Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUY) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Obviously, we don’t have one of the new ones in the ground, but some of the plans coming back we’re liking. But currently, I would say those targeted cash-on-cash returns are more in the way of about 25% versus 30%, but our ultimate target is 30%. And those — it really we look at the purchase and when we’re doing the pro forma. So if it makes sense and if we can do a purchase, looking at the sales leaseback and seeing what we get back from the sales leaseback to actually boost those returns on cash-on-cash return. But all that goes into the decision of whether to buy or to lease and then ultimately, this value engineering. Currently, to-date, we have about seven properties that we own. There’s about two or three other properties that we’re looking at right now to buy.

And the development in the current year, we do not have any properties that we have purchased. They will fall into 2025. But hopefully, I answered all of your questions there.

Andrew Wolf: Yeah, very much. I really appreciate the detail. Can I just ask another follow-up, but just on the Uber Eats comparisons. So it sounds like it’s 350 bps this quarter as a headwind. And I guess you got another quarter or two of that. And then it must ease in the fourth quarter, which is sort of the other way of asking how much was it — how much was the Uber Eats headwind in the quarter you just reported, the fourth quarter – last year’s fourth quarter ‘23?

Jon Howie: Well, yeah, if you look at it, so basically, Uber Eats was about 2.1% of our sales in the fourth quarter of 2022 when we implemented it. And that grew — kept growing in the first quarter. It was about 2.8% of sales until eventually, for all of 2023, it was about 3.5%. So you’re looking at 300 to 400 basis points that we’re rolling over, which is a little challenging.

Andrew Wolf: Okay, got it. All right. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. And I would like to turn the call back to Steve Hislop for closing remarks. Please go ahead, sir.

Steve Hislop: Thank you. Thank you so much. Jon and I appreciate your continued interest in Chuy’s and are available to answer any and all questions. Again, thank you, and have a good evening.

Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that then concludes today’s conference. Thank you for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines.