On Tuesday, Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ:ARKR) discussed second-quarter financial results during its earnings call. The full transcript is provided below.
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<h2>Summary</h2>
Ark Restaurants reported stable financials with cash at the end of the quarter being $11,500 and debt at $7.6 million, despite challenges in sales.

Sales were down across key locations: 11% in Las Vegas, 10% in Florida, and 5% in Washington, D.C., but operational efficiencies have improved cash flow in these areas.

The company did not implement significant menu price increases, but noted challenges from external economic pressures affecting consumer spending.

Litigation related to Bryant Park is ongoing and expected to extend into late this year or early next year, impacting profitability.

Ark Restaurants plans to open a new restaurant in Las Vegas in early July, aiming to transform it into a sought-after destination.

<h2>Full Transcript</h2>
OPERATOR
Greetings and welcome to the Ark Restaurants. Second Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call at this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance, please press STAR zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Anthony Sirica, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

Christopher Levo (Secretary)
Good morning, everyone. Hold on. Chris has to read the Safe Harbor. Sorry. Hello everyone. My name is Christopher Levo. I'm the secretary. With me on the call today is Michael Weinstein, our Chairman and CEO, and Anthony Sirica, our President and CFO. For those of you who have not yet obtained a copy of our press release, it was issued over the newswires yesterday and is available on our website. To review the full text of that press release along with the associated financial tables, please go to our homepage at www.arcrestaurants.com. Before we begin, however, I'd like to read the Safe Harbor statement. I need to remind everyone that part of our discussion this morning will include forward looking statements and that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and therefore undue reliance should not be placed on them. We refer everyone to our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more detailed discussion of the risks that may have a direct bearing on our operating results, performance and financial condition. I'll now turn the call over to Anthony.

Michael Weinstein (Chairman and CEO)
Good morning, everybody. As always, Michael will discuss the business and Bryant park and the Meadowland situation. As far as the balance sheet goes, we did draw down 5 million before the end of the quarter to finance our leasehold improvements in Las Vegas. Our cash at the end of the quarter was $11,500 and our debt was 7.6. Other than that, the balance sheet remains very stable and in good shape. That's really, really. It's pretty uneventful as far as the balance sheet goes. This is Michael. I'll just do a brief review of what's going on. It's sort of a repeat of the last quarter and the quarter before that. We haven't increased prices by any measurable amount. There's certain increases on certain items, but the menu pricing remains pretty much stable. We're challenged with sales everywhere. Essentially, the check averages remain pretty much the same, but we're losing what we consider the the bottom end of our business. With people who are being challenged by their own home expenses and prices at grocery stores and gas prices, et cetera. It's pretty much across the board. The Vegas sales are down about 11%, which is sort of in line with what the city is saying. In terms of. However, our cash flow there has actually improved as we have gotten better at managing payroll expenses and certain other expenses. We're really very well managed there. In Florida, everything's down 10%. We check with other operators and vendors and we're pretty much in line with all restaurants. Washington, D.C. same situation, down 5% in sales. But again, we have new management there. We're operating more efficiently with less payroll. So we're actually running a little bit ahead of last year in terms of not having the losses we had last year. New York, Robert is doing very well. We're challenged with events at Bryant park because of litigation that we're going through. We're still very profitable, but our litigation expenses offset a good portion of that profitability. So all in all, not much different from the last quarter. It's just a sales problem. I would say to you that overall we're very pleased with the product we're putting out. Services, food. We are hopeful that we'll be opening our New Americana in Las Vegas in early July. We think that's going to help us dramatically. We think we're turning what is, you know, basically a restaurant that services customers of the hotel into what should be a sought after destination. In terms of Bryant park litigation, it's ongoing. We suggested to everybody who's interested that they go to the website, the court website, to see all of the filings. So far, there is nothing to indicate that this litigation is going to end soon. The trial will probably take place somewhere in very late this year, calendar year, early next year. I'm sure whoever wins that child will be faced with an appeal from the opposite side, which will take another year, year and a half. Meadowlands. We are at the point where we are hopeful that a referendum will be suggested by the legislature to be put up for vote in November. There is strong opposition always from the Atlantic City legislators, and there is strong push forward to get this done by the northern legislators. We'll know more in the next month or so whether or not that referendum will be put on the ballot. The polling from the public is fairly positive. I mean, there are three polls that have been done, all of them in favor, one of them very close, 51, 49% in favor. But the two others show anywhere from 62% to 66% in favor. So I think the polling is, should be persuasive. But again, this is Jersey politics and we're just hopeful we get, we get on the ballot with that any questions.

OPERATOR
We'll now be conducting a question and answer session. If you'd like to ask a question, please press Star 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You can press star2 to remove your question from the queue. For participants using similar equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment, please, while we poll for questions. Thank you. There are no questions at this time. I'd like to hand the floor back over to Michael Weinstein for any closing remarks.

Michael Weinstein (Chairman and CEO)
See you next quarter. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

OPERATOR
This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you again for your participation.

Disclaimer: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in this automated transcription. For official company statements and financial information, please refer to the company's SEC filings and official press releases. Corporate participants' and analysts' statements reflect their views as of the date of this call and are subject to change without notice.

ARKR

Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ:ARKR) reported its Q2 2026 earnings, revealing stable financials with cash at $11,500 and debt at $7.6 million. Sales declined by 11% in Las Vegas, 10% in Florida, and 5% in Washington, D.C., attributed to external economic pressures. Despite these challenges, operational efficiencies improved cash flow. The company plans to open a new restaurant in Las Vegas in July. Ongoing litigation related to Bryant Park is expected to impact profitability. Overall, the company remains stable but faces sales challenges across its locations.

Ark Restaurants Q2 2026 Earnings Call: Complete Transcript