Dave & Buster’s, getting hammered by resurging coronavirus rates nationwide, is making big changes to its operations to prepare for a post-pandemic world, the eatertainment chain revealed during a call with analysts late Thursday.
The food-and-games brand reported that its same-store-sales fell 66% for the quarter ended Nov. 1, but, with more mandated store closures around the country, same-store-sales declined even further, to negative 71%, for the first five weeks of Q4. The chain’s Q3 revenues totaled $109.1 million, compared to $299.4 million during the same period last year.
What’s more, reopening of Dave & Buster’s locations in California and New York—stores that traditionally make up a quarter of the chain’s annual sales—keep getting pushed back because of the virus. Now, the Dallas-based company is saying those stores won’t be back online until early next year.
As Dave & Buster’s navigates the pandemic, it is plotting its post-crisis operations by making some major changes. Chief among them:
- A new menu, being rolled out now, is 33% smaller than the chain’s pre-COVID one. The new menu will be built around the theme of the “inspired American kitchen,” COO Margo Manning told analysts. The menu is designed around operational simplicity, accelerated table turns and boosting food and beverage sales, she said.
- Each store is adding a new piece of kitchen equipment to speed cooking times, as well as an upgraded kitchen management system to boost efficiency.
- The chain is currently offering 17 menu items, with plans to add six more dishes in early March and expand to a full 28 items by late April, Manning said.
- Dave & Buster’s is adding tablets, kiosks and mobile web service to “free up our team members to focus on cross-selling and upselling,” she said, while giving customers more control over their in-store experience.
- Last month, the chain launched third-party delivery through DoorDash and Uber Eats at all open stores.
- The chain is looking to create virtual brands out of its existing kitchens, she said. “We’re beginning to cast several of those kitchen concepts highlighting specific food categories from our new menu,” Manning told analysts. “We’re exploring concepts that could be rolled out nationally, regionally or offered in specific markets or offered seasonally or even offered around specific major events.”
Dave & Buster’s currently has about 90 locations open nationwide out of its 137 total stores, though the chain expects more rolling closures before the impact of the virus eases, CEO Brian Jenkins said.
“I think we feel like it’s going to get a little worse before it gets better and we’re going to lose more stores,” Jenkins said. “So, we’re going to see a further dial-back. … I’m not trying to minimize it, but I do view this as a temporary setback here.”
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