UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549 

FORM 8-K 
CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 6, 2023 (November 1, 2023)

THE CHEFS’ WAREHOUSE, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter) 

100 East Ridge Road,

Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(203) 894-1345

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code

______________________________________________

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report) 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On November 6, 2023, The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into a tenth amendment (the “Tenth Amendment”) to its senior secured term loan credit agreement, dated as of June 22, 2016 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified prior to the date of the Tenth Amendment, the “Existing Credit Agreement”), by and among the Company, Chefs’ Warehouse Parent, LLC, as borrower (“CW Parent”), Dairyland USA Corporation, as borrower (“Dairyland”, and together with CW Parent, the “Borrowers”), certain other subsidiaries of the Company, as guarantors, the lenders party thereto and Jefferies Finance LLC, as administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”), which amends the negative covenants pertaining to restricted payments to permit share buybacks with respect to equity interests in the Company in an aggregate amount not exceeding $100,000,000 subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions specified therein.

The Company has customary corporate and commercial banking relationships with the lenders, the administrative agent and their affiliates.

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On November 1, 2023, the Company announced that the Company’s board of directors authorized a two-year share repurchase program in an amount up to $100 million. The Company announced that they are targeting $25 million to $100 million of share repurchases by the end of 2025.

The information contained herein is being furnished pursuant to Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K, “Regulation FD Disclosure.” This information shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing. The furnishing of this information will not be deemed an admission as to the materiality of any information contained herein.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this report regarding the Company business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations and management estimates; actual results may differ materially. The risks and uncertainties which could impact these statements include, but are not limited to the following: our sensitivity to general economic conditions, including disposable income levels and changes in consumer discretionary spending; our ability to expand our operations in our existing markets and to penetrate new markets through acquisitions; we may not achieve the benefits expected from our acquisitions, which could adversely impact our business and operating results; we may have difficulty managing and facilitating our future growth; conditions beyond our control could materially affect the cost and/or availability of our specialty food products or center-of-the-plate products and/or interrupt our distribution network; our distribution of center-of-the-plate products, like meat, poultry and seafood, involves exposure to price volatility experienced by those products; our business is a low-margin business and our profit margins may be sensitive to inflationary and deflationary pressures; because our food service distribution operations are concentrated in certain culinary markets, we are susceptible to economic and other developments, including adverse weather conditions, in these areas; fuel cost volatility may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations; our ability to raise capital in the future may be limited; we may be unable to obtain debt or other financing, including financing necessary to execute on our acquisition strategy, on favorable terms or at all; interest charged on our outstanding debt may be adversely affected by changes in the method of determining the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”); our business operations and future development could be significantly disrupted if we lose key members of our management team; and significant public health epidemics or pandemics, including COVID-19, may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date made. A more detailed description of these and other risk factors is contained in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 28, 2023, and other reports filed by the Company with the SEC since that date. The Company is not undertaking to update any information until required by applicable laws. Any projections of future results of operations are based on a number of assumptions, many of which are outside the Company’s control and should not be construed in any manner as a guarantee that such results will in fact occur. These projections are subject to change and could differ materially from final reported results. The Company may from time to time update these publicly announced projections, but it is not obligated to do so.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date:   November 6, 2023