Buffalo Grill
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Buffalo Grill is an American-themed
steakhouse A steakhouse, steak house, or chophouse refers to a restaurant that specializes in steaks and chops, found mainly in North America. Modern steakhouses may also carry other cuts of meat including poultry, roast prime rib, and veal, as well as ...
chain headquartered in Montrouge, France. Outlets are primarily sited in
retail park A retail park is a type of shopping centre found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in the United Kingdom and other European countries. They form a key aspect of European retail geographies, alongside indoor shopping centres, standal ...
s and medium-sized city outskirt locations. Buffalo Grill is France's largest themed restaurant chain (as measured by sales and locations) with 360 locations in 3 countries (
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, Switzerland and
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
). The majority of the locations are in France. Buffalo Grill serves about 31 million meals per year and reached over €557 million of sales in 2017. Buffalo Grill has been chosen as the favorite restaurant brand by the French three times, most recently in 2018. The award is based on a study by
Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewat ...
in which a panel of 8,500 consumers chose Buffalo Grill as the best brand.


History

Buffalo Grill was founded in September 1980 by Christian Picart. The first location opened in Avrainville,
Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Annecy. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the chain continued its expansion in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. By the end of 1995, the chain offered over 140 outlets, with 38 as
franchises Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television ...
. In 1997, it opened 3 restaurants in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and one in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, followed by other outlets in Spain, two in
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
and one in Switzerland. In 1999, the group went public on the Paris Stock Exchange. In 2005, the company was sold to
Colony Capital DigitalBridge Group, Inc. is a global digital infrastructure investment firm. The company owns, invests in and operates businesses such as cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Digita ...
which acquired a majority stake (83%). Three years later, Buffalo Grill was sold to Abenex & Nixen Partners. In 2017, private equity fund TDR Capital LLP acquired the company, a value estimated at around €400 million. As of July 2019, Buffalo Grill reported it had 360 outlets (including 100 franchises), with over 5,000 employees. In 2020 the last Luxemburg location has been close
RTL Today news from 14.02.2019


Operations

About two-thirds of Buffalo Grill outlets are company-owned and the rest are operated by franchise holders. The company has its headquarters at 9, Boulevard du Général de Gaulle,
Montrouge Montrouge () is a commune in the southern Parisian suburbs, located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. After a long period of decline, the population has increased again in recent years. ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. In April 2018, Ivan Schofield (non executive director) and Jocelyn Olive (chairman) began running the company.


Controversies


British beef

In December 2001, Buffalo Grill allegations emerged that the chain had sold British beef, banned in Germany due to fears of
BSE BSE may refer to: Medicine * Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, a neurodegenerative disease of cattle * Breast self-examination Stock exchanges * Bahrain Stock Exchange, Bahrain * Baku Stock Exchange, Azerbaijan * B ...
contamination, between 1997 and 2000. In October 2003, manslaughter charges against the firm's executives were dismissed in respect of two vCJD sufferers, who claimed to have caught the disease from the firm's beef. Two employees spent three months in prison prior to their acquittal. After more than 15 years of investigation, the case was dismissed. The firm's sales suffered considerably due to the scandal, but by 2004 were on the rise again.


Illegal employees

On June 4, 2007, it was reportedLeMonde.fr : « Nos patrons menaçaient de nous livrer à la police »
/ref> that approximately 15% of Buffalo Grill's employees were foreign. A significant number, mostly from Africa, had illegal immigrant status in France. The chain's management was accused of slave-like working conditions, threats and disobeying state
labour laws Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...
by some of its former employees, who occupied a restaurant in
Viry-Châtillon Viry-Châtillon () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Population Inhabitants of Viry-Châtillon are known as ''Castelvirois'' in French. Sports The town is home to the women's f ...
(Essonne in the outskirts of Paris).


References


External links


www.buffalo-grill.be

www.buffalo-grill.es

www.buffalo-grill.fr
{{Authority control Restaurants in France Steakhouses Restaurant chains in France