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EXHIBIT 99
December 1, 2000
Dear Shareholder,
Happy Holidays! I want to take this opportunity to provide you with a
status report on our company. There have been many positive events that I want
to share with you. From our inception we have worked diligently to create a
strong operation in St. Cloud. The operation has quickly become the volume
leader in the market and has gained a well-deserved reputation for high quality
food, beer and service. Last week we decorated the restaurant for the holidays
and it looks great. I urge everyone to take a drive to St. Cloud this holiday
season and visit this Winter Wonderland. We have really created a great seasonal
tradition in the restaurant in just our second year.
We recently announced our third quarter results and I was pleased to
report our second straight profitable quarter. This is truly a great
accomplishment since we have only one restaurant to cover the company's entire
overhead. The results demonstrate the strong operations in St. Cloud and the
overall strength of the concept. Our same store sales have shown growth every
week since September.
We are in the final phase of construction of our Sioux Falls restaurant
which will be open this December. We are ahead of schedule and should realize
extra income from this earlier opening. I would like to invite each of you to
visit us in Sioux Falls during these initial weeks of operation. We are
targeting the opening on or about the third week of December. We would like to
be operating for the typically high volume week between Christmas and New Years.
The store looks great and is in a premier location near several new commercial
retailers such as Home Depot, a multi-plex movie theatre, several hotels and
within walking distance to the Empire Mall.
We are also happy to tell you we are finalizing negotiations for our
third restaurant, which will be located in Fargo, North Dakota. We have targeted
an outstanding location in this city, which will give us another excellent site
to operate in. Together with our Sioux Falls and St. Cloud locations the company
has established premier sites for its initial rollout. Once again we will be
located within the major commercial area of the market. In fact, this next site
will be situated at one of Fargo's major intersections at the West Acres Mall,
providing us with excellent accessibility and visibility.
As we continue to work on operations for both the restaurant and
brewery we strive each day to improve our methodology and execution. It is with
this strong dedication to operations that we created an unexpected potential
opportunity for the company. We are in the process of exploring patent
protection for an invention, which could significantly streamline the store
brewing process and reduce development costs. This invention is under the
direction of our Master Brewer and Co-Founder Bill Burdick. We will keep you
informed as to the status of this exciting situation.
Finally, as you know, we have followed a three-phased approach to our
development strategy. This expansion strategy is outlined below:
PHASE ONE: Concept Testing and Refinement
PHASE TWO: Regional Development and National Rollout Model
PHASE THREE: National Rollout
Now that we are firmly entrenched in Phase Two with the opening of our
second restaurant, we are very pleased that we are accomplishing our short-term
goals. We believe the execution of this plan will help
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accomplish our overall strategic business plan for the company by implementing
an organized and professional growth plan which will create quality operations
and facilitate the maximization of shareholder value.
I have included recent information concerning the company for your
review. I am sure you are as pleased with these results as we are.
Have a great holiday season and thank you for you support.
Sincerely,
/s/ Steve Wagenheim
Steve Wagenheim, President
Founders Food & Firkins
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