Revenues for Shells continued to significantly decline in the second quarter of 2008, as the operating environment across our Florida markets has seen further erosion due to the deteriorating general economic climate. Driven by declining guest traffic, our revenues for the second quarter were 22.0% below the comparable period last year. Our comparable restaurant sales declined 18.1%. Consumer behavior, particularly relative to dining out decisions, continues to be influenced by the worsening of the state economy, which is fueled by rising gas prices and its effect on cost of living, and weakness in the housing market.
In addition to the effect of significantly declining sales, many areas of operating costs have increased. As a derivative of rising energy costs, food commodity costs have risen sharply, which affects in various degrees the costs of most products we serve. As an ongoing cost of doing business in Florida, we remain challenged by the annual increase in the Florida minimum wage and a continuing trend of increasing energy costs. We continue to aggressively focus on minimizing our resulting loss in operating leverage through tightened control over our operating and overhead costs.
Our most critical challenge continues to be reversing the negative trend in guest traffic and rebuilding consumer acceptance of the Shells brand. We introduced our new menu in early July, which not only broadened our menu offerings, but also delivered a much more compelling price proposition to our guests. We re-deployed and added restaurant labor costs in the form of incentives to better promote the new menu and accelerate guest awareness of its value offerings. We also converted a Shells restaurant in Pembroke Pines, Florida, which re-opened on August 1, 2008, as our newly branded concept, Rock Beach Grill. This new brand also conveys value through very favorable price points, while delivering a more vibrant, upbeat dining environment.
We are committed to continually seeking new avenues to win over guests by offering great food at significant value. We believe the appropriate strategy for overcoming the increasingly difficult operating environment is by delivering compelling dining experiences to our guests in both food and service, which will ultimately better position our company for the turn around toward future long-term success.
