The new Ritz-Carlton luxury hotel at Lake Tahoe has gone into default, the latest sign of trouble for the lake economy and one of its top developers.
The default notice is the first step toward possible foreclosure. It was filed against the Northstar-area hotel March 31, about a month after its developer, East West Resort Development of Avon, Colo., put nearly $1 billion worth of Northstar real estate development into bankruptcy reorganization.
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Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2010 Results
MINNEAPOLIS, Apr 27, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD), announced today financial results for the first quarter ended March 28, 2010. Highlights for the first quarter versus the same period a year ago were:
•Total revenue increased 15.7% to $152.3 million
•Company-owned restaurant sales grew 15.5% to $138.0 million
•Same-store sales increased 0.1% at company-owned restaurants and 0.7% at franchised restaurants
•Net earnings increased 24.5% to $10.6 million from $8.5 million, and earnings per diluted share increased 23.4% to $0.58 from $0.47
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•Total revenue increased 15.7% to $152.3 million
•Company-owned restaurant sales grew 15.5% to $138.0 million
•Same-store sales increased 0.1% at company-owned restaurants and 0.7% at franchised restaurants
•Net earnings increased 24.5% to $10.6 million from $8.5 million, and earnings per diluted share increased 23.4% to $0.58 from $0.47
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Kona Grill, Inc. Reports First Quarter Results
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Apr 27, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) --Kona Grill, Inc. (Nasdaq:KONA), an American grill and sushi bar, today reported results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2010.
First Quarter 2010 Highlights Include:
-- Restaurant sales increased 8.2% to $21.1 million
-- Same-store sales decreased 2.5%
-- Restaurant operating profit margin of 12.6%
-- Net loss of $0.6 million, or $0.07 per share, excluding special charges
totaling $0.3 million
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First Quarter 2010 Highlights Include:
-- Restaurant sales increased 8.2% to $21.1 million
-- Same-store sales decreased 2.5%
-- Restaurant operating profit margin of 12.6%
-- Net loss of $0.6 million, or $0.07 per share, excluding special charges
totaling $0.3 million
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The world's 50 best restaurants?
Noma, in Denmark, takes the top spot from El Bulli. The Spanish restaurant moves to second place. The UK's Fat Duck is also down one, now occupying Noma's former No. 3 spot. I'd wager a lot of people who are interested in food have heard of El Bulli. Not necessarily so Noma. That, to me, is the major (only?) significance of this rejiggering: the boosting of a presumably worthy restaurant's profile. If we're talking the 50 best restaurants in the world, top 3 is top 3.
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Can this be True? 'Gay dog' and his blind owner refused service in Australian restaurant
An Australian restaurant has been fined after turning a blind customer away because they thought his guide dog was gay.
Ian Jolly, 57, was trying to enter the Thai Spice restaurant in Adelaide in May, 2009 when he was refused entry.
Staff had misheard the woman with Mr Jolly, and believed that his 'guide dog' Nudge was in fact a 'gay dog'.
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Ian Jolly, 57, was trying to enter the Thai Spice restaurant in Adelaide in May, 2009 when he was refused entry.
Staff had misheard the woman with Mr Jolly, and believed that his 'guide dog' Nudge was in fact a 'gay dog'.
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BlackBerry Spy Software Unleashes Email and Photo Monitoring
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Retina-X Studios, LLC announced today new logging features for their Mobile Spy monitoring software for BlackBerry smartphones. The silent spy program now includes the ability to view every photo captured and every email sent or received. These new abilities help parents and employers track the activities of their monitored phones with greater accuracy.
The Mobile Spy version 4.0 system, available across five different smartphone platforms, silently records user activity of children or employees. Logs are viewable online in real time. Several log types are included such as entire SMS text messages, actual GPS locations and call information. All logs can be reviewed from anywhere inside a secure online control panel.
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The Mobile Spy version 4.0 system, available across five different smartphone platforms, silently records user activity of children or employees. Logs are viewable online in real time. Several log types are included such as entire SMS text messages, actual GPS locations and call information. All logs can be reviewed from anywhere inside a secure online control panel.
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Sands Sale of Macau Malls, Apartments May Raise $12 Billion
April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson said the sale of the casino operator’s malls and apartments in Macau may raise $12 billion, to recoup the cost of constructing the buildings that house them.
“It will be like $12 billion if we add up all the apartments and all the retail in Macau,” including those in buildings still under construction, Adelson, also the founder and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands, said in an interview in Singapore today.
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“It will be like $12 billion if we add up all the apartments and all the retail in Macau,” including those in buildings still under construction, Adelson, also the founder and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands, said in an interview in Singapore today.
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Calgary Canada restaurant judged one of the world's best
For the first time, a Calgary restaurant has been named as one of the world's top 100 restaurants.
Calgary's Rouge restaurant -- coowned by chef Paul Rogalski and Olivier Reynaud -- has been named No. 60 on the prestigious S. Pellegrino World's 100 Best Restaurants list
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Calgary's Rouge restaurant -- coowned by chef Paul Rogalski and Olivier Reynaud -- has been named No. 60 on the prestigious S. Pellegrino World's 100 Best Restaurants list
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$74M Buys Six Homewood Suites
FORT LAUDERDALE-Chatham Lodging Trust, based in Palm Beach, acquired six Homewood Suites by Hilton from RLJ Development, LLC, a hotel investment company, based in Bethesda, Maryland, for $73.5 million or approximately $90,406 per suite on April 23rd. The six hotels are the first properties to be acquired since Chatham Lodging Trust went public on April 21st.
The properties are in the Boston, Hartford, Connecticut, Minneapolis, Dallas, Orlando and Nashville markets.
In the future, says Peter Willis, chief investment officer at Chatham, “We are going to acquire more upscale, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded select service hotels, such as more Homewood Suites, Residence Inns, Marriott Courtyards and Hampton Inns.”
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The properties are in the Boston, Hartford, Connecticut, Minneapolis, Dallas, Orlando and Nashville markets.
In the future, says Peter Willis, chief investment officer at Chatham, “We are going to acquire more upscale, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded select service hotels, such as more Homewood Suites, Residence Inns, Marriott Courtyards and Hampton Inns.”
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Hilton launching brand-wide sustainability plan
Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta, Hotel Check-In's guest CEO blogger for April, today discusses Hilton's environmental initiatives. Here's the CEO in his own words:
I am thrilled to have the chance to blog a few times this week, and I thank Barbara and USA TODAY for the opportunity. I just spent the morning in Chicago at the Strategic Account Management Association's (SAMA) Annual Conference where I hosted a breakfast with some of our largest business customers and delivered the keynote address. SAMA is an organization that fosters relationships between companies for their mutual benefit. For example, we use other companies' products such as cleaning or office supplies at our hotels, and they in return use our hotels for many of their travel and conference needs.
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I am thrilled to have the chance to blog a few times this week, and I thank Barbara and USA TODAY for the opportunity. I just spent the morning in Chicago at the Strategic Account Management Association's (SAMA) Annual Conference where I hosted a breakfast with some of our largest business customers and delivered the keynote address. SAMA is an organization that fosters relationships between companies for their mutual benefit. For example, we use other companies' products such as cleaning or office supplies at our hotels, and they in return use our hotels for many of their travel and conference needs.
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Choice Hotels Reports First Quarter 2010 Adjusted Diluted EPS of $0.27, Domestic Unit Growth of 2.9%
SILVER SPRING, Md., April 26, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --Choice Hotels International, Inc., (NYSE: CHH) today reported the following highlights for first quarter 2010:
Adjusted diluted earnings per share ("EPS") for first quarter 2010 were $0.27 compared to $0.27 for the same period of the prior year. Diluted EPS were $0.26 for first quarter 2010 compared to $0.27 for first quarter 2009. Adjusted diluted EPS for first quarter 2010 exclude certain special items, as described below, totaling $0.01.
Excluding special items, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") were $26.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010, compared to $30.3 million for the same period of 2009. Operating income for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 were $23.8 million and $27.8 million, respectively.
Franchising revenues declined 6% from $51.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 to $47.7 million for the same period of 2010. Total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2010 declined 6% compared to the same period of 2009.
Interest and other investment income for the three months ended March 31, 2010 improved by approximately $1.9 million from the same period of the prior year primarily due to the appreciation in the fair value of investments held in the company's non-qualified employee benefit plans during the current period compared to a decline in the fair value of these investments in the same period of the prior year.
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Adjusted diluted earnings per share ("EPS") for first quarter 2010 were $0.27 compared to $0.27 for the same period of the prior year. Diluted EPS were $0.26 for first quarter 2010 compared to $0.27 for first quarter 2009. Adjusted diluted EPS for first quarter 2010 exclude certain special items, as described below, totaling $0.01.
Excluding special items, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") were $26.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010, compared to $30.3 million for the same period of 2009. Operating income for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 were $23.8 million and $27.8 million, respectively.
Franchising revenues declined 6% from $51.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 to $47.7 million for the same period of 2010. Total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2010 declined 6% compared to the same period of 2009.
Interest and other investment income for the three months ended March 31, 2010 improved by approximately $1.9 million from the same period of the prior year primarily due to the appreciation in the fair value of investments held in the company's non-qualified employee benefit plans during the current period compared to a decline in the fair value of these investments in the same period of the prior year.
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