Big jumps in Thanksgiving business and takeout chicken sales provided a few bright spots in Bob Evans Farms’ otherwise lackluster financial postings yesterday.
Same-store sales at Bob Evans Restaurants for the second quarter ended Oct. 24 were flat, but accelerated to a 2.7 percent rate of increase through Nov. 27, the result of a 25 year-over-year boost in sales on Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving eve, the company said.
The family chain has been pushing takeout sales. Many pizza chains say the night before Thanksgiving rates as one of the busiest of the year because of the high volume of off-premise orders.
Takeout sales for the second quarter and November were raised exponentially by a new broasted chicken line, Bob Evans Farms said. Units of the chain that already carry the new chicken product posted a collective year-over-year increase in off-premise sales of 21.3 percent, compared with an upswing of 10.7 percent for the chain as a whole.
The broasted line is in the process of being rolled out systemwide.
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