BJ's Restaurants

File:BJs front close - Hillsboro, Oregon.JPG]]

File:BJ’s Brewhouse; Southern Park Mall; Boardman OH.jpg in Boardman, Ohio]]

BJ's was founded in 1978 by Jim Kozen and Leonard Allenstein.{{cite news |last=Alvarado |first=Jocelyn |date=September 23, 2012 |title=Best of Orange County: BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse |newspaper=Orange County Register |url=http://www.ocregister.com/2012/09/23/bjs-restaurant-brewhouse/}} It first opened in Santa Ana, California, as BJ's Chicago Pizzeria.{{cite news |url= http://www.ocregister.com/2012/09/23/bjs-restaurant-brewhouse/ |title=Best of Orange County: BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse |newspaper= Orange County Register |date=September 23, 2012 |first=Jocelyn |last=Alvarado}} 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.{{Cite web |title=Casual Dining And Drinks At BJ's Brewery |publisher= SanctuaryBrewCo |url=https://www.sanctuarybrewco.com/casual-dining-and-drinks-at-bjs-brewery |access-date=2022-10-05 |language=en-US}} Shortly after the opening of the first restaurant, Mike Phillips and Bill Cunningham bought 50% of the company for $14,000.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}} Kozen and Allenstein left the group after the opening of the seventh store.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-29-ol-44225-story.html |title=Restaurants : BJ's Dishes Pizza That Pans Out |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=September 29, 1994 |first=Max |last= Jacobson}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-may-05-la-fi-bjs-restaurants-20100505-story.html |title= BJ's takes a bigger slice of casual-dining market |newspaper= Los Angeles Times |date=May 5, 2010 |first=Andrea |last=Chang}} Phillips and Cunningham sold the company to their accountants Paul Motenko and Jerry Hennessy in 1991.{{cite news |url= http://www.ocregister.com/2008/12/22/bjs-restaurants-co-founders-leave-pizza-chain/ |title=BJ's Restaurants co-founders leave pizza chain |newspaper=Orange County Register |date=December 22, 2008 |first= Nancy |last= Luna| access-date= }}

By 1996, seven restaurants had opened between San Diego and Los Angeles.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}} Originally known as Chicago Pizza, the company went public in 1996, raising $9.4 million.{{cite news |last=Rose |first=Michael |title=BJ's Pizza to revamp Pietro's with breweries, remodeling |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/1996/11/18/story6.html?page=all |access-date=March 15, 2013 |newspaper=Portland Business Journal |date=November 17, 1996}} 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.{{cite news |url= https://www.ocregister.com/2013/01/21/bjs-restaurant-and-brewhouse-2/ |title=BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse |newspaper= Orange County Register |date=January 21, 2013 |first=Earl |last=Bloom}}

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.{{cite news |last=Luna |first=Nancy |title=BJ's pizza among 10 fastest-growing chains |newspaper=Orange County Register |date=August 2, 2012 |url=http://www.ocregister.com/2012/08/01/bjs-pizza-among-10-fastest-growing-chains-2/}}

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.{{cite news |url=https://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/business-marketing/brewpub-files-bjs-restaurants-crafts-brand-quality-across-restaurants/ |title=Brewpub Files: BJ's Restaurants crafts brand quality across its restaurants |website=Craft Brewing Business |date=August 16, 2013 |first=Jason |last=Morgan}} In 2010, the company's BJ's Hefelightzen was awarded a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival.{{cite press release |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna39403932 |title=BJ's Restaurants Wins Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival |website= NBC News|date=September 28, 2010 |author=}} In 2021, Greg Levin was appointed to CEO.{{Cite web |date=2021-07-06 |title=BJ's names Greg Levin to succeed Gregory Trojan as CEO |url=https://www.nrn.com/casual-dining/bj-s-names-greg-levin-succeed-gregory-trojan-ceo |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=Nation's Restaurant News |language=en}} {{As of|2022|12}}, BJ's operated 215 restaurants in 29 states.{{cite press release |title= BJ's Restaurants, Inc. to Participate at the 2022 Stephens Annual Investment Conference| date= November 2, 2022 |url= https://investors.bjsrestaurants.com/news/news-details/2022/BJs-Restaurants-Inc.-to-Participate-at-the-2022-Stephens-Annual-Investment-Conference/default.aspx | website= investors.bjsrestaurants.com |publisher=BJ's Restaurants, Inc. |access-date= June 18, 2024}}

BJ's menu features pizza, beers, appetizers, entrees, pastas, sandwiches, salads, and desserts (including the signature Pizookie).{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/companies/bjs-restaurants/|title=BJ's Restaurants|website=Forbes|access-date=2020-04-08}} Some locations feature microbreweries that supply beer to other locations in the chain.

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.

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Category:1978 establishments in California

Category:Restaurants in California

Category:Companies listed on the Nasdaq

Category:Restaurants established in 1978

Category:Restaurant chains in the United States

Category:Companies based in Huntington Beach, California

Category:American companies established in 1978