The One Group Hospitality Inc., owner of the STK and Kona Grill concepts, plans to open a seafood version of its steakhouse called Saltwater Social in Denver, executives said Thursday.
The Denver-based company , which released earnings Thursday for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, said the new concept would open in the second quarter, occupying a former Thirsty Lion location in Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood.
The space has been vacant since the Thirsty Lion Gastropub & Grill closed in 2019, the Denver Post reported.
“It's a seafood version of STK,” said Emanuel "Manny" Hilario, One Group CEO and president, on an analyst call. “That'll be our third restaurant in the Denver market so we'll have our STK downtown and we already have a Kona Grill in Cherry Creek. This will be our second restaurant in Cherry Creek. Cherry Creek is a very active neighborhood.”
One Group opened a STK Steakhouse this week at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Washington, D.C. Hilario said a second-quarter openings included restaurants in Florida and third-quarter debuts were planned for Oregon and the Saltwater Social in Colorado. A licensed restaurant was also planned, he said.
Hilario said the company continued to drive sales with a $3-$6-$9 happy hour and steak nights at STK for $69 a person and at Kona for $39.
January, he added, “was a super challenging month, just because of the high comps everyone was coming up against.” However, Hilario said the holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day were “fantastic.”
Hilario added that the cocktail programs at the STK and Kona concepts were helpful in increasing sales.
For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, The One Group’s net income slipped to $4.6 million, 15 cents a share, from $5.2 million, or 15 cents a share, in the prior-year period. Revenues rose to $89.9 million from $88.3 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Same-store sales in the fourth quarter declined 4.3% compared to 2022, the company said.
The One Group Hospitality has 28 STK restaurants and 27 Kona Grill restaurants. One Hospitality, The One Group’s food and beverage hospitality services business, develops, manages, and operates restaurants and turnkey food and beverage services within high-end hotels and casinos currently operating eight venues in the U.S. and Europe.
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