Food chain blames lagging profits on the Pope

Cosi, the “fast casual” chain known for its flatbread, reported its third-quarter earnings today, and the results weren’t pretty: sales for the quarter fell 0.3% compared to a year ago, and sales for the last four weeks fell 4.5% relative to last year. Of course, Cosi—many of whose locations are in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington D.C., CNBC reports—might have a built-in excuse for the disappointing numbers. The Pope was in town!

Well, at least that’s what their press release purported:

Business interruptions resulting from the Pope’s visit on September 22–26, 2015 negatively impacted 30% of our Company-owned restaurants. The estimated impact to the 4 Weeks Ended September 28, 2015, and the 13 Weeks Ended September 28, 2015, on comparable restaurant sales of Company-owned locations has been estimated to be -0.9% and -0.3%, respectively.

Thanks a lot, Pope.

Michael Rosen is a reporter for Fusion based out of Oakland.