Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund

Hello, this is the Chorus Call Conference Operator. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Boston Pizza's second quarter conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded on August 4th, 2023. After the presentation, there will be a question and answer session. Participants on the call may also pose their questions via email to Boston Pizza's Investor Relations Department at investorrelationsatbostonpizza.com. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, they may signal an operator by pressing star then zero on their telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Michael Harbinson, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

Thank you and welcome everyone to today's call. Today we'll be discussing the 2023 second quarter results for both Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund, or the fund, and for Boston Pizza International, or BPI. For complete details on our financial results, please see our second quarter materials filed earlier today on CDAR, or visit the fund's website at bpincomefund.com. Should you require additional information after the call, you can reach us via the investor relations phone number that is listed in our press release. The fund is a limited-purpose, open-ended trust established under the laws of British Columbia to acquire... Indirectly, certain trademarks and trade names used by BPI and its Boston Pizza restaurants in Canada. BPI pays royalty and distribution income to the fund based on franchise revenue of royalty pool restaurants. For a complete description of the fund and its business, please see the annual information form dated February the 8th, 2023, which was filed on CDAR.com. Before I turn the call over to Jordan Holm, President of BPI, I would like to note that certain information in the following discussion may constitute forward-looking information. For a more complete definition of forward-looking information and the associated risks, please refer to the Fund's management discussion and analysis issued earlier today. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this call and, except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances. And with that, I will now turn the call over to Jordan. Jordan?

Thank you, Michael, and welcome everyone to Boston Pizza's second quarter investor conference call. Today, I'll be discussing our second quarter results and share a brief outlook. Michael will summarize our key financial highlights, and as usual, we'll leave time for your questions at the end of today's call. We're pleased that positive sales momentum continued through the second quarter of 2023. Turning to our financial results, the fund posted franchise sales from restaurants in the royalty pool $233.7 million for the quarter and $457.9 million year-to-date, representing increases of 6.5% and 15% respectively versus the same periods one year ago. Same restaurant sales was 6.6% for the quarter and 15.2% year-to-date. SRS the quarter was principally due to an increase in average guest check. SRS year to date was principally due to increases in restaurant guest traffic and an increase in average guest check. COVID-19 restrictions existed in most of the country during the first quarter of 2022 and part of the second quarter of 2022 that negatively impacted in restaurant guest traffic. Those restrictions were largely eliminated during the second quarter of 2022 We are pleased that our strong sales results have supported the increase to the fund's distribution rate that was announced earlier this year. From a marketing standpoint, we began the second quarter of 2023 with our NHL Playoff promotion, which introduced several new shareable menu items, plus cocktail innovations, and included new TV and digital media advertising focused on Boston Pizza's new Fanalytics campaign, optimizing every aspect of the Boston Pizza Sports bar experience to maximize enjoyment for our guests. Possum Pizza also launched a new main menu in May, introducing several new enhanced menu offerings, which will be available seven days a week as core menu offerings. In a continued effort to maximize off-premise sales by leveraging digital platforms, Possum Pizza announced an exclusive partnership with Skip the Dishes in selected markets effective May 15th. Turning to restaurant development, no new restaurants were opened during the quarter, and one restaurant was closed, and eight restaurants completed restaurant renovations during the quarter. Year-to-date, no restaurants were opened, two restaurants have been closed, and eight restaurants have been renovated. We have some exciting initiatives planned to drive sales in the second half of 2023, which I'll speak to in a moment. However, first, I'll turn the call back to Michael for a review of the fund's financial performance.