BOSTON, May 18, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cosi, Inc. (NASDAQ:COSI), the fast casual restaurant company, today announced that it
has received notice from the NASDAQ Stock Market on May 17, 2016, indicating that the Company will have an additional 180-day grace
period, or until November 14, 2016, to regain compliance with NASDAQ’s minimum bid price requirement. In order to regain
compliance, shares of the Company’s common stock must maintain a minimum bid closing price of at least $1.00 per share for a
minimum of ten consecutive business days during the additional grace period. The notification letter has no effect at this
time on the listing of the Company’s common stock on The NASDAQ Capital Market. The Company’s common stock will continue to
trade on The NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “COSI”.
As previously announced, the Company was notified by the Listing Qualifications Department of the NASDAQ Stock
Market on November 18, 2015, that for the last 30 consecutive business days the bid price of the Company’s common stock had
closed below the minimum $1.00 per share required for continued inclusion on The NASDAQ Capital Market under the NASDAQ Listing
Rule 5550(a)(2). Therefore, in accordance with NASDAQ’s Listing Rules, the Company was provided 180 days, or until May 16,
2016, to regain compliance.
If the Company fails to regain compliance during this second grace period, or by November 14, 2016, the
Company's common stock will be subject to delisting by NASDAQ. If the Company does not meet the minimum bid price
requirement during the 180-day grace period, NASDAQ will provide notification to the Company that its common stock will be subject
to delisting. At that time, the Company can ask NASDAQ for a hearing to present a plan to regain compliance.
The Company has provided written notice to NASDAQ of its intention to cure the minimum bid price deficiency
during the second grace period by effecting a reverse stock split if necessary.
About Così, Inc.
Così (http://www.getcosi.com) is an international fast casual restaurant company. At the heart of every Cosi® restaurant is
an open-flame stone-hearth oven where the Così® signature flatbread is made from scratch throughout the day. The
flatbread is made from a generations-old recipe and is part of many Così® favorites. Così® was founded on the
idea that good-for-you food should be delicious. Menu items are made using fresh ingredients and distinctive sauces and
spreads to create edgy flavors. The menu features made-to-order sandwiches, hand-tossed salads, bowls, breakfast wraps,
melts, all natural soups, signature Squagels®, artisan flatbread pizzas, S`mores, snacks and desserts. Guests can
also enjoy handcrafted beverages and a variety of coffee-based and specialty beverages.
Così® employees create a welcoming environment where guests are invited to relax and enjoy great
food. In many cases, Così® is the cornerstone of the communities that they are in and take pride in supporting
community organizations and local charities. There are currently 75 Company-owned and 30 franchise restaurants operating in fifteen
states, the District of Columbia, Costa Rica and the United Arab Emirates.
"Così," "(Sun & Moon Design)" and related marks are registered trademarks of Così, Inc. in the U.S.A. and certain other
countries. Copyright © 2015 Così, Inc. All rights reserved.
"SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995. This press release contains
statements that constitute forward-looking statements under the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements
about future events and expectations and not statements of historical fact. The words "believe," "may," "will," "should,"
"anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "objective," "seek," "plan," "strive," or similar words, or negatives of these words,
identify forward-looking statements. We qualify any forward-looking statements entirely by these cautionary factors.
Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future economic performance,
taking into account the information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties
that may cause our actual results, performance or financial condition to differ materially from the expectations of future results,
performance or financial condition we express or imply in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could contribute to these
differences include, but are not limited to: the results being reported in this release are unaudited and subject to change; the
cost of our principal food products and supply and delivery shortages and interruptions; labor shortages or increased labor costs;
changes in demographic trends and consumer tastes and preferences, including changes resulting from concerns over nutritional or
safety aspects of beef, poultry, produce, or other foods or the effects of food-borne illnesses, such as E. coli, "mad cow disease"
and avian influenza or "bird flu"; competition in our markets, both in our business and in locating suitable restaurant sites; our
operation and execution in new and existing markets; expansion into new markets including foreign markets; our ability to attract
and retain qualified franchisees and our franchisees' ability to open restaurants on a timely basis; our ability to locate suitable
restaurant sites in new and existing markets and negotiate acceptable lease terms; the rate of our internal growth and our ability
to generate increased revenue from our existing restaurants; our ability to generate positive cash flow from existing and new
restaurants; fluctuations in our quarterly results due to seasonality; increased government regulation and our ability to secure
required government approvals and permits; our ability to create customer awareness of our restaurants in new markets; the
reliability of our customer and market studies; cost effective and timely planning, design and build out of restaurants; our
ability to recruit, train and retain qualified corporate and restaurant personnel and management; market saturation due to new
restaurant openings; inadequate protection of our intellectual property; our ability to obtain additional capital and financing;
adverse weather conditions which impact customer traffic at our restaurants; and adverse economic conditions. Further information
regarding factors that could affect our results and the statements made herein are included in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Additional information is available on Così's website at
http://www.getcosi.com in the investor relations section.
CONTACT: Miguel Rossy-Donovan Chief Financial Officer (857) 415-5020 InvestorRelations@getcosi.com