BJ's Restaurants

Not to be confused with BJ's Wholesale Club.

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.

BJ's Restaurants, Inc.

Headquarters in Huntington Beach, California
Trade name	BJ's Grill BJ's Pizza & Grill BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
Formerly	BJ's Chicago Pizzeria
Company type	Public
Traded as	Nasdaq: BJRI S&P 600 component
Industry	Restaurant microbrewery
Genre	Casual dining
Founded	1978 (47 years ago) (1978), in Santa Ana, California, US
Founders	Jim Kozen Leonard Allenstein
Headquarters	Huntington Beach, California , 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]
Operating income	US$13.759 million (2023)[1]
Net income	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.bjsrestaurants.com

History

A BJ's in Hillsboro, Oregon

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

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

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]