uWink Updates Status of Potential Restaurant Openings

uWink (UWKI.OB) updated the status of their potential restaurant openings after the market closed on Friday, December 21st.

The not-so-good-news

On December 4, 2007, uWink terminated its lease agreement relating to the opening of a new restaurant location at the Promenade at Howard Hughes Center in Los Angeles, California.

The termination was as a result of certain permitting delays relating to the Center’s conditional use permit that prevented the opening of the restaurant within the timelines provided for in the definitive lease agreement.

Moreover, uWink has determined not to pursue a renegotiation of the terms of this lease because the they intend to focus on less capital intensive real estate opportunities as uWink executes on the growth plan for its uWink branded restaurants.

uWink incurred no termination penalties in this deal, and to be honest, if uWink felt that their risk/reward proposition as well as value proposition, was compromised by continuing with the opening of a uWink at the Howard Hughes Center, then by all means save that expense and use it for a better location with a much higher return on investment.

This is just a small bump in the road for uWink, and I’m sure it won’t hurt their expansion plans at all as they still intend to open 2-3 locations in 2008, and possibly more.

The good news

In the same announcement, uWink said that on December 17, 2007, they entered into a definitive lease agreement to open a new restaurant location at the Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, California.

In addition, uWink signed a definitive agreement to purchase certain assets of the restaurant that had formerly occupied the space to be taken by uWink.

Assuming that all the proper permits are in place and nothing comes up, the new uWink restaurant is expected to open in April 2008.

This will mark uWink’s 2nd location, with a 3rd coming along in Mountain View, California also around this time. Stay tuned for news and updates on that location.

Disclosure: Author has a long position in UWKI.OB