BJ's Restaurants
BJ's Restaurants, Inc. is an American restaurant chain, headquartered in Huntington Beach, California.[2][3] Some locations feature microbreweries that supply beer to other locations in the chain.[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 menu features pizza, its own beers, as well as a selection of appetizers, entrees, pastas, sandwiches, specialty salads and desserts.[4]
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![]() Headquarters in Huntington Beach, California  | |
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| Formerly | BJ's Chicago Pizzeria | 
| 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  | 212 (2021) | 
Area served  | United States | 
Key people  | Greg Levin (CEO and president) | 
| Products | American food | 
| Services | Catering | 
| Revenue | |
| Total assets | |
| Total equity | |
Number of employees  | 23,000 (2021) | 
| Website | bjsrestaurants | 
History
    

BJ's was founded in 1978 and first opened in Santa Ana, California, as BJ's Chicago Pizzeria[5] by Mike Phillips and Bill Cunningham.[6][7] Phillips and Cunningham sold their company to their accountants Paul Motenko and Jerry Hennessy in 1991.[8][7]
By 1996, seven restaurants had opened between San Diego and Los Angeles. Originally known as Chicago Pizza, the company went public about 1996, raising $9.4 million.[9] 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.[9] During the same year, the company opened a microbrewery at its Brea restaurant.[10]
Between 2010 and 2011, the National Retail Federation named it as one of the 10 fastest growing restaurants in the U.S. based on year-over-year sales.[11]
In October 2012, Greg Trojan became president and CEO.[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]
Operations
    
As of April 2019, BJ's operated 210 restaurants in 28 states:[15]
- Alabama
 - Arizona
 - Arkansas
 - California
 - Colorado
 - Connecticut
 - Florida
 - Indiana
 - Kansas
 - Kentucky
 - Louisiana
 - Maryland
 - Massachusetts
 - Michigan
 - Nevada
 - New Jersey
 - New Mexico
 - New York
 - North Carolina
 - Ohio
 - Oklahoma
 - Oregon
 - Pennsylvania
 - Rhode Island
 - South Carolina
 - Tennessee
 - Texas
 - Virginia
 - Washington
 
Awards and recognition
    
Some of the company's beers have been awarded gold and silver medals at various beer brewing competitions throughout the world.[10]
References
    
- "BJRI Financials". Nasdaq. January 30, 2021.
 - "Company Overview of BJ's Restaurants, Inc". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
 - Hampson, Tim (2008). The Beer Book. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 23. ISBN 978-1405333016.
 - "BJ's Restaurants". Forbes. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
 - Alvarado, Jocelyn (September 23, 2012). "Best of Orange County: BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse". Orange County Register.
 - Jacobson, Max (September 29, 1994). "Restaurants : BJ's Dishes Pizza That Pans Out". Los Angeles Times.
 - 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.
 - Luna, Nancy (December 22, 2008). "BJ's Restaurants co-founders leave pizza chain". Orange County Register.
 - Rose, Michael (November 17, 1996). "BJ's Pizza to revamp Pietro's with breweries, remodeling". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
 - 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". The Orange County Register.
 - "BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Announces Incoming President and Upcoming CEO Transition". foodnewsfeed.com. October 31, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
 - 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. September 28, 2010.
 - "BJ'S company snapshot". Fidelity. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
 

