2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Significant estimates include the valuation of the investments, deferred tax asset valuation allowances, valuing options and warrants using the Binomial Lattice and Black Scholes models, intangible asset valuations and useful lives, depreciation and uncollectible accounts and reserves. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

REVENUE RECOGNITION

Revenue is recognized when all of the following criteria have been satisfied:

Restaurant Net Sales and Food and Beverage Costs

The Company records revenue from restaurant sales at the time of sale, net of discounts, coupons, employee meals, and complimentary meals and gift cards. Sales, value added tax (“VAT”) and goods and services tax (“GST”) collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities are presented on a net basis within sales in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. Restaurant cost of sales primarily includes the cost of food, beverages, and merchandise and disposable paper and plastic goods used in preparing and selling our menu items, and exclude depreciation and amortization. Vendor allowances received in connection with the purchase of a vendor’s products are recognized as a reduction of the related food and beverage costs as earned.

Management Fee Income

The Company receives revenue from management fees from certain non-affiliated companies, including from managing its investment in Hooters of America.

Gaming Income

The Company receives revenue from operating a gaming facility adjacent to its Hooters restaurant in Jantzen Beach, Oregon. The Company also previously received gaming revenue from gaming machines located in Sydney, Australia. Revenue from gaming is recognized as earned from gaming activities, net of taxes and other government fees.

Franchise Income

The Company accounts for initial franchisee fees in accordance with FASB ASC 952, Franchisors. The Company grants franchises to operators in exchange for initial franchise license fees and continuing royalty payments. Franchise license fees are deferred when received and recognized as revenue when the Company has performed substantially all initial services required by the franchise or license agreement, which is generally upon the opening of a store. Continuing fees, which are based upon a percentage of franchisee revenues, are recognized on the accrual basis as those sales occur.

Business combinations

For business combinations, the assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, and any non-controlling interest are recognized at the acquisition date, measured at their fair values as of that date. In a business combination achieved in stages, the identifiable assets and liabilities, as well as the non-controlling interest in the acquiree, are recognized at the full amounts of their fair values. In a bargain purchase in which the total acquisition-date fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired exceeds the fair value of the consideration transferred plus any non-controlling interest in the acquiree, that excess would be recognized in earnings as a gain attributable to the Company.

Long-lived Assets

The Company accounts for long-lived assets in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 360, “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets” (“ASC 360”), which requires that long-lived assets be evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable or the useful life has changed. Some of the events or changes in circumstances that would trigger an impairment test include, but are not limited to;

Long-lived assets are grouped for recognition and measurement of impairment at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets. The impairment test for long-lived assets requires us to assess the recoverability of our long-lived assets by comparing their net carrying value to the sum of undiscounted estimated future cash flows directly associated with and arising from the company’s use and eventual disposition of the assets. If the net carrying value of a group of long-lived assets exceeds the sum of related undiscounted estimated future cash flows, the Company would be required to record an impairment charge equal to the excess, if any, of net carrying value over fair value.

When assessing the recoverability of our long-lived assets, which include property and equipment and finite-lived intangible assets, the company makes assumptions regarding estimated future cash flows and other factors. Some of these assumptions involve a high degree of judgment and also bear a significant impact on the assessment conclusions. Included among these assumptions are estimating undiscounted future cash flows, including the projection of comparable sales, operating expenses, capital requirements for maintaining property and equipment and residual value of asset groups. The Company formulates estimates from historical experience and assumptions of future performance, based on business plans and forecasts, recent economic and business trends, and competitive conditions. In the event that our estimates or related assumptions change in the future, the company may be required to record an impairment charge.

The Company evaluates the remaining useful lives of long-lived assets and identifiable intangible assets whenever events or circumstances indicate that a revision to the remaining period of amortization is warranted. Such events or circumstances may include (but are not limited to): the effects of obsolescence, demand, competition, and/or other economic factors including the stability of the industry in which the Company operates, known technological advances, legislative actions, or changes in the regulatory environment. If the estimated remaining useful lives change, the remaining carrying amount of the long-lived assets and identifiable intangible assets would be amortized prospectively over that revised remaining useful life.

RESTAURANT PRE-OPENING and closing EXPENSES

Restaurant pre-opening and closing expenses are non-capital expenditures, and are expensed as incurred. Restaurant pre-opening expenses consist of the costs of hiring and training the initial hourly work force for each new restaurant, travel, the cost of food and supplies used in training, grand opening promotional costs, the cost of the initial stocking of operating supplies and other direct costs related to the opening of a restaurant, including rent during the construction and in-restaurant training period. Restaurant closing expenses consists of the costs related to the closing of a restaurant location and include write-off of property and equipment, lease termination costs and other costs directly related to the closure. Pre-opening and closing expenses are expensed as incurred.

LIQUOR LICENSES

The costs of obtaining non-transferable liquor licenses that are directly issued by local government agencies for nominal fees are expensed as incurred. The costs of purchasing transferable liquor licenses through open markets in jurisdictions with a limited number of authorized liquor licenses are capitalized as indefinite-lived intangible assets and included in other assets. Liquor licenses are reviewed for impairment annually or when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Annual liquor license renewal fees are expensed over the renewal term.

ACCOUNTS AND OTHER RECEIVABLES

The Company monitors its exposure for credit losses on its receivable balances and the credit worthiness of its receivables on an ongoing basis and records related allowances for doubtful accounts. Allowances are estimated based upon specific customer and other balances, where a risk of default has been identified, and also include a provision for non-customer specific defaults based upon historical experience. The majority of the Company’s accounts are from customer credit card transactions with minimal historical credit risk. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company has not recorded an allowance for doubtful accounts. If circumstances related to specific customers change, estimates of the recoverability of receivables could also change.

INVENTORIES

Inventories are recorded at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out method) or market, and consist primarily of restaurant food items, supplies, beverages and merchandise.

LEASES

The Company leases certain property under operating leases. The Company also finances certain property using capital leases, with the asset and obligation recorded at an amount equal to the present value of the minimum lease payments during the lease term.

Many of these lease agreements contain rent holidays, rent escalation clauses and/or contingent rent provisions. Rent expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the expected lease term, including cancelable option periods when failure to exercise such options would result in an economic penalty. The Company also may receive tenant improvement allowances in connection with its leases, which are capitalized as leasehold improvements with a corresponding liability recorded in the deferred rent liability line in the consolidated balance sheet. The tenant improvement allowance liability is amortized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The rent commencement date of the lease term is the earlier of the date when the Company becomes legally obligated for the rent payments or the date when the Company takes access to the property or the grounds for build out. Certain leases contain percentage rent provisions where additional rent may become due if the location exceeds certain sales thresholds. The Company recognizes expense related to percentage rent obligations at such time as it becomes probable that the percent rent threshold will be met.

fair value of financial instruments

The Company is required to disclose fair value information about financial instruments when it is practicable to estimate that value. The carrying amounts of the Company’s cash, accounts receivable, other receivables, accounts payable, accrued expenses, other current liabilities, convertible notes payable and notes payable approximate their estimated fair value due to the short-term maturities of these financial instruments and/or because related interest rates offered to the Company approximate current rates.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation and amortization, which includes amortization of assets held under capital leases, are recorded generally using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets or, if shorter, the term of the lease for certain assets held under a capital lease. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of the expected lease term, or the estimated useful lives of the related assets using the straight-line method.

The estimated useful lives used to compute depreciation and amortization are as follow:

The carrying amount of all long-lived assets is evaluated periodically to determine if adjustment to the depreciation and amortization period or the unamortized balance is warranted. Based upon its most recent analysis, the Company believes that no impairment of property and equipment exists at December 31, 2016 and 2015.

Maintenance and repairs are charged to operations when incurred. Betterments and renewals are capitalized. When property and equipment are sold or otherwise disposed of, the asset account and related accumulated depreciation account are relieved, and any gain or loss is included in operations.

Goodwill

The Company reviews goodwill for impairment annually or more frequently if indicators of impairment exist. Goodwill is not subject to amortization and has been assigned to reporting units for purposes of impairment testing. The reporting units are our segments.

A significant amount of judgment is involved in determining if an indicator of impairment has occurred. Such indicators may include, among others: a significant decline in the Company’s expected future cash flows; a sustained, significant decline in our stock price and market capitalization; a significant adverse change in legal factors or in the business climate; unanticipated competition; the testing for recoverability of a significant asset group within a reporting unit; and slower growth rates. Any adverse change in these factors could have a significant impact on the recoverability of these assets and could have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The goodwill impairment test involves a two-step process. The first step is a comparison of each reporting unit’s fair value to its carrying value. The Company estimates fair value using the best information available, including market information and discounted cash flow projections (also referred to as the income approach). The income approach uses a reporting unit’s projection of estimated operating results and cash flows that is discounted using a weighted-average cost of capital that reflects current market conditions. The projection uses management’s best estimates of economic and market conditions over the projected period including growth rates in sales, costs and number of units, estimates of future expected changes in operating margins and cash expenditures. Other significant estimates and assumptions include terminal value growth rates, future estimates of capital expenditures and changes in future working capital requirements. The Company validates its estimates of fair value under the income approach by comparing the values to fair value estimates using a market approach. A market approach estimates fair value by applying cash flow and sales multiples to the reporting unit’s operating performance. The multiples are derived from comparable publicly traded companies with similar operating and investment characteristics of the reporting units.

If the fair value of the reporting unit is higher than its carrying value, goodwill is deemed not to be impaired, and no further testing is required. If the carrying value of the reporting unit is higher than its fair value, there is an indication that impairment may exist and the second step must be performed to measure the amount of impairment loss. The amount of impairment is determined by comparing the implied fair value of reporting unit goodwill to the carrying value of the goodwill in the same manner as if the reporting unit was being acquired in a business combination. Specifically, fair value is allocated to all of the assets and liabilities of the reporting unit, including any unrecognized intangible assets, in a hypothetical analysis that would calculate the implied fair value of goodwill. If the implied fair value of goodwill is less than the recorded goodwill, the Company would record an impairment loss for the difference. The Company’s Hooters Full Service segment has a goodwill balance of approximately $4.5 million assigned to this reporting unit. A significant reduction in future revenues for the Hooters unit could potentially impair goodwill. As of December 31, 2016, goodwill is not impaired at any of our reporting units.

InTANGIBLE ASSETS

Trade Name/Trademark

The fair value of trade name/trademarks are estimated and compared to the carrying value. The Company estimates the fair value of trademarks using the relief-from-royalty method, which requires assumptions related to projected sales from its annual long-range plan; assumed royalty rates that could be payable if the Company did not own the trademarks; and a discount rate. Certain of the Company’s trade name/trademarks have been determined to have a definite-lived life and are being amortized on a straight-line basis over estimated useful lives of 10 years. The amortization expense of these definite-lived intangibles is included in depreciation and amortization in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. Certain of the Company’s trade name/trademarks have been classified as indefinite-lived intangible assets and are not amortized, but instead are reviewed for impairment at least annually or more frequently if indicators of impairment exist.

Franchise Cost

Intangible assets are recorded for the initial franchise fees for our Hooter’s restaurants. The Company amortizes these amounts over a 20-year period, which is the life of the franchise agreement.

DERIVATIVE LIABILITIES

In connection with the issuance of a secured convertible promissory note, the terms of the convertible note included an embedded conversion feature; which provided for the settlement of the convertible promissory note into shares of common stock at a rate, which was determined to be variable. The Company determined that the conversion feature was an embedded derivative instrument pursuant to ASC 815 “Derivatives and Hedging”.

The accounting treatment of derivative financial instruments required that the Company record the conversion option and related warrants at their fair values as of the inception date of the agreements and at fair value as of each subsequent balance sheet date. Any change in fair value was recorded as a change in the fair value of derivative liabilities in the statement of operations. The Company reassesses the classification at each balance sheet date. If the classification changes as a result of events during the period, the contract is reclassified as of the date of the event that caused the reclassification. As of December 31, 2016, the conversion feature expired.

ACQUIRED ASSETS AND ASSUMED LIABILITIES

Pursuant to ASC No. 805-10-25, if the initial accounting for a business combination is incomplete by the end of the reporting period in which the combination occurs, but during the allowed measurement period not to exceed one year from the acquisition date, the company retrospectively adjusts the provisional amounts recognized at the acquisition date by means of adjusting the amount recognized for goodwill.

Income Taxes

Deferred income taxes are provided on the liability method whereby deferred tax assets are recognized for deductible temporary differences and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards and deferred tax liabilities are recognized for taxable temporary differences. Temporary differences are the differences between the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax basis. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are adjusted for the effects of changes in tax laws and rates on the date of enactment. The Company has provided a valuation allowance for the full amount of the deferred tax assets.

As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company had no accrued interest or penalties relating to any income tax obligations. The Company currently has no federal or state examinations in progress, nor has it had any federal or state tax examinations since its inception. The last three years of the Company’s tax years are subject to federal and state tax examination.

Stock-based Compensation

The compensation cost relating to share-based payment transactions (including the cost of all employee stock options) is required to be recognized in the financial statements. That cost is measured based on the estimated fair value of the equity or liability instruments issued. A wide range of share-based compensation arrangements including share options, restricted share plans, performance-based awards, share appreciation rights and employee share purchase plans are included.

LOSS PER COMMON SHARE

The Company is required to report both basic earnings per share, which is based on the weighted-average number of shares outstanding and diluted earnings per share, which is based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding plus all diluted shares outstanding.

The following table summarizes the number of common shares potentially issuable upon the exercise of certain warrants, convertible notes payable and convertible interest as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, which have been excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per common share since the effect would be antidilutive.

ADVERTISING

Advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Advertising expenses which are included in restaurant operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations, totaled $0.7 million and $0.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Advertising expense primarily includes local advertising.

AMORTIZATION OF DEBT DISCOUNT

The Company has issued various debt with warrants and conversion features for which total proceeds were allocated to individual instruments based on the relative fair value of each instrument at the time of issuance. The value of the debt was recorded as discount on debt and amortized over the term of the respective debt. For the year ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 amortization of debt discount was $1.0 million and $2.4 million, respectively.

FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSLATION

Assets and liabilities denominated in local currency are translated to U.S. dollars using the exchange rates as in effect at the balance sheet date. Results of operations are translated using average exchange rates prevailing throughout the period. Adjustments resulting from the process of translating foreign currency financial statements from functional currency into U.S. dollars are included in accumulated other comprehensive loss within stockholders’ equity. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses are included in current earnings. The Company has determined that local currency is the functional currency for each of its foreign operations.

Comprehensive Income (LOSS)

Standards for reporting and displaying comprehensive income (loss) and its components (revenues, expenses, gains and losses) in a full set of general-purpose financial statements requires that all items that are required to be recognized under accounting standards as components of comprehensive income (loss) be reported in a financial statement that is displayed with the same prominence as other financial statements. We are required to (a) classify items of other comprehensive income (loss) by their nature in financial statements, and (b) display the accumulated balance of other comprehensive income (loss) separately in the equity section of the balance sheet for all periods presented. Other comprehensive income (loss) items include foreign currency translation adjustments, and the unrealized gains and losses on our marketable securities classified as held for sale.

concentration of credit risk

The Company maintains its cash with major financial institutions. Cash held in U.S. bank institutions is currently insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) up to $250,000 at each institution. No similar insurance or guarantee exists for cash held in South Africa or the United Kingdom bank accounts. There was approximately $35 thousand and $165 thousand in aggregate uninsured cash balances at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

RECLASSIFICATIONS

Certain reclassifications have been made in the financial statements at December 31, 2015 and for the period then ended to conform to the December 31, 2016 presentation, including the reclassification of discontinued operations. The reclassifications had no effect on net loss.

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” which provides a single, comprehensive accounting model for revenue arising from contracts with customers. This guidance supersedes most of the existing revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. Under this model, revenue is recognized at an amount that a company expects to be entitled to upon transferring control of goods or services to a customer. The new guidance also requires additional disclosures about the nature, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flow arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments. The new guidance will be effective for the Company beginning in calendar 2018 and may be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented or through a cumulative adjustment to the opening retained earnings balance in the year of adoption. The Company is currently evaluating the effect of this update on its consolidated financial statements, but believes it will not have a material impact on operations.

In April 2015, FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03 “Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs” which requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability consistent with the presentation of debt discounts, however debt issuance costs related to revolving credit agreements may be presented in the balance sheet as an asset. This guidance was adopted in the first quarter of 2016 and had no effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-07 “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes” related to the presentation of deferred income taxes. The guidance requires that deferred tax assets and liabilities be classified as non-current in a consolidated balance sheet. This guidance is effective for us in the first quarter of 2017 and is not expected to materially affect the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02 “Leases,” which supersedes ASC 840 “Leases” and creates a new topic, ASC 842 “Leases.” This update requires lessees to recognize a lease liability and a lease asset for all leases, including operating leases, with a term greater than 12 months on its balance sheet. The update also expands the required quantitative and qualitative disclosures surrounding leases. This update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years, with earlier adoption permitted. This update will be applied using a modified retrospective transition approach for leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements. The Company has not completed its evaluation of effect this update will have on its consolidated financial statements, but does expect there could be a material increase in both assets and liabilities reflect on its consolidated balance sheets as a result of adoption.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09 “Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting”. The amendments in this update simplify several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions, including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures and statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as classification in the statement of cash flows. This update will be effective for the Company in fiscal year 2017, but early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the effect of this update on its consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04 “Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment.” The new guidance simplifies the test for goodwill impairment. Currently, the fair value of the reporting unit is compared with the carrying value of the reporting unit (identified as “Step 1”). If the fair value of the reporting unit is lower than its carrying amount then, the implied fair value of goodwill is calculated. If the implied fair value of goodwill is lower than the carrying value of goodwill an impairment is recognized (identified as “Step 2”). The new standard eliminates Step 2 from the impairment test; therefore, a goodwill impairment will be recognized as the difference of the fair value and the carrying value of the reporting unit. The new standard becomes effective on January 1, 2020 with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the effect of this update on its consolidated financial statements.

There are several other new accounting pronouncements issued by FASB, which are not yet effective. Each of these pronouncements has been or will be adopted, as applicable, by the Company. At December 31, 2016, other than the adoption of ASU No. 2016-02 “Leases,” none of these pronouncements are expected to have a material effect on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of the Company.