SHAKEY’s Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc. announced that it opened its first Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken & Sauce Bar drive-thru store in Cavite.

“In a span of 2 years since our acquisition in 2019, we have more than doubled Peri’s network and successfully delighted many guests. As we move forward in pursuit of sustainable growth, we will continue to leverage our strength in building innovative store formats and wow our guests with great experiences,” President and Chief Executive Officer Vicente L. Gregorio said in a statement on Monday.

The new branch is designed as a “green and inclusive community store.” It was constructed with eco-friendly paints made from natural pigments with sunblock technology, solar-powered lights, and a homegrown culinary garden.

Marketed as a ‘fly-thru’ store, the branch marks the 54th outlet of Peri-Peri, which is Shakey’s second-largest restaurant chain.

“We are aggressively expanding our store footprint in anticipation of the Philippine reopening. We are already seeing a resurgence in dine in but also believe that certain guest preferences will remain. Prioritizing convenience and safety is one of them. Thus, we are building stores that are flexible and can cater to both on- and off-premise dining,” Mr. Gregorio said.

“The challenges that we hurdled during this pandemic were gargantuan, so the solutions needed to be of greater proportions. We’ve made structural changes and strategic pivots in the past 2 years, all of which enable us to build innovative yet cost efficient and profitable store formats that deliver fast payback,” he added.

Shakey’s said it would continue to roll out its store expansion program in 2022.

In 2021, it relaunched Project Pie, an artisan pizza chain known for its build-your-own pizzas; and acquired Potato Corner, a food kiosk brand primarily known for its flavored fries.

In early March, Shakey’s announced that it opened its first outlet in Lucky Plaza Mall along Orchard Road, Singapore. The store was franchised to Brenrich Pte. Ltd., a food court operator in Singapore, under a seven-year franchise agreement forged in 2021.

In the third quarter of 2021, the company reported an attributable net loss of P49.3 million from a loss of P172 million the year before.

From January to September, the company narrowed its attributable net loss to P35.3 million from a loss of P462 million in 2020.

At the stock exchange on Monday, Shakey’s shares dropped 0.62% or P0.05 to P7.95. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson