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Subsequent Events
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2023
Subsequent Events  
Subsequent Events Note 5 – The Company evaluated subsequent events through the date the financial statements were issued and filed with SEC.  There were no subsequent events that required recognition or disclosure beyond what is disclosed in this report.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

 

In the first quarter of 2020, a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged and spread throughout the United States. The World Health Organization recognized COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020. In response to the pandemic, the U.S. federal government and various state and local governments have, among other things, imposed travel and business restrictions, including stay-at-home orders and other guidelines that required restaurants and bars to close or restrict inside dining. The pandemic resulted in significant, economic volatility, uncertainty and disruption, reduced commercial activity and weakened economic conditions in the regions in which the Company and its franchisees operate.

 

The pandemic and the governmental response had a significant adverse impact on the Company, due to, among other things, governmental restrictions, reduced customer traffic, staffing challenges and supply difficulties  especially as a result of the emergence of the Omicron and other variants of COVID-19 in late 2021 and early in 2022.  Many states and municipalities in the United States, including Indiana where all of the Company-owned Craft Pizza & Pub restaurants are located, have from time to time temporarily restricted travel and suspended the operations of dine-in restaurants and other businesses in light of COVID-19 which negatively affected the Company’s operations.  As the duration and scope of the pandemic is uncertain these orders are subject to further modification, which could adversely affect the Company.  Further, the Company can provide no assurance the phase out of restrictions will have a positive effect on the Company’s business.

 

Host facilities for the Company’s non-traditional franchises were also affected by labor shortages which adversely impacted those developments and in turn slowed the sales of franchises. The uncertainty and disruption in the U.S. economy caused by the pandemic are likely to continue to adversely impact the volume and resources of potential franchisees for both the Company’s Craft Pizza & Pub and non-traditional venues.

 

Tax laws that address the financial impact of the lockdowns and restrictions provided relief to the Company in the form of the ERTC.  During the first quarter of 2023, the Company determined that it was entitled to an ERTC of $1.718 million and submitted amended federal Form 941 returns claiming that refund.  The ERTC refund is treated as a government grant and recognized in the first quarter of 2023 as reducing appropriate expenses for the $1.718 million less expenses for applying for the refund of $258,000 or a net benefit of $1.460 million.

 

The ERTC is a refundable tax credit that businesses can claim on qualified wages paid to employees.  The program was introduced on March 27, 2020 in the CARES Act to incentivize employers to keep their employees on their payroll during the pandemic and economic shutdown.  The credit applies to all qualified wages, including certain health plan expenses, paid during the period in which the operations were fully or partially suspended due to a government shutdown order or where there was significant decline in gross receipts.

 

When first established under the CARES Act, the tax credit was equal to 50% of the qualified wages an eligible employer paid to employees after March 12, 2020 and before January 1, 2021.  The credit was also limited to a maximum annual per employee credit of $5,000.  The credit was then extended through June 30, 2021 by the Relief Act.  The Relief Act modified the credit to be 70% of up to $10,000 of qualified wages per quarter in 2021 through June 30, 2021.  The program was further extended through December 31, 2021 by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) but was retroactively reduced by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to end effective September 30, 2021.