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Pope's Visit Not a Miracle for Restaurants
Cosi reports that America's brush with papal greatness dented store sales.
neneo / Shutterstock.com photo
The pope has the power to move millions, but he didn't do much to help restaurant sales during his recent visit to the U.S., it seems.
Pope Francis’ visit late last month to New York, Washington and Philadelphia was thrilling for many, but not for some of those cities’ restaurant owners.
Cosi Inc. on Wednesday said that its systemwide same-store sales in September fell 3.6 percent, and 0.3 percent for the third quarter ended Sept. 28. Same-store sales fell 4.5 percent in September at company-owned locations, and 0.3 percent for the quarter.
“Business interruptions resulting from the Pope’s visit” was listed by the company as one of the reasons for the drop. The pope’s visit adversely affected 30 percent of the chain’s 79 company-owned locations. The company has 30 franchise locations. Parts of the cities were blocked off for periods to accommodate the pontiff's travel plans, making it difficult for restaurant patrons to reach their favorite businesses.
Others also reported devilish results. Restaurateur David Chang tweeted that the pope was a “restaurant cooler on par with the Super Bowl and the Oscars.” Other restaurants also groused that sales slipped during the pontiff's visit.
Read the full story here: POPE
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About the Author
Nick Powills
FollowNick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.
