fresh food products caused by problems in production or distribution, inclement weather, unanticipated demand, or other conditions could adversely affect the availability, quality and cost of ingredients, adversely affecting our operating results.

We rely on certain vendors, suppliers and distributors for all our supplies.

We purchase substantial food, paper, packaging and related supplies from Sysco Corporation, the nation’s largest distributor of food products. In fiscal 2022, approximately 60% of our cost of goods sold, food and paper, for all locations was purchases were from Sysco. In addition, for Burger Time, we purchase our beverages, other than coffee, tea or milk, from affiliates of PepsiCo. These entities also are responsible for delivering these products to us. Our reliance on these vendors exclusively to provide us with our entire inventory at reasonable prices presents certain risks. We do not control the businesses of our vendors, and our efforts to specify and monitor the standards under which they perform may not be successful. If our current vendors are unable to support our expansion into new markets, or if we are unable to find vendors to meet our supply specifications or service needs as we expand, we could likewise encounter supply shortages and incur higher costs to secure adequate supplies, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on the services of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer to operate our business.

We rely on Gary Copperud, our Chief Executive Officer, and Kenneth Brimmer, our Chief Operating Officer, to make all key decisions relating to our operations and finances. The unexpected loss of the services of Messrs. Copperud or Brimmer would have a material adverse effect on our business and plans for future growth. Further, neither of these individuals devotes full-time efforts to the Company, as further described under the heading “Management.”

The inability to attract, train and retain personnel could adversely impact our business and financial results.

Our success depends on our ability to attract, motivate, and retain qualified managers and the services of skilled personnel. Qualified individuals may be in short supply in some communities. Competition for qualified staff and improvement in regional or national economic conditions could increase the difficulty of attracting and retaining qualified individuals, resulting in higher costs. The Our inability to attract and retain staff could adversely affect our business, including restaurant operating hours. We believe managers are the key component of our business. We devote resources to recruiting and training our restaurant managers and staff. We attempt to reduce employee turnover in our restaurants. Employee turnover may hurt our operating results by increasing training costs and making it more difficult to deliver outstanding customer service, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results. Challenges in retaining or recruiting qualified employees increase costs and could adversely affect our business and our results of operations.

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Unionization activities or labor disputes could disrupt our operations and affect our profitability.

Although none of our employees are currently covered under collective bargaining agreements, our employees may elect to be represented by labor unions in the future. If a significant number of our employees were to become unionized and collective bargaining agreement terms were significantly different from our current compensation arrangements, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, a labor dispute involving some or all of our employees may harm our reputation, disrupt our operations and reduce our revenues, and the resolution of disputes may increase our costs.

Also, as an employer, we may be subject to employment-related claims, such as individual or class actions or government enforcement actions relating to alleged employment discrimination, employee classification and related withholding, wage-hour, labor standards or healthcare and benefits issues. Such actions, if brought against us and successful in whole or in part, may affect our ability to compete or could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Risks Related to Information Technology Systems, Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

System failures or breaches of our network security could interrupt our operations and adversely affect our business.

We rely on our computer systems and network infrastructure across our operations, including point-of-sale processing at our restaurants. Our operations depend upon our and our third-party vendors’ ability to protect our computer equipment and systems against damage from physical theft, fire, power loss, telecommunications failure, or other catastrophic events, as well as from internal and external security breaches, viruses and other disruptive problems. Any damage or failure of our computer systems or network infrastructure that causes an interruption in our operations could have a material adverse effect on our business and subject us to litigation or actions by regulatory authorities. In addition, an increasing number of transactions are processed through our mobile application. Disruptions, failures, or other performance issues with technology systems could impair the benefits such systems provide to our business and negatively impact our relationship with our customers.

Security breaches of customer information may adversely affect our business.

Any intentional attack or unintentional event that results in unauthorized access to systems to disrupt operations, corrupt data or steal or expose confidential information or intellectual property that compromises the information of our customers or employees could result in widespread negative publicity, damage to our reputation, a loss of customers, disruption of our business and legal liabilities. As our reliance on technology has grown, the scope and severity of risks posed to our systems from cyber threats have increased. The techniques and sophistication used to conduct cyber-attacks and breaches of information technology systems, as well as the sources and targets of these attacks, change frequently and are only recognized once attacks are launched or have been in place for some time. We continuously monitor and develop our information technology networks and infrastructure to prevent, detect, address and mitigate the risk of unauthorized access, misuse, malware and other events that could have a security impact; however, there can be no assurance that these or any measures will be effective.

Additionally, the majority of our sales are by credit or debit cards. Other restaurants and retailers have experienced security breaches in which their customers' credit and debit card information has been compromised. In the event of a data breach, we may become subject to lawsuits or other proceedings for purportedly fraudulent transactions arising from the actual or alleged theft of confidential or personal information and credit or debit card information.

Failure to effectively manage social media could adversely impact our business.

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the use of social media platforms, including blogs, chat platforms, social media websites, and other forms of Internet-based communications, which allow individuals access to a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons. The rising popularity of social media and other consumer-oriented technologies has increased the speed and accessibility of information dissemination. Many social media platforms immediately publish the content their subscribers and participants post, often without filters or checks on accuracy of the content posted. Information posted on such platforms at any time may be adverse to our interests or may be inaccurate. The dissemination of information via social media could harm our business, reputation, financial condition, and results of operations, regardless of the information’s accuracy. The damage may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction.

In addition, we may use social media to communicate with our customers and the public in general. Failure by us to use social media effectively or appropriately, particularly as compared to our brands’ respective competitors, could lead to a decline in brand value, customer visits and revenue. Other risks associated with the use of social media include improper disclosure of proprietary information, negative comments about our brands, exposure of personally identifiable information, fraud, hoaxes or malicious dissemination of false information. The inappropriate use of social media by our customers or employees could increase our costs, lead to litigation or result in negative publicity that could damage our reputation and adversely affect our results of operations.

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Legal and Regulatory Risks

Displaying nutritional information could affect consumer preferences and negatively impact our results of operations.

Government regulation and changes in consumer eating habits resulting from shifting attitudes regarding diet and health or the latest information regarding changes in the health effects of consuming our menu offerings may impact our business. These changes have resulted in, and may continue to result in, the enactment of laws and regulations that affect the ingredients and nutritional content of our menu offerings or laws and regulations requiring us to disclose the nutritional content of our food offerings.

We cannot make any assurances regarding our ability to effectively respond to changes in consumer health perceptions or our ability to successfully implement the nutrient content disclosure requirements and adapt our menu offerings. The imposition of menu-labeling laws could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position, as well as the restaurant industry in general.

We are subject to many federal, state, and local laws with which compliance is both costly and complex.

The restaurant industry is subject to extensive federal, state and local laws and regulations, including those relating to the preparation and sale of food, licensing and regulation by state and local authorities relating to health, sanitation, safety and fire standards. Our relationships with employees (including the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and applicable requirements concerning the minimum wage, overtime, family leave, working conditions, safety standards, immigration status, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates and state and local payroll taxes) and federal and state laws which prohibit discrimination. Our ability to respond to labor cost increases by raising menu prices will depend on the responses of our competitors and customers. Our distributors and suppliers could also be affected by higher wage costs, benefit standards, and compliance costs, resulting in higher costs for us.

We are subject to the ADA, which, among other things, requires our restaurants to meet federally mandated requirements for the disabled. The ADA prohibits discrimination in employment and public accommodations based on disability. Under the ADA, we could be required to expend funds to modify our restaurants to provide service to or make reasonable accommodations for the employment of disabled persons. In addition, our employment practices are subject to the requirements of the Immigration and Naturalization Service relating to citizenship and residency. Government regulations could also affect and change the items we procure for resale.

The impact of current laws and regulations, the effect of future changes in laws or regulations that impose additional requirements and the consequences of litigation relating to current or future laws and regulations, or our inability to respond effectively to significant regulatory or public policy issues, could increase our compliance and other costs of doing business and, therefore, hurt our results of operations. Failure to comply with the laws and regulatory requirements of federal, state, and local authorities could result in, among other things, revocation of required licenses, administrative enforcement actions, fines and civil and criminal liability. In addition, certain laws, including the ADA, could require us to expend significant funds.

Failure to comply with food control regulations could lead to the loss of our food service licenses harming our business.

Restaurants are required under various federal, state, and local government regulations to obtain and maintain licenses, permits and approvals to operate their businesses. Such regulations are subject to change from time to time. We must keep these licenses, permits and approvals to operate. Typically, licenses must be renewed annually and may be revoked, suspended, or denied renewal for cause at any time if governmental authorities determine that our conduct violates applicable regulations. Difficulties or failure to maintain or obtain the required licenses and approvals could adversely affect our existing restaurants and delay or result in our decision to cancel the opening of new restaurants, adversely affecting our business.

Restaurant companies have been the target of lawsuits and other proceedings alleging violations of employment laws.

Our business is subject to the risk of litigation by employees, consumers, suppliers, stockholders or others through private actions, class actions, administrative proceedings, regulatory actions or other litigation. The outcome of litigation, particularly class action and regulatory actions, is difficult to assess or quantify. In recent years, restaurant companies have been subject to lawsuits, including class action lawsuits, alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding workplace and employment matters, discrimination and similar matters.

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A customer may file complaints or lawsuits against us alleging that we are responsible for some illness or injury they suffered at or after a visit to one of our restaurants, including actions seeking damages resulting from food-borne illness or accidents in our restaurants. We are also subject to a variety of other claims from third parties arising in the ordinary course of our business, including contract claims. The restaurant industry has also been subject to a growing number of claims that the menus and actions of restaurant chains have led to the obesity of certain customers. The Company may also be subject to lawsuits from our employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or others alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding workplace and employment matters, discrimination and similar matters.

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 adverse publicity, which could reduce customer traffic and sales. Although we maintain what we believe to be adequate levels of insurance, insurance may not be available at all or in sufficient amounts to cover any liabilities with respect to these or other matters. A judgment or other liability in excess of our insurance coverage for any claims or any adverse publicity resulting from claims could adversely affect our business.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property, which could harm the value of our brands.

Our ability to successfully implement our business plan depends on our ability to build brand recognition using our existing trademarks, service marks and other proprietary intellectual property, and intellectual property that we may develop in the future. We have registered or applied to register a number of our trademarks. We cannot assure you that our trademark applications will be approved. Third parties may also oppose our trademark applications, or otherwise challenge our use of the trademarks. In the event that our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our goods and services, which could result in a loss of brand recognition, and could require us to devote resources to advertising and marketing new brands. If our efforts to register, maintain and protect our intellectual property are inadequate, or if any third party misappropriates, dilutes or infringes on our intellectual property, the value of our brands may be harmed, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and might prevent our brands from achieving or maintaining market acceptance. We may also face the risk of claims that we have infringed third parties’ property rights. If third parties claim that we infringe upon their intellectual property rights, our operating profits could be adversely affected. Any claims of intellectual property infringement, even those without merit, could be expensive and time-consuming to defend, require us to rebrand our services, if feasible, divert management’s attention and resources or require us to enter into royalty or license agreement to obtain the right to use a third party’s intellectual property.

General Risk Factors

Economic conditions in the United States could materially affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The restaurant industry depends on consumer discretionary spending. During periods of economic downturn, continuing disruptions in the overall economy, including the impacts of high unemployment and financial market volatility and unpredictability, may cause a related reduction in consumer confidence, which could negatively affect customer traffic and sales throughout our industry. These factors, as well as national, regional and local regulatory and economic conditions, gasoline prices, and disposable consumer income affect discretionary consumer spending. If economic conditions worsen and our customers choose to dine out less frequently or reduce the amount they spend on meals while dining out, customer traffic could be adversely impacted. If adverse economic conditions persist for a period of time or become pervasive, consumer changes to their discretionary spending behavior, including the frequency with which they dine out, could be more permanent. They will likely be affected by many national and international factors beyond our control. If sales decrease, our profitability could decline as we spread fixed costs across a lower level of sales. Prolonged negative trends in restaurant sales could cause us to, among other things, reduce the number and frequency of new restaurant openings, close restaurants or delay remodeling of our existing restaurants or take asset impairment charges.

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We are susceptible to regional economic developments, including adverse weather conditions.

Our financial performance depends on restaurants in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan, and Florida, comprising all but one of our restaurants as of January 1, 2023. As a result, adverse economic conditions in any of these areas could have a material adverse effect on our overall results of operations. In addition, given our geographic concentrations, negative publicity regarding any of our restaurants in these areas could adversely affect our business, as could other regional occurrences such as local strikes, terrorist attacks, increases in energy prices, or natural or other disasters.

In particular, adverse weather conditions, such as regional winter storms, floods, severe thunderstorms and hurricanes, could negatively impact our results of operations. Temporary or prolonged restaurant closures may occur, and customer traffic may decline due to the actual or perceived effects of future weather-related events.

Damage to our reputation could negatively impact our business, financial condition, and the results of operations.

We have built our reputation on the high quality of our food, service and staff, and we must protect and grow the value of our brands to continue to succeed. Any incident that erodes consumer affinity for our brands could significantly reduce their value and damage our business. For example, one brand’s value could suffer, and our business could be adversely affected if customers perceive a reduction in the quality of our food, service or staff, or an adverse change in our culture or ambiance, or otherwise believe we have failed to deliver a consistently positive experience.

We may be adversely affected by news reports or other negative publicity (regardless of their accuracy) regarding food quality issues, public health concerns, illness, safety, injury or government or industry findings concerning our restaurants, restaurants operated by other food service providers, or others across the food industry supply chain. The risks associated with such negative publicity may materially harm our results of operations and damage our brand.

Our marketing programs may not be successful.

We intend to continue to invest in marketing efforts that we believe will attract and retain customers. These initiatives may not be successful, resulting in expenses incurred without the benefit of higher revenues. Additionally, if these initiatives are not successful, we may engage in additional promotional activities to attract and retain customers, including buy-one-get-one offers and other offers for free or discounted food, and any such additional promotional activities could adversely impact our results of operations.

We plan to continue emphasizing mobile and other digital ordering, delivery and pick-up orders. These efforts may fail or may result in unexpected operational challenges that adversely impact our costs. We may also introduce new menu items that may not achieve the expected sales levels. Additionally, some of our competitors have greater financial resources, which enable them to spend significantly more on marketing and advertising than we are able to. Should our competitors increase spending on marketing and advertising, or should our advertising and promotions be less effective than our competitors, there could be a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations.

Historically, customer spending patterns for our midwestern restaurants are lowest in the first and fourth quarters of the year due to holidays, consumer habits and adverse weather. Likewise, our restaurants in Florida may experience declines in customer spending during the summer, when Florida has fewer tourists. Our restaurant in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, experiences reduced customer traffic outside the summer months. The result is that our quarterly will continue to be affected by seasonality. As a result of these and other factors, our financial results for any quarter may not be indicative of the results that may be achieved for a full fiscal year.

If we cannot offset rising labor costs with price increases, our financial performance could be adversely affected.

Increases in minimum wages and minimum tip credit wages, extensions of personal and other leave policies, other governmental regulations affecting labor costs and a diminishing pool of potential staff members when the unemployment rate falls and legal immigration is restricted, especially in certain localities, could increase our labor costs and make it more difficult to fully staff our restaurants, any of which could materially adversely affect our financial performance. We believe the federal government may significantly increase the federal minimum wage and tip credit wage (or eliminate the tip credit wage) and require significantly more mandated benefits than is currently required under federal law. In addition to increasing the overall wages paid to our minimum wage and tip credit wage earners, these increases could create pressure to increase salaries and other benefits paid to other staff members who, in recognition of their tenure, performance, job responsibilities and other similar considerations, historically received a rate of pay exceeding the applicable minimum wage or minimum tip credit wage. Because we employ a large workforce, any wage increase, or expansion of benefits could significantly impact our labor costs. Our vendors, contractors and business partners are similarly impacted by wage and benefit cost inflation. Many have increased prices for goods and services to offset their increasing labor costs.

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Failure of our internal control over financial reporting could adversely affect 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 GAAP. 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. The identification of a material weakness could indicate a lack of controls adequate to generate accurate financial statements that, in turn, could cause a loss of investor confidence and decline in the market price of our common stock. We cannot assure you that we will be able to timely remediate any material weaknesses that may be identified in future periods or maintain all of the controls necessary for continued compliance. Likewise, we cannot assure you that we will be able to retain sufficient skilled finance and accounting personnel, especially in light of the increased demand for such personnel among publicly traded companies.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

Our business could be negatively affected as a result of the actions of activist stockholders.

The Company may be subject to proposals by stockholders urging us to take certain corporate action. If activist stockholder activities ensue, our business could be adversely impacted because:

• responding to actions by activist stockholders can be costly and time-consuming:
• perceived uncertainties as to our future direction may result in the loss of potential business opportunities, and make it challenging to attract and retain qualified personnel and business partners; and
• pursuit of an activist stockholder’s agenda may adversely affect our ability to implement our strategy effectively.

Any litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources potentially harming our business.

You may be unable to resell your shares at or above the price you paid.

Volatility in the market price of our common stock may prevent you from being able to sell your shares at or above the price you paid for your shares. The stock market in general has been highly volatile, and this may be especially true for our common stock given our growth strategy and stage of development. As a result, the market price of our common stock is likely to be similarly volatile. You may experience a decrease, which could be substantial, in the value of your stock, including decreases unrelated to our operating performance or prospects and could lose part or all of your investment. The price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a number of factors, including those described elsewhere in this Annual Report and others, such as:

• actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly or annual operating results;
• publication of research reports by securities analysts about us, our competitors or our industry;
• our failure to meet analysts’ projections or guidance;
• additions and departures of key personnel;
• sales, or anticipated sales, our stock or shares held by significant stockholders, directors, or executive officers;
• strategic decisions such as acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, joint ventures, strategic investments or changes in business strategy;
• the passage of legislation or other regulatory developments affecting us or our industry;
• speculation, whether or not correct, involving us, our suppliers or our competitors;
• changes in accounting principles;
• litigation and governmental investigations;
• publicity (regardless of their accuracy), including on social media platforms, negatively impacting our reputation;
• terrorist acts, acts of war or periods of widespread civil unrest;
• a foodborne illness outbreak;
• severe weather, natural disasters, and other calamities; and
• changes in the general market and economic conditions.

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Our by-laws and Wyoming law may discourage a change of control of our company and depress the price of our stock.

Our certificate of incorporation and by-laws include certain provisions that could have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change of control of our company or changes in our management, including, among other things:

• advance notice requirements applicable to stockholders for matters to be brought before a meeting of stockholders and requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice;
• the right to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval, which could dilute the stock ownership of a potential hostile acquirer;
• allowing all vacancies, including newly created directorships, to be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, except as otherwise required by law;
• limiting the persons that can call special meetings of our stockholders to our board of directors, the chairperson of our board of directors, the chief executive officer or the president (in the absence of a chief executive officer).

We have no plans to pay cash dividends on our common stock.

We likely will retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment and have no plans to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends may be limited by covenants of any existing and future outstanding indebtedness our subsidiaries or we incur, including our credit facility. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in our common it for a price greater than that eater than that which you paid for it.

Raising additional equity capital may be more difficult while the warrants are outstanding.

While the warrants issued in our IPO are outstanding, the holders of such warrants will be given the opportunity to profit from a rise in the market price of our common stock. We may find it more difficult to raise additional equity capital while the warrants are outstanding.

Our board of directors is authorized to issue preferred stock without obtaining stockholder approval.

Our articles of incorporation authorize the issuance of up to 2,000,000 shares of preferred stock with designations, rights and preferences that may be determined from time to time by the board of directors. Our board of directors is empowered, without stockholder approval to create and issue a series of preferred stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting, or other rights which could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of the common stock. In the event of issuance, the preferred stock could be utilized, under certain circumstances, as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control of We. Although we have no present intention to issue any shares of preferred stock, there can be no assurance that We will not do so in the future.

These provisions might discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company or a change in our management. These provisions could adversely affect the voting power of holders of common stock and limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock.

Claims for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims.

Our articles of incorporation and bylaws provide that the Company will indemnify our directors and officers, in each case, to the fullest extent permitted by Wyoming law.

In addition, as permitted by the Wyoming Business Corporation Act, our bylaws and the indemnification agreements that we have entered into with our directors and officers provide that:

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• we indemnify our directors and officers for serving us in those capacities or for serving other business enterprises at our request to the fullest extent permitted by Wyoming law. Wyoming law provides that a corporation may indemnify such person if the person acted in good faith and in a manner reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the registrant and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the conduct was unlawful;
• we may indemnify employees and agents in those circumstances permitted by applicable law;
• we are required to advance expenses, as incurred, to our directors and officers in connection with defending a proceeding, except that such directors or officers shall undertake to repay such advances if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to indemnification;
• we will not be obligated pursuant to our bylaws to indemnify a person with respect to proceedings initiated by that person against us or our other indemnitees, except with respect to proceedings authorized by our board of directors or brought to enforce a right to indemnification;
• the rights conferred in our bylaws are not exclusive, and we are authorized to enter into indemnification agreements with our directors, officers, employees and agents and to obtain insurance to indemnify such persons; and
• we may not retroactively amend our bylaw provisions to reduce our indemnification obligations to directors, officers, employees and agents.

Reduced disclosure requirements may make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that apply to other public companies, including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock, and our stock price may be more volatile.

We have elected to use the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the earlier of the date that we (i) are no longer an emerging growth company or (ii) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B).

We could remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years from the last day of our fiscal year in which the first sale of our common equity securities occurred pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act, or until the earliest of (i) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenues exceed $1 billion, (ii) the date that we become a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three-year period.

Notwithstanding the above, we are also currently a “smaller reporting company.” Specifically, similar to “emerging growth companies,” “smaller reporting companies” are able to provide simplified executive compensation disclosures in their filings; are exempt from the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requiring that independent registered public accounting firms provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting; and have certain other decreased disclosure obligations in their SEC filings. Decreased disclosures in our SEC filings due to our status as an “emerging growth company” or “smaller reporting company” may make it harder for investors to analyze our results of operations and financial prospects.

We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

Corporate Offices

Our principal offices are in leased office space in West Fargo, North Dakota with additional leased space in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Both locations are leased on a month-to-month basis for a total of $1,800 per month.

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Burger Time Properties

The table below provides basic information about each of our Burger Time restaurants.

A description of our restaurant properties appears above under the heading “BUSINESS—Locations.” We lease our executive offices, consisting of approximately 1,000 square feet, located at 405 West Main Street, West Fargo, North Dakota, on a month-to-month basis at the cost of $500 per month. In addition, effective January 2, 2022, we have agreed to reimburse Brimmer Company, LLC, an affiliate of the Company, for the monthly rent of $1,250 on 1100 square feet in Minnetonka, Minnesota, at 10501 Wayzata Blvd Ave S, Suite 102 where administrative activities are performed. Our office space is adequate for its intended purposes and our near-term expansion plans.

On June 28, 2021, we refinanced our BTND mortgage debt, bearing interest at 4.75%. As of January 1, 2023, we had $2,826,093 in contractual obligations relating principally to amounts due under mortgages on the real property on which our Burger Time restaurants are situated. Our monthly required payment is approximately $22,700.

We currently lease the land for one of our Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Burger Time locations on a month-to-month basis, and the monthly rent is $1,600.

Keegan’s Restaurant

Concurrent with our acquisition of Keegan’s assets in March 2022, we entered into a 132-month triple-net lease for the property occupied by Keegan’s with an unrelated landlord. Terms of the lease provide for an initial rent of $5,000 per month, increasing annually at the greater of 3% or the increase in the Consumer Price Index over that period. The location comprises approximately 2,900 square feet of dining, kitchen, and storage space and includes typical features for a full-service restaurant.

Pie In The Sky Restaurant

Concurrent with our purchase of PIE assets in May 2022, we entered into a five-year triple-net lease for the property occupied by PIE with the seller of the assets that provides us with three five-year extensions at our option. Terms of the lease provide for an initial rent of $10,000 per month, increasing annually to approximately $11,000 per month during the first five-year term. The location comprises approximately 3,500 square feet of dining, kitchen and storage space on two levels, with a production kitchen and storage and office space on the lower level; there is also approximately 1,500 square feet of outdoor dining, which is serviced by an outdoor service bar. The landlord granted us a right of first refusal to purchase the property on terms it receives from a third party during the entire term and any lease extension.

Village Bier Garten Restaurant

Concurrent with our acquisition of the Village Bier Garten assets, we entered a five-year lease with the seller for approximately 3,000 square feet of restaurant space and access to an additional 3,000 square feet of shared entertainment and seating area and includes all of the features typical for a full-service restaurant. The terms of the triple-net 60-month lease provide for an initial rent of $8,200 per month with an annual escalation of 3%. The lease includes three five-year renewal option periods.

We are not presently a party to any material litigation, nor, to the knowledge of management, is any litigation threatened against us that may materially affect us.

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operation should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and related notes that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements and information relating to our business that reflect our current views and assumptions with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Fiscal Year

Our fiscal year is a 52/53-week year, ending on the Sunday closest to December 31. The 52-week fiscal 2022 ended on January 1, 2023, and the 52-week fiscal 2021 year ended on January 2, 2022.

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Introduction

As of January 1, 2023, including our partially owned Bagger Dave’s business, we owned and operated eighteen restaurants comprising the following:

• Eight Burger Time fast-food restaurants and one Dairy Queen franchise (“BTND”);
• Village Bier Garten a German-themed restaurant, bar, and entertainment venue in Cocoa, Florida. (“VBG”):
• Keegan’s Seafood Grille in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida (“Keegan’s”);
• Pie In The Sky Coffee and Bakery in Woods Hole, Massachusetts (“PIE”).
• Unconsolidated affiliate, Bagger Dave’s Burger Tavern, Inc, 41.2% owned operates six Bagger Dave’s restaurants in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana (“BD”).

Burger Time opened its first restaurant in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1987. Burger Time restaurants feature a traditional grilled hamburger and other affordable foods such as chicken sandwiches, pulled pork sandwiches, sides, and soft drinks. Burger Time’s operating principles include (i) offering bigger burgers and more value for the money; (ii) offering a limited menu to permit attention to quality and speed of preparation; (iii) providing fast service by way of single and double drive-thru designs and a point-of-sale system that expedites the ordering and preparation process, and (iv) great tasting and quality food made fresh to order at a fair price. Our primary strategy is to serve the drive-thru and take-out segment of the quick-service restaurant industry.

The average customer transaction at our Burger Time restaurants increased by approximately 30% in fiscal 2022 compared to 2021 and currently is about $16.90. This recent increase is principally because of the menu price increases implemented in 2021 and 2022. A 2022 price increase of approximately 10% on our popular “Deal of the Day” significantly increased our check average. We implemented an additional menu price increase in September 2022 and regularly monitor market prices to remain competitive. Many factors influence our sales trends. Our business environment is challenging as competition is intense.

We operate through a central management organization that provides continuity across our restaurant base by utilizing the efficiencies of a central management team.

Notable 2022 Events

Our recent acquisitions have allowed us to diversify our operations into new restaurant segments and new geographic regions, reducing our dependency on the financial performance of our Burger Time restaurants. During the 2022 fiscal year, we acquired three operating restaurants and a 41.2% ownership interest in BD, an operator of six casual restaurants. We expect to consider acquisition opportunities in the future.

Keegan’s Seafood Grille, acquired in March 2022, has served customers in the Indian Rocks Beach and Clearwater, Florida markets for over 35 years. Keegan’s is primarily a dine-in restaurant offering a variety of traditional fresh seafood items for lunch and dinner and a selection of beer and wine.

In May 2022, we acquired the assets and business operations of the iconic Pie In The Sky Coffee Restaurant and Bakery. PIE is adjacent to the ferry terminal in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. PIE has operated in the same location for over thirty years, offering a range of breakfast and lunch options, freshly roasted coffee, and branded merchandise serving locals and tourists.

In August 2022, we purchased the assets of Van Stephan Village Bier Garten, a full-service bar and restaurant in Cocoa, Florida. We have rebranded the restaurant Village Bier Garten. The restaurant features a German-themed menu, specialty imported European beers, and regular entertainment.

In June 2022, we acquired shares of stock representing 41.2% ownership of publicly held Dave’s Burger Tavern, Inc., the owner and operator of six Bagger Dave’s restaurants, a casual restaurant and bar concept. Bagger Dave’s provides an inviting, entertaining atmosphere specializing in burgers, hand-cut fries, craft beer, milkshakes, salads, pizza, and other items. Bagger Dave’s opened its first restaurant in Berkley, Michigan, in January 2008 and operates four restaurants in Michigan, one restaurant in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and one location in Centerville, Ohio.

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Material Trends and Uncertainties

Industry trends have a direct impact on our business. Current trends include difficulties attracting food service workers and rapid inflation in the cost of input items. Recent trends also include the rapidly changing area of technology and food delivery. The major companies in the restaurant industry have rapidly adopted and developed smartphone and mobile delivery applications, have aggressively expanded drive-through operations, and developed loyalty programs and database marketing supported by a robust technology platform. We expect these trends to continue as restaurants aggressively compete for customers. Competitors will continue to discount prices through aggressive promotions.

Food costs have increased over the last two years, and we expect to see continued inflationary pressure during 2023. Beef and egg costs continued to increase in 2022. Given the competitive nature of the restaurant industry, it may be challenging to raise menu prices to fully cover cost increases. Future margin improvements may be difficult to achieve. Margin improvement will be achieved through operational enhancements, equipment advances, and increased volumes offsetting food cost increases.

Labor is a critical factor in operating our stores. Securing staff to run our locations at full capacity has become more challenging in most areas where we operate our restaurants. The current labor market has resulted in higher wages as the competition for employees intensifies, not only in the restaurant industry but in practically all retail and service industries. We must develop and retain quality employees.

Although moderating over the last twelve months, since March 2020, COVID-19 and its variants have adversely affected workforces, customers, economies, and financial markets globally and disrupted the US economy’s normal flow. Our stores have, with some exceptions, generally remained open for drive-through business. However, many businesses have experienced a disruption of operations. More recently, food service businesses, including ours, have faced challenges in attracting and hiring workers. Labor shortages have resulted in some store curtailment of operating hours which may become more acute as market participants compete to attract employees.

We cannot determine the future effects of any public health matters on our operations and financial results. We have and could continue to experience the impact of recent events including but not limited to commodity inflation, disruption in our supply chain, and labor availability challenges at certain shops. We have increased and plan to continue increasing prices to offset additional costs due to a higher inflationary economic environment in the U.S. These price increases may not be sufficient to mitigate higher costs, and further increases may negatively impact consumer behavior.

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Result of operations for the 52 weeks ending January 1, 2023, compared to the 52 weeks ending January 2, 2022.

The following table sets forth, for the years indicated, our Consolidated Statements of Operations expressed as a percentage of total revenues. The percentages below may not reconcile because of rounding.

Net Revenues:

Net sales for 2022 increased $4,149,299 or 49.1% to $12,601,169 from $8,451,870 in 2021. The sales increase resulted from the acquisition of three restaurants during the year contributing $5,595,003 in revenue. The BTND business experienced a sales decline of $1,041,000 as the business continued a trend toward a return to pandemic pre-lockdown sales levels. Sales results also reflect the closing of the West St Paul Burger Time location in the fourth quarter of 2022. Same store sales at BTND for stores open at year-end decreased by approximately 11.2%.

For BTND locations open at year-end, 2022 restaurant sales ranged from a low of $458,000 to a high of $1,012,000. The average sales for each Burger Time unit open at year-end were approximately $809,000 in 2022, a decline of approximately 6.1% from $858,700 in 2021.

Restaurant Operating Costs:

During 2022, restaurant operating costs (which refer to all the costs associated with operating our restaurants but do not include general and administrative expenses and depreciation and amortization) increased to 86.6% in restaurant sales in 2022 from 80.8% in 2021. This increase was due primarily to price inflation on input costs, including food and labor, and the matters discussed in the “Cost of Sales,” “Labor Costs,” and “Occupancy and Other Operating Cost” sections below. A decline in BTND restaurant sales also impacted the changes in restaurant-level costs from 2021 to 2022.

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The impact of cost increases and the addition of three non-BTND restaurants during the year and may be detailed as follows:

Costs of Sales - food and paper:

Cost of sales - food and paper - for 2022 decreased to 38.5% of restaurant sales from 38.9% of restaurant sales in 2021. The decrease results from the inclusion of PIE which operates at a lower food cost than BTND. The decrease also reflects the net result of price increases during the year offset by an inflationary cost environment, including increases in beef, paper and egg costs. PIE, because of its coffee-focused menu, has significantly lower food and paper costs than BTND and Keegan’s.

Labor Costs:

In 2022, labor and benefits cost increased to 32.7% of restaurant sales from 28.2% in 2021. The increase is the net result of lower BTND activity in 2022, and higher wages because of labor shortages in some of our markets, contributing to an unfavorable utilization of the fixed portion of labor costs. PIE and Keegan’s businesses run at higher labor costs than BTND. We benefit from minimal turnover in unit restaurant management. Payroll costs are semi-variable, meaning that they do not decrease proportionally to decreases in revenue; thus, they increase as a percentage of restaurant sales when there is a decrease in restaurant sales.

Occupancy and Other Operating Costs:

For 2022, occupancy and other costs increased to 15.3% of sales or $1,928,308 compared to $1,151,382 or 13.7% of restaurant sales in 2021, principally because of the impact on these costs of three leased restaurant locations added in 2022. All of which operate at a higher occupancy cost than our BTND locations where we own the majority of the real estate.

Depreciation and Amortization Costs:

For 2022, depreciation and amortization costs increased 91.9% or $215,011 to $449,038 (3.6% of sales) from $234,027 (2.8% of sales) in 2021. Depreciation and amortization costs increased principally due to the purchase of three restaurants during 2022 for approximately $2.4 million and capital additions in the last two years, including major parking lot repairs and significant replacement of HVAC equipment at several locations. These capital additions offset the decrease in depreciation and amortization resulting from a significant amount of our equipment reaching a fully depreciated status.

General and Administrative Costs

General and administrative costs in 2022 increased 292.0%, or $1,217,038, to $1,633,829 (13.0% of sales) from $416,791 (4.9% of sales) in 2021. The increase was principally the result of our transition to a public company and including higher officer salaries and bonus payments related to new senior management employment agreements, listing fees, increased quarterly review expenses, $118,700 of non-cash stock-based compensation for stock option expenses and costs associated with acquiring, transitioning to new ownership, and administering the three geographically dispersed businesses acquired during the year.

Income (loss) from Operations:

The loss from operations was $391,164 in 2022 compared to operating income of $980,712 in 2021. The change in income from operations in 2022 compared to 2021 was primarily due to the matters discussed in the “Net Revenues,” “General and Administrative Costs” and “Restaurant Operating Costs,” sections above.

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Interest expense:

In 2022, our interest expense decreased $58,095 to $114,766 (.9% of restaurant sales) from $172,861 (2.0% of restaurant sales) in 2021 as a result of schedule amortization reducing the loan balance and a full year of the refinanced lower interest rate which reduced the interest rate to 3.45% in 2021. Prior to the June 2021 refinancing the interest rate was 4.75%.

Interest and Dividends and Other Income:

Interest and Dividend income was $125,529 in 2022 resulting from interest and other investment income from the investment of the proceeds from the November 2021 IPO. Other expense of $80,649 in 2022 includes $100,000 accrual for property taxes on the Company’s St. Louis property.

Net Income (loss):

The net loss was $562,285 in 2022, compared to an income of $607,851 in 2021. The change in 2022 from 2021 was primarily attributable to the matters discussed in the “Net Revenues,” “Restaurant Operating Costs,” “General and Administrative Costs,” and “Other Income” sections.

Restaurant-level EBITDA:

To supplement the consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, we use restaurant-level EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), which is not a measure defined by GAAP. This non-GAAP operating measure is useful to both management and, we believe, to investors because it represents one means of gauging the overall profitability of our recurring and controllable core restaurant operations. However, this measure is not indicative of our overall results, nor does restaurant-level profit accrue directly to the benefit of stockholders, primarily due to the exclusion of corporate-level expenses. Restaurant-level EBITDA should not be considered a substitute for or superior to operating income, which is calculated in accordance with GAAP, and the reconciliations to operating income set forth below should be carefully evaluated.

We define restaurant-level EBITDA as operating income before pre-opening costs if any, general and administrative costs, depreciation and amortization. General and administrative expenses are excluded as they are generally unrelated to restaurant-specific costs. Depreciation and amortization are excluded because they are not ongoing controllable cash expenses and are unrelated to ongoing operations' health.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

For the 52 weeks that ended January 1, 2023, we recorded an after-tax loss of $562,285. At January 1, 2023, we had $8,144,872 in cash and marketable securities and net working capital of $6,730,552.

The aftermath of the pandemic restrictions continues to have a significant impact on the U.S. economy, and it is difficult to predict the near-term variations in the economy in general and specifically the impact on our businesses, operating results and financial condition.

Our primary requirements for liquidity are to fund our working capital needs, capital expenditures, and general corporate needs, as well as to invest in or acquire businesses that are synergistic with our business. Our operations do not require significant working capital as generally restaurants operate with negative working capital. Working capital deficits may be incurred in the future. Our liquidity and cash flows sources are operating cash flows and cash on hand. We have used available cash to make acquisitions, service debt, and to maintain our stores. Our working capital position benefits from the fact that we collect cash from sales from our customers at the point of sale or within a few days from our credit card processor, and in general, payments to our vendors are not due for thirty days.

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Summary of Cash Flows

Cash Flows Provided by Operating Activities

Operating cash flow in 2022 was $211,798, a decline in cash flow from operations from $813,955 in 2021.

Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities

In 2022, we invested approximately $5.7 million in marketable securities, including $4.9 million in short-term U.S. Treasury Bills and approximately $3 million in acquiring the operating assets of three existing restaurants and $1.26 million in acquiring our 41.2% ownership of Bagger Dave’s.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

On November 12, 2021, the Company completed a public offering of Units, each consisting of one share of common stock and one five-year stock purchase warrant to purchase one common share at $5.50. We have the right to redeem the warrants under certain conditions. The Company issued 2,400,000 common shares in the offering and 2,760,000 stock purchase warrants. After deducting all fees and expenses, net proceeds from the offering were $10,696,575.

Contractual Obligations

As of January 1, 2023, we had $4,344,580 in contractual obligations, including $1,518,487 in contractual obligations relating to leases on restaurants acquired in 2022 and $2,826,093 to amounts due under mortgages on the real properties on which are stores are situated. Our monthly required payment is approximately $22,700. On June 28, 2021, we refinanced most of our outstanding mortgage debt with a new lender lowering its nominal interest cost from 4.75% to 3.45% fixed for the next ten years.

(a) DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 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 our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met.

As of January 1, 2023, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934.

Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures, our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of January 1, 2023, due to the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting described below.

In light of this fact, our management has performed additional analysis and has concluded that, notwithstanding this material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting, the consolidated financial statements for the periods covered by and including this Annual Report on Form 10-K fairly present, in all material respects, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented in conformity with U.S. GAAP.

(b) REPORT OF MANAGEMENT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. The Company has designed internal controls to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The Company assesses the effectiveness of internal controls based on the criteria set forth in the 2013 Internal Control - Integrated Framework developed by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

As a result of this evaluation, management has concluded that, as of January 1, 2023, our internal control over financial reporting was not effective due to the material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting described below.

(c) MATERIAL WEAKNESS IN INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

As of January 1, 2023, the company identified a material weakness in its design of controls over accounting and reporting of significant, non-recurring events, and complex transactions.

This material weakness could result in a misstatement of account balances or disclosures that would result in a material misstatement to the annual or interim financial statements that would not be prevented or detected.

(d) REMEDIATION PLAN

The Company has a remediation plan for the identified material weakness and in fiscal 2023 will engage an accounting expert to assist with the accounting for significant, non-recurring events and complex transactions.

The remediation actions are subject to ongoing senior management review, as well as Audit Committee oversight. The Company will not be able to conclude whether the steps to be taken will fully remediate the material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting until remediation efforts are completed, tested, and evaluated for effectiveness.

(e) CHANGES IN INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

In addition to the matters discussed previously, the Company engaged consultants as an extension of management to assist in the accounting for acquisitions that occurred during the fiscal year ended January 1, 2023. Except for the items described above, there were no other changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during our most recently completed fiscal quarter ended January 1, 2023, that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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