As a percentage of revenues, occupancy expenses decreased 0.2% compared to prior year, driven by an increase in our revenue. Restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA increased 22.9% to $41.9 million in the third quarter of 2023 from $34.1 million in the third quarter of 2022. Restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA margins were 25.1% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to 22.6% in the third quarter of 2022. The improvement of restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA is on top of opening six new restaurants in the first three quarters of 2023, which all have a lower margin profile to start. We believe this improvement was a result of our ongoing efforts to deploy strategic pricing actions, elevate guest experiences, and implement operational efficiencies. The strength of our brand, the consistency of our operations, and the ongoing execution of a disciplined development strategy all drive long-term shareholder value creation.
Near term, we do anticipate pressure on restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA margins from the planned openings of six new restaurants in the fourth quarter and the ongoing roll-off of pricing. On pricing, as a reminder, we have taken two pricing actions this year. In January, we increased menu prices by approximately 2%. At the beginning of May, we increased menu prices by approximately 3%. These increases continue to combat inflationary cost pressures and contribute towards our goal of restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA margin expansion for fiscal 2023. We did have 3.4% of pricing that rolled off in October, which puts us at an effective 5.5% price increase the last few months of this year. We will continue to monitor our cost pressures, the competitive landscape, as well as consumer sentiment to inform our pricing decisions in the coming quarters.
Our G&A expenses increased $0.8 million to 11.3% in the third quarter of 2023 from 12% in the third quarter of 2022. This increase was primarily driven by higher variable-based compensation and an increase in wages and related costs, partially offset by decrease in professional fees and insurance expenses. We are currently estimating G&A to be in the range of $78 million to $80 million for the full fiscal year. Pre-opening expenses increased $1.6 million to 1.4% in the third quarter of 2023 from 0.5% in the third quarter of 2022. The increase was due to the timing and geographic location of activities related to our planned new restaurant openings. All of this led to adjusted EBITDA of $27.3 million in the third quarter of 2023 versus $21.6 million in the third quarter of 2022, an increase of 26.2%.
Below the EBITDA line, interest expense was $6.6 million in the third quarter of 2023, a decrease of $0.5 million from the third quarter of 2022. This decrease was primarily driven by improved lending terms associated with our 2023 term loan and revolver facility. As of the end of Q3, the effective interest rate on the term loan and revolver was 8.5%. Income tax expense was $2.6 million in the third quarter of 2023, an increase of $1.6 million from the third quarter of 2022. Our effective tax rate for the quarter was 28.6% versus 23.9% in the third quarter of 2022. Our effective tax rate increased versus the third quarter of 2022, primarily driven by an increase in Class A equity ownership, which increases our share of taxable income or loss.
We expect the full-year tax rate to be approximately 21% to 23%. We ended the quarter with $12.9 million in cash. As a reminder, we invest our operating cash flows and available cash into our future by self-funding our new restaurant growth. We currently estimate the CapEx range to be $75 million to $80 million versus the previous range of $70 million to $75 million. We increased this range based on capital being deployed ahead of the 2024 pipeline. Our average net build cost per restaurant remain in the range we disclosed at Development Day in December. We remain committed to delivering healthy top line and bottom line growth in 2023 and beyond. Thank you for your time. And with that, I’ll turn it back to Michael.
Michael Osanloo: Thanks, Michelle. And before we open for questions, I just like to reiterate how proud I am of Portillo’s, our teams, and all we have to offer. We’re a growth company and we continuously earn the right to grow because we manage our core business profitably. Q3 was another quarter with really great margins. Our investors can count on us to deliver on both the top and bottom line to keep funding that growth. This starts with efficient operations which our engaged team members drive every single day. Their dedication and hard work creates a fantastic experience for our guests and keeps them coming back. This is our flywheel and you’ll see that it’s really starting to spin. We expect our momentum to last long into the future. And with that, let’s open the line for questions. Thank you.
Sharon Zackfia: Hi, good morning. I know you don’t normally talk about recent trends, but you did bring it up on the call and I think a lot of others have had to evolve just given kind of what seemed to be a return to more normal seasonality in the quarter. I guess, do you concur that part of the slowdown that you saw in the third quarter was more normal kind of pre-pandemic seasonality or do you think there’s something else happening in the business. And as you think about the rebound here in October, how do you think about pricing power value proposition as you look towards 2024?
Michael Osanloo: Yeah. Good morning, Sharon. Thanks. Great question and yes, we don’t normally like to talk and talk about what’s going on, but given the context and how everyone else is opined on it, we felt it was appropriate. We are seeing strong momentum across the board in October and I think you’re 100% right. We’re back to what I think is more of a normal rhythm in the restaurant industry going back to 2019 kind of mindset. Third quarter’s always a little bit of a sluggish quarter for the restaurant industry and typically we come roaring back in the fourth quarter. So, we’re seeing a much more consistent pattern with the past. So, we’re happy about that and we feel very optimistic for our fourth quarter. With regards to the second part of your question, look, we feel — we are very, very, I guess, astute on monitoring our pricing versus all of our competitors.
