VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES

The Company consolidates any variable interest entities in which it holds a variable interest and is the primary beneficiary. Generally, a variable interest entity, or VIE, is an entity with one or more of the following characteristics: (a) the total equity investment at risk is not sufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support; (b) as a group the holders of the equity investment at risk lack (i) the ability to make decisions about an entity’s activities through voting or similar rights, (ii) the obligation to absorb the expected losses of the entity, or (iii) the right to receive the expected residual returns of the entity; or (c) the equity investors have voting rights that are not proportional to their economic interests and substantially all of the entity’s activities either involve, or are conducted on behalf of, an investor that has disproportionately few voting rights. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is generally the entity that has (a) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance, and (b) the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits that could potentially be significant to the VIE.

The Company has determined that it is the primary beneficiary of three VIEs and, accordingly, consolidates the financial results of these entities. Following are the required disclosures associated with the Company’s consolidated VIEs:



	June 27, 2020		September 28, 2019
	(in thousands)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	714	$	170
Accounts receivable	127		219
Inventories	33		41
Prepaid and refundable income taxes	254		254
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	7		12
Due from Ark Restaurants Corp. and affiliates (1)	336		392
Fixed assets - net	238		236
Operating lease right-of-use assets - net	2,721		—
Other assets	82		82
Total assets	$	4,512	$	1,406

Accounts payable - trade	$	91	$	65
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	331		440
Current portion of operating lease liabilities	221		—
Operating lease deferred credit	—		(30		)
Operating lease liabilities, less current portion	2,500		—
Notes payable, less current portion	723		—
Total liabilities	3,866		475
Equity of variable interest entities	646		931
Total liabilities and equity	$	4,512	$	1,406


(1)	Amounts Due from and to Ark Restaurants Corp. and affiliates are eliminated upon consolidation.

The liabilities recognized as a result of consolidating these VIEs do not represent additional claims on the Company’s general assets; rather, they represent claims against the specific assets of the consolidated VIEs. Conversely, assets recognized as a result of consolidating these VIEs do not represent additional assets that could be used to satisfy claims against the Company’s general assets.