LEASES

Adoption of Topic 842 "Leases"

On December 27, 2018, the Company adopted Topic 842, using the effective date method, recognizing and measuring all leases that existed as of December 27, 2018. The Company recorded a cumulative-effect adjustment as of December 27, 2018. Comparative periods are presented in accordance with ASC Topic 840 and do not include any retrospective adjustments to comparative periods to reflect the adoption of Topic 842. All leases that either (1) commenced, or (2) were modified or re-measured after December 27, 2018 are accounted for under Topic 842.

As a result of Topic 842, the Company recognized a ROU asset of $205.2 million and a lease liability of $222.3 million on its consolidated balance sheet as of December 27, 2018. However, the adoption of Topic 842 did not result in a material impact on the Company’s consolidated statement of operations or consolidated statement of cash flows.

Nature of leases

The Company’s operations utilize property, facilities, equipment and vehicles leased from others. Additionally, the Company has various contracts with vendors that have been determined to contain an embedded lease in accordance with Topic 842.

As of March 25, 2020, the Company had one lease that it had entered into, but had not yet commenced. The Company does not have control of the property until lease commencement.

Building and facility leases

The majority of the Company’s building and facilities leases are classified as operating leases; however, the Company currently has one facility lease that is classified as a finance lease.

Restaurants are operated under lease arrangements that generally provide for a fixed base rent and, in some instances, contingent rent based on a percentage of gross operating profit or net revenues in excess of a defined amount. Additionally, a number of the Company’s leases have payments, which increase at pre-determined dates based on the change in the consumer price index. For all leases, the Company also reimburses the landlord for non-lease components, or items that are not considered components of a contract, such as common area maintenance, property tax and insurance costs. While the Company determined not to separate lease and non-lease components, these payments are based on actual costs, making them variable consideration and excluding them from the calculations of the ROU asset and lease liability.

The initial terms of land and restaurant building leases are generally 20 years, exclusive of options to renew. These leases typically have four 5-year renewal options, which have generally been excluded in the calculation of the ROU asset and lease liability, as they are not considered reasonably certain to be exercised, unless (1) the renewal had already occurred as of the time of adoption of Topic 842, or (2) there have been significant leasehold improvements that have a useful life that extend past the original lease term. Furthermore, there are no residual value guarantees and no restrictions imposed by the lease.

During the thirteen weeks ended March 25, 2020, the Company reassessed the lease terms on three restaurants due to certain triggering events, such as, the addition of significant leasehold improvements, the decision to terminate a lease, or the decision to renew. As a result of the reassessment, an additional $0.3 million of ROU asset and lease liabilities for the thirteen weeks ended March 25, 2020 were recognized and will be amortized over the new lease term. The reassessment did not have any impact on the original lease classification. Additionally, as the Company adopted all practical expedients available under Topic 842, no reallocation between lease and non-lease components was necessary.

The Company also subleases facilities to certain franchisees and other non-related parties which are also considered operating leases. Sublease income also includes contingent rental income based on net revenues. The vast majority of these leases have rights to extend terms via fixed rental increases. However, none of these leases have early termination rights, the right to purchase the premises or any residual value guarantees. The Company does not have any related party leases.

During the first quarter of 2020, the Company determined that the carrying value of ROU assets at certain restaurants was not recoverable. As a result, the Company recorded a $0.5 million impairment expense for the thirteen weeks ended March 25, 2020. The impairment primarily related to one restaurant in Texas, sold to franchisees in the prior year.

Equipment

Leases of equipment primarily consist of restaurant equipment, copiers and vehicles. These leases are fixed payments with no variable component. Additionally, no optional renewal periods have been included in the calculation of the ROU asset, there are no residual value guarantees and no restrictions imposed.

Significant Assumptions and Judgments

In applying the requirements of Topic 842 the Company made significant assumptions and judgments related to determination of whether a contract contains a lease and the discount rate used for the lease.

In determining if any of the Company’s contracts contain a lease the Company made assumptions and judgments related to its ability to direct the use of any assets stated in the contract and the likelihood of renewing any short-term contracts for a period extending past twelve months.

The Company also made significant assumptions and judgments in determining an appropriate discount rate for property leases. These included using a consistent discount rate for a portfolio of leases entered into at varying dates, using the full 20-year term of the lease, excluding any options, and using the total minimum lease payments. The Company utilizes a third-party valuation firm in determining the discount rate, based on the above assumptions. For all other leases, the Company uses the discount rate implicit in the lease, or the Company’s incremental borrowing rate.

As the Company has adopted the practical expedient not to separate lease and non-lease components, no significant assumptions or judgments were necessary in allocating consideration between these components, for all classes of underlying assets.

The following table presents the Company’s total lease cost, disaggregated by underlying asset (in thousands):



	Thirteen Weeks Ended March 25, 2020
	Property Leases			Equipment Leases		Total
Finance lease cost:
Interest on lease liabilities	6			—		6
Operating lease cost	6,530			324		6,854
Short-term lease cost	—			2		2
Variable lease cost	104			14		118
Sublease income	(778		)	—		(778		)
Total lease cost	$	5,862		$	340	$	6,202

The following table presents the Company’s total lease cost on the condensed consolidated statement of income (in thousands):



	Thirteen Weeks Ended March 25, 2020
Lease cost – Occupancy and other operating expenses	$	5,879
Lease cost – General & administrative	111
Lease cost – Interest expense	6
Lease cost - Closed-store reserve	206
Total lease cost	$	6,202

During the thirteen weeks ended March 25, 2020, the Company had the following cash and non-cash activities associated with its leases (in thousands):



	Thirteen Weeks Ended March 25, 2020
	Property Leases			Equipment Leases			Total

Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities
Operating cash flows used for operating leases	$	6,260		$	309		$	6,569
Financing cash flows used for finance leases	$	8		$	—		$	8

Non-cash investing and financing activities:
Operating lease ROU assets obtained in exchange for lease liabilities:
Operating lease ROU assets	$	307		$	12		$	319
Derecognition of ROU assets due to terminations, impairment or modifications	$	(543	)	$	—		$	(543	)

Operating lease ROU assets obtained and liabilities incurred as a result of adoption of ASC 842:
Operating lease ROU assets	$	200,555		$	4,668		$	205,223
Operating lease liabilities	$	217,615		$	4,668		$	222,283

Other Information
Weighted-average remaining lease term—finance leases	2.58			—
Weighted-average remaining lease term—operating leases	11.94			2.97
Weighted-average discount rate—finance leases	11.10		%	—
Weighted-average discount rate—operating leases	4.35		%	3.95		%

Information regarding the Company’s minimum future lease obligations as of March 25, 2020 is as follows (in thousands):



	Finance			Operating Leases
For the Years Ending	Minimum Lease Payments			Minimum Lease Payments			Minimum Sublease Income
December 30, 2020	$	41		$	20,080		$	2,103
December 29, 2021	54			26,702			2,887
December 28, 2022	45			25,694			3,284
December 27, 2023	—			23,289			3,318
December 25, 2024	—			21,018			3,203
Thereafter	—			141,124			27,265
Total	$	140		$	257,907		$	42,060
Less: imputed interest (2.38% - 11.10%)	(31		)	(47,900		)
Present value of lease obligations	109			210,007
Less: current maturities	(36		)	(17,585		)
Noncurrent portion	$	73		$	192,422

Information regarding the Company’s minimum future lease obligations as of December 25, 2019 is as follows (in thousands):



	Finance Leases			Operating Leases
For the Years Ending	Minimum Lease Payments			Minimum Lease Payments			Minimum Sublease Income
December 30, 2020	$	54		$	26,808		$	2,754
December 29, 2021	54			25,978			2,887
December 28, 2022	45			24,871			3,284
December 27, 2023	—			22,309			3,318
December 25, 2024	—			19,751			3,203
Thereafter	—			139,454			27,265
Total	$	153		$	259,171		$	42,711
Less: imputed interest (3.96% to 11.10%)	(36		)	(45,273		)
Present value of capital lease obligations	117			213,898
Less: current maturities	(34		)	(16,406		)
Noncurrent portion	$	83		197,492

Short-Term Leases

The Company has multiple short-term leases, which have terms of less than 12 months, and thus were excluded from the recognition requirements of Topic 842. The Company has recognized these lease payments in its consolidated statement of operations on a straight-line basis over the lease term and variable lease payments in the period in which the obligation for those payments is incurred.

Lessor

The Company is a lessor for certain property, facilities and equipment owned by the Company and leased to others, principally franchisees, under non-cancelable leases with initial terms ranging from three to 20 years. These lease agreements generally provide for a fixed base rent and, in some instances, contingent rent based on a percentage of gross operating profit or net revenues. All leases are considered operating leases.

For the leases in which the Company is the lessor, there are options to extend the lease. However, there are no terms and conditions to terminate the lease, no right to purchase premises and no residual value guarantees. Additionally, there are no related party leases.

For both thirteen weeks ended March 25, 2020 and March 27, 2019, the Company received $0.1 million of lease income from company-owned locations.