Dave & Buster's Inks Store Deals

King said that Dave & Buster's, which operated 49 locations at the end of the quarter, "has signed four deals that could potentially be open next year and feel confident that at least three of the four, if not all four, will open." The agreements are for large stores in suburban Philadelphia and Dallas, with smaller stores in Tulsa, OK and Richmond, VA, King said. These openings will follow the company's recent opening of one of its large-format, 56,000-sf stores in Tempe, AZ.

In addition, the Dave & Buster's CEO commented, "The pipeline for 2009 looks good, with several letters of intent already signed, and we are focused on building the people systems to support our accelerated new store growth." New store growth was one of the factors accounting for the chain's growth in third-quarter revenues, which climbed 6.4% to $123.7 million in this year's third quarter, in comparison with the third quarter of 2006.

Higher comparable store sales also contributed to the overall higher revenues for the quarter, noted Brian Jenkins, the company's CFO. Jenkins cited the Dave & Buster's 3.1% increase in comparable store sales as one of the chief factors in the higher revenues for the quarter, noting that total food and beverage revenues increased 3.6%, while revenues from amusements and other sources increased 9.9%. King pointed out that the higher comp sales came during difficult times that have dampened the results of other retail and restaurant chains in recent months.

This year's third-quarter loss compared with a loss of $5.2 million in the comparable period last year. Despite the loss, company officials said the company is performing well from a sales standpoint and is in a solid cash position.