BJ’s looks to add guardrails to Pizookie Pass amid profit pressure

Executives of the casual-dining restaurant say the promotion is adding downstream P&L pressure BJ’s Restaurants Inc. saw its Pizookie Pass promotion drive traffic in the third quarter, but it also pressured profits, executives said Thursday. The Huntington Beach, Calif.-based company, which released earnings for the third quarter ended Oct. 1, is looking to modify the promotion. Lyle Tick, who has served as BJ’s president and chief concept officer since Sept. 9, said the company is taking a step back on discounting and promotions overall. “While we're very encouraged by the results and potential headroom for the Pizookie Meal Deal, my initial observation when looking at our overall discounting and promotional footprint is that we have an opportunity to rationalize our programs, and this is a priority area of evaluation in the short-term,” Tick said during an earnings call with analysts. Tick said the promotional programs need to expand the total available market or drive incremental occasions. “They should be targeted at days and dayparts where we have capacity and ultimately drive materially more dollars to the bottom line,” Tick said. “The goal will be to apply clear strategic guardrails to all programming, likely streamlining some programs.” Tick cited the Pizookie Pass in the third quarter as an example. “It was more popular than we expected, which is a good sign with respect to the cachet of the Pizookie,” he said. “And while it drove incremental traffic, it also drove check compression and downstream P&L pressure beyond expectations. I would characterize this program as effective, but not efficient. Going forward, this program will need structural re-evaluation if it will continue, and all of our programs will go through a similar filter.” Tom Houdek, BJ’s chief financial officer, said October was the final full month of the Pizookie Pass promotion. “Our focus has shifted to the Pizookie Meal Deal, which is driving strong sales and traffic during weekdays and has a food cost profile more similar to our regular menu,” he said. For the third quarter ended Oct. 1, BJ’s narrowed its loss to $2.9 million, or 3 cents a share, from $3.4 million, or 16 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Total revenues increased 2.2% to $325.7 million from $318.6 million. In the third quarter, same-store sales increased 1.7%. Bj’s Restaurants, founded in 1978, owns and operates more than 200 casual-dining restaurants in 31 states. Contact Ron Ruggless at Ronald.Ruggless@Informa.com Follow him on X/Twitter: @RonRuggless