BJ's Restaurants, Inc. is an American restaurant chain, headquartered in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of ...

. The chain operates under the names BJ's Restaurant & Brewery, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, BJ's Grill, and BJ's Pizza & Grill.

History

BJ's was founded in 1978 by Jim Kozen and Leonard Allenstein. It first opened in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

, as BJ's Chicago Pizzeria. 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. 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 seventh store. Phillips and Cunningham sold the company to their accountants Paul Motenko and Jerry Hennessy in 1991. By 1996, seven restaurants had opened between

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and Los Angeles. Originally known as Chicago Pizza, the company went public in 1996, raising $9.4 million. 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. During the same year, the company opened a microbrewery at its Brea restaurant. Between 2010 and 2011, the

National Retail Federation The National Retail Federation (NRF) is the world's largest retail trade association. Its members include department stores, catalog, Internet, and independent retailers, restaurants, grocery stores, multi-level marketing companies and vendors. ...

named it one of the 10 fastest-growing restaurants in the US based on year-over-year sales. 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. In 2010, the company's BJ's Hefelightzen was awarded a gold medal at the

Great American Beer Festival The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual beer festival hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado. Typically held in late September or early October, the event is currently held at Denver's Colorado Convention Cente ...

. In 2021, Greg Levin was appointed to CEO. , BJ's operated 215 restaurants in 29 states.

Offerings

BJ's menu features pizza, beers, appetizers, entrees, pastas, sandwiches, salads, and desserts (including the signature

Pizookie A skillet cookie or pizookie is a dessert made from a large cookie, prepared in a skillet and served warm, usually topped with vanilla ice cream. Description Skillet cookies are usually served warm, often topped with ice cream and/or syrup, an ...

). Some locations feature

microbreweries Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

that supply beer to other locations in the chain.

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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bj's Restaurant and Brewhouse 1978 establishments in California Restaurants in California Companies listed on the Nasdaq Restaurants established in 1978 Restaurant chains in the United States Companies based in Huntington Beach, California American companies established in 1978