What changed in ARK RESTAURANTS CORP's 10-K — 2023 vs 2024

The RFPs for both 6 locations are for new 10-year agreements with one five-year renewal option (see Note 11 - Commitments and Contingencies to the Consolidated Financial Statements). (5) We operate six small food court restaurants and one full-service restaurant in the Village Eateries food court at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino.

The Company advised the landlord of El Rio Grande we would be terminating the lease and closing the property permanently on or around January 1, 2025 (see Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Liquidity and Capital Resources - Recent Restaurant Dispositions).

On November 26, 2024, the Company agreed to terminate its lease for the food court at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa, FL. The termination agreement is subject to the approval of the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (see Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Recent Developments).

In connection with this notification, the Company recorded a loss of $876,000 during the year ended September 28, 2024 consisting of: (i) rent and other costs incurred in accordance with the termination provisions of the lease in the amount of $398,000, (ii) accrued severance and other costs in the amount of $94,000, (iii) an impairment charge related to long-lived assets in the amount of $269,000 and (iv) the write-off of our security deposit in the amount of $238,000, all partially offset by a gain related to the write-off of right-of-use ("ROU") assets and related lease liabilities in the net amount of $123,000.

Our compensation packages may prove insufficient to attract and retain the best personnel in light of the challenges posed by the pandemic and wage pressures resulting from the labor shortage.

Trademarks and Service Marks We regard our trademarks and other service marks related to our restaurant businesses, as having significant value and as being important to our marketing efforts. Our policy is to pursue registration of our important service marks and trademarks and to vigorously oppose any infringement of them.

Generally, with appropriate renewal and use, we expect that the registration of our service marks and trademarks will continue indefinitely. Government Regulation We are subject to various federal, state and local laws affecting our business.

Unresolved Staff Comments Not applicable. Item 1C . Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy We have established policies and processes for assessing, identifying, and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats, and have integrated these processes into our overall risk management systems and processes.

Management, with the assistance of third party service providers, routinely assesses material risks from cybersecurity threats, including any potential unauthorized occurrence on or conducted through our information systems that may result in adverse effects on the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of our information systems or any information residing therein.

We design and assess our program based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology ("NIST") Cybersecurity Framework ("CSF").

This does not imply that we meet any particular technical standards, specifications, or requirements, but that we use the NIST framework as a guide to help us identify, assess, and manage cybersecurity risks relevant to our business. 11 We conduct risk assessments at least annually to identify cybersecurity threats based on the NIST CSF.

These risk assessments include identifying reasonably foreseeable potential internal and external risks, the likelihood of occurrence and any potential damage that could result from such risks, and the sufficiency of existing policies, procedures, systems, controls and other safeguards we have put in place to manage such risks.

Our risk management process also encompasses cybersecurity risks associated with the use of our major third-party vendors and service providers. Following these risk assessments, we design, implement, and maintain reasonable safeguards to minimize the identified risks; reasonably address any identified gaps in existing safeguards; update existing safeguards as necessary; and monitor the effectiveness of our safeguards.

While cybersecurity threats have not materially affected our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition, future incidents may interrupt our operations and could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Governance Our senior management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) and Co-Chief Operating Officers, are responsible for identifying and assessing cybersecurity risks on an ongoing basis, establishing processes designed to provide reasonable assurance that such potential cybersecurity risk exposures are monitored, instituting appropriate mitigation and remediation measures, and maintaining cybersecurity programs.

Our cybersecurity program is led by our CFO who has experience in cybersecurity risk management from both a practical and management standpoint and utilizes third-party consulting firms on a regular basis to assist with risk mitigation, incident response and overall maintenance of our cybersecurity program. The Board of Directors considers cybersecurity risk as part of its overall risk oversight function.

The Board of Directors receives updates from the CFO regarding the Company’s cybersecurity risk management program at least annually. These include updates on the Company’s cybersecurity risks and threats, the status of projects to strengthen the information security systems, assessments of the information security program, and the emerging cybersecurity threat landscape.