Higher operating expenses put Silver Diner's 3rd Q in red

Nation's Restaurant News, Dec 11, 2000

ROCKVILLE, MD. -- Negative same-store sales and higher operating expenses contributed to a third-quarter loss of $464,578 for Silver Diner Inc. compared with earnings of $67,950 for the year-ago period. The company posted a $1.8 million loss for the nine months ended Oct. 8, vs. a loss of $584,216 for the same period a year ago.

Silver Diner said increased operating expenses associated with two unit openings helped propel the decline in restaurant operating margins, which fell 8.1 percent, to $4.67 million, for the first nine months compared with $5.08 million for the year-ago period. Total restaurant costs for the third-quarter and nine-month periods grew 17 percent and 12 percent, respectively, to $7.35 million and $22.97 million.

The company's nine-month, same-store sales rose 1.3 percent. Its third-quarter same-store sales declined 2.7 percent.

Silver Diner officials said the company's new units in Virginia Beach, Va., and at the Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, Md., which opened in June and September, respectively, contributed to an increase in revenue for the quarter and year-to-date periods. Nine-month revenue grew 7 percent, to $24.04 million, compared with $22.52 million for the year-ago period. Third-quarter revenue was $7.68 million, a 10-percent increase from $6.98 million from the same period last year.

Silver Diner currently operates 13 namesake restaurants in the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia metro areas as well as the Tidewater region of Virginia. The company's next unit opening is slated for Pentagon Row in Arlington, Va., in mid-2001.