BJ's Restaurants
 | |
 Headquarters in Huntington Beach, California | |
| |
| Formerly | BJ's Chicago Pizzeria |
| Company type | Public |
| Nasdaq: BJRI S&P 600 component | |
| Industry | |
| Genre | Casual dining |
| Founded | 1978, in Santa Ana, California, US |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , US |
Number of locations | 215 (2022) |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Greg Levin (CEO and president) |
| Products | American food |
| Services | Catering |
| Revenue |  US$1.283 billion (2023)[1] |
| US$13.759 million (2023)[1] | |
| US$19.660 million (2023)[1] | |
| Total assets | US$1.058 billion (FY 2023)[1] |
| Total equity | US$365.761 million (FY 2023)[1] |
Number of employees | 21,200 (2021) |
| Website | www |
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
[edit]
BJ's was founded in 1978 by Jim Kozen and Leonard Allenstein.[4] It first opened in Santa Ana, California, as BJ's Chicago Pizzeria.[5] The original name was BJ Grunts, but due to a federal trademark conflict with RJ Grunts, a Chicago-based hamburger restaurant, 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.[citation needed] Kozen and Allenstein left the group after the opening of the seventh 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.[citation needed] 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 US 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[update], BJ's operated 215 restaurants in 29 states.[16]
Offerings
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "BJRI Financials". Nasdaq. January 30, 2021.
- ^ "Company Overview of BJ's Restaurants, Inc". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Hampson, Tim (2008). The Beer Book. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 23. ISBN 978-1405333016.
- ^ Alvarado, Jocelyn (September 23, 2012). "Best of Orange County: BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse". Orange County Register.
- ^ Alvarado, Jocelyn (September 23, 2012). "Best of Orange County: BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse". Orange County Register.
- ^ "Casual Dining And Drinks At BJ's Brewery". SanctuaryBrewCo. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ^ Jacobson, Max (September 29, 1994). "Restaurants : BJ's Dishes Pizza That Pans Out". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b Chang, Andrea (May 5, 2010). "BJ's takes a bigger slice of casual-dining market". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Luna, Nancy (December 22, 2008). "BJ's Restaurants co-founders leave pizza chain". Orange County Register.
- ^ a b Rose, Michael (November 17, 1996). "BJ's Pizza to revamp Pietro's with breweries, remodeling". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- ^ a b Bloom, Earl (January 21, 2013). "BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse". Orange County Register.
- ^ Luna, Nancy (August 2, 2012). "BJ's pizza among 10 fastest-growing chains". Orange County Register.
- ^ Morgan, Jason (August 16, 2013). "Brewpub Files: BJ's Restaurants crafts brand quality across its restaurants". Craft Brewing Business.
- ^ "BJ's Restaurants Wins Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival". NBC News (Press release). September 28, 2010.
- ^ "BJ's names Greg Levin to succeed Gregory Trojan as CEO". Nation's Restaurant News. July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
- ^ "BJ's Restaurants, Inc. to Participate at the 2022 Stephens Annual Investment Conference". investors.bjsrestaurants.com (Press release). BJ's Restaurants, Inc. November 2, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
- ^ "BJ's Restaurants". Forbes. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
External links
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