BJ's Restaurants, Inc.
  • BJ's Grill
  • BJ's Pizza & Grill
  • BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery
  • BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
FormerlyBJ's Chicago Pizzeria
TypePublic
Nasdaq: BJRI
S&P 600 component
Industry
GenreCasual dining
Founded1978 (1978) in Santa Ana, California, US
Founders
  • Mike Phillips
  • Bill Cunningham
Headquarters
Huntington Beach, California
,
US
Number of locations
215 (2022)
Area served
United States
Key people
Greg Levin (CEO and president)
ProductsAmerican food
ServicesCatering
RevenueIncrease US$1.195 billion (2021)[1]
IncreaseUS$79.452 million (2021)[1]
IncreaseUS$52.882 million (2021)[1]
Total assetsIncrease US$1.059 billion (FY 2021)[1]
Total equityIncrease US$353.788 million (FY 2021)[1]
Number of employees
23,000 (2021)
Websitewww.bjsrestaurants.com

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. is an American restaurant chain, headquartered in Huntington Beach, California.[2][3] The chain operates under the names BJ's Restaurant & Brewery, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, BJ's Grill, and BJ's Pizza & Grill.

History

A BJ's in Hillsboro, Oregon
A BJ’s Brewhouse Location at Southern Park Mall, Boardman Ohio

BJ's was founded in 1978 and first opened in Santa Ana, California, as BJ's Chicago Pizzeria[4] by Jim Kozen and Leonard Allenstein.[5] The original name was BJ Grunts, but due to a Federal Trademark conflict with RJ Grunts, a Chicago-based hamburger shop, the name was changed.[6] Shortly after the opening of the first restaurant, Mike Phillips and Bill Cunningham bought 50% of the company for $14,000. Kozen and Allenstein left the group after the opening of the 7th store.[7][8] Phillips and Cunningham sold the company to their accountants Paul Motenko and Jerry Hennessy in 1991.[9][8]

By 1996, seven restaurants had opened between San Diego and Los Angeles. Originally known as Chicago Pizza, the company went public in 1996, raising $9.4 million.[10] The company then bought 26 Pietro's Pizza restaurants in March 1996 in a $2.8 million deal in cash and assumed debt, but then sold off seven of the locations with plans to convert the remaining Pietro's to what was then BJ's Pizza.[10] During the same year, the company opened a microbrewery at its Brea restaurant.[11]

Between 2010 and 2011, the National Retail Federation named it one of the 10 fastest-growing restaurants in the U.S. based on year-over-year sales.[12]

In 2013, BJ's produced a combined total of 60,000 barrels annually at their 11 brewery restaurants to serve their chain of 136 restaurants in 15 states.[13] In 2010, the company's BJ's Hefelightzen was awarded a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival.[14] In 2021, Greg Levin was appointed to CEO.[15] As of December 2022, BJ's operated 215 restaurants in 29 states.[16]

Offerings

BJ's menu features pizza, beers, appetizers, entrees, pastas, sandwiches, salads, and desserts (including the signature Pizookie).[17] Some locations feature microbreweries that supply beer to other locations in the chain.[3]

Awards and recognition

At the 2006 Great American Beer Festival, BJ's Big Fish IPA achieved a gold medal within the American-style Strong Pale Ale classification. Its design draws inspiration from the Piranha Pale Ale, which secured a silver medal in 2002. In a similar vein, BJ's Jeremiah Red earned a silver medal in the strong ales category during the same festival in 1996. The Belgian-style wheat beer from BJ's has been honored with a Gold Medal by the North American Beer Awards.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "BJRI Financials". Nasdaq. January 30, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Company Overview of BJ's Restaurants, Inc". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Hampson, Tim (2008). The Beer Book. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 23. ISBN 978-1405333016.
  4. ↑ Alvarado, Jocelyn (September 23, 2012). "Best of Orange County: BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse". Orange County Register.
  5. ↑ Alvarado, Jocelyn (September 23, 2012). "Best of Orange County: BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse". Orange County Register.
  6. ↑ "Casual Dining And Drinks At BJ's Brewery – SanctuaryBrewCo". Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  7. ↑ Jacobson, Max (September 29, 1994). "Restaurants : BJ's Dishes Pizza That Pans Out". Los Angeles Times.
  8. 1 2 Chang, Andrea (May 5, 2010). "BJ's takes a bigger slice of casual-dining market: The Huntington Beach-based chain's vast menu and modest prices are helping it thrive after a tough few years for the restaurant industry". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ↑ Luna, Nancy (December 22, 2008). "BJ's Restaurants co-founders leave pizza chain". Orange County Register.
  10. 1 2 Rose, Michael (November 17, 1996). "BJ's Pizza to revamp Pietro's with breweries, remodeling". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  11. 1 2 Bloom, Earl (January 21, 2013). "BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse". Orange County Register.
  12. ↑ Luna, Nancy (August 2, 2012). "BJ's pizza among 10 fastest-growing chains". The Orange County Register.
  13. ↑ Morgan, Jason (August 16, 2013). "Brewpub Files: BJ's Restaurants crafts brand quality across its restaurants". Craft Brewing Business.
  14. ↑ "BJ's Restaurants Wins Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival". NBC News. September 28, 2010.
  15. ↑ "BJ's names Greg Levin to succeed Gregory Trojan as CEO". Nation's Restaurant News. July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  16. ↑ "BJ'S Restaurants, Inc. news release". BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  17. ↑ "BJ's Restaurants". Forbes. Retrieved April 8, 2020.

Official website Edit this at Wikidata

Wikimedia Commons has media related to BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse.

33°44′05″N 117°59′42″W / 33.734774°N 117.995082°W / 33.734774; -117.995082

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.