Capriotti’s reports record sales despite pandemic

Las Vegas-based Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop said Friday it saw record sales in the second and third quarters as the chain doubled down on delivery service partnerships and contactless pickups.

The chain’s Las Vegas locations outperformed other markets across the U.S., said David Bloom, chief operating and development officer.

The company said the top-performing locations made an average-unit volume of $1.1 million.

Bloom said Friday the company saw very little sales at the start of the pandemic.

“At our worst, we were down about 30 percent, whereas the industry were experiencing 80, 90, or 100 percent sales drop.”

According to weekly sales figured shared with the Review-Journal, Capriotti’s saw double-digit sales increases in early April that have remained steady since. The success, Bloom said, was due to the chain’s heavy advertising about Capriotti’s contactless delivery and curbside pick-up options.

The fast-casual chain expanded its digital presence with ghost kitchens and third-party services like DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats and GrubHub for those delivery and take-out dining options. Ghost kitchens, where restaurant operators only prepare food for delivery-only meals, have seen a resurgence amid the pandemic.

The sandwich chain also added items — Impossible Foods, a plant-based “meat” alternative, and American-Wagyu beef from Snake River Farms — to its menu.

Capriotti’s has expanded its physical footprints at a rapid pace in recent years. In 2017, CEO Ashley Morris said that the company has plans to grow to 500 locations by 2022 and become a national brand.

Bloom said the company is rapidly expanding amid the pandemic, taking advantage of more affordable building space.

“A lot of other chains are not doing so well, so we’re getting much better deals and looking at better spaces as everybody from Starbucks and down the line close some of their stores, so we’re able to move into those locations,” he said.

Capriotti’s now operates more than 200 locations nationwide will have opened 18 new locations by the end of this year.