Black Rifle Coffee, Steak ‘n Shake, Bombshells [Video]

A Steak ‘n Shake. | Photo: Shutterstock

The second quarter was a decidedly mixed experience for many of the restaurant industry’s big publicly owned chains. The financial results for smaller public operations were no less varied, ranging from Steak ‘n Shake’s 7% same-store sales gain to a 16% drop in the intake of RCI’s Bombshells.

Here’s a fuller assessment of how three of those small-cap operations fared.

Black Rifle Coffee Co. suspends coffee-shop investments

A beverage chain founded by and for military veterans, Black Rifle alerted shareholders earlier this month that it will concentrate near-term on expanding sales through other retailers rather than via its own coffee shops, known internally as outposts.

“While the potential is unlimited in what our outposts can do to build our brand and revenue streams, now is not the right time for investment,” CEO Chris Mondzelewski told financial analysts. With higher returns offered by its other channels, “we will continue to invest our capital in building our brand and …