The
National Restaurant Association (NRA) today announced that
BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) has been named this year’s "Restaurant
Neighbor Award” national winner in the large business category. Each
year, the NRA honors restaurants for outstanding community service.
Three winners are chosen in each state based on business size. In turn,
the national winners are chosen from the state winners, for which the
Company represented the state of California.
"BJ’s is deeply honored to receive this very special recognition from
the NRA," said Jerry Deitchle, Chairman and CEO. "Giving back to the
communities that support our restaurants is something that every team
member at our Company feels very strongly about. Thanks in large part to
the work of our BJ’s Restaurants Foundation, we have the opportunity to
continue to do more good things for more people.”
BJ’s was recognized for its TASC Force (Team Action to Support
Communities) program that supports its team members who volunteer their
time in support of community causes. "I am so pleased to accept this
recognition by the NRA on behalf of our hundreds of team members who
have participated in community service activities across the country,”
said Rob DeLiema, president of BJ’s Restaurants Foundation. "Pulling
weeds at a local park, painting over graffiti, helping to build and
paint a house, supporting a Special Olympics team, assembling playground
equipment, working at a local food bank, taking special needs kids to
the fair and hosting blood drives are just some examples of these
activities. Supporting community causes with our TASC Force teams has
clearly become an essential part of the BJ’s culture.”
"We are proud to honor these exceptional restaurants and community
leaders for their dedicated commitment to enhancing the quality of life
for everyone in their communities,” said National Restaurant Association
President and CEO Dawn Sweeney. "Our industry has a strong foundation
and long history of philanthropy, and works to make a difference in
local communities across the nation. This year’s Restaurant Neighbor
Award winners were selected for their innovative approaches and enormous
efforts.”
BJ's Restaurants, Inc. currently owns and operates 87 casual dining
restaurants under the BJ's Restaurant & Brewery, BJ's Restaurant &
Brewhouse or BJ's Pizza & Grill brand names. BJ's restaurants offer an
innovative and broad menu featuring award-winning, signature deep-dish
pizza complemented with generously portioned salads, appetizers,
sandwiches, soups, pastas, entrées and desserts. Quality, flavor, value,
moderate prices and sincere service remain distinct attributes of the
BJ's experience. The Company operates several microbreweries which
produce and distribute BJ's critically acclaimed handcrafted beers
throughout the chain. The Company's restaurants are located in
California (45), Texas (15), Arizona (5), Colorado (3), Oregon (2),
Nevada (3), Florida (5), Ohio (2), Oklahoma (2), Kentucky (1), Indiana
(1), Louisiana (1) and Washington (2). The Company also has a licensing
interest in a BJ's restaurant in Lahaina, Maui. Visit BJ's Restaurants,
Inc. on the Web at http://www.bjsrestaurants.com.
Certain statements in the preceding paragraphs and all other statements
that are not purely historical constitute "forward-looking” statements
for purposes of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are intended to be covered by the
safe harbors created thereby. Such statements include, but are not
limited to, those regarding expected comparable restaurant sales growth
in future periods, those regarding the effect of new sales-building
initiatives, as well as those regarding the number of restaurants
expected to be opened in future periods and the timing and location of
such openings. These "forward-looking” statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual
results to be materially different from those projected or anticipated.
Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited
to: (i) the effect of recent credit and equity market disruptions on our
ability to finance our continued expansion on acceptable terms, (ii) our
ability to manage an increasing number of new restaurant openings, (iii)
construction delays, (iv) labor shortages, (v) minimum wage increases,
(vi) food quality and health concerns, (vii) factors that impact
California, where 45 of our current 87 restaurants are located, (viii)
restaurant and brewery industry competition, (ix) impact of certain
brewery business considerations, including without limitation,
dependence upon suppliers and related hazards, (x) consumer spending
trends in general for casual dining occasions, (xi) potential uninsured
losses and liabilities, (xii) fluctuating commodity costs and
availability of food in general and certain raw materials related to the
brewing of our handcrafted beers and energy, (xiii) trademark and
servicemark risks, (xiv) government regulations, (xv) licensing costs,
(xvi) beer and liquor regulations, (xvii) loss of key personnel, (xviii)
inability to secure acceptable sites, (xix) limitations on insurance
coverage, (xx) legal proceedings, (xxi) other general economic and
regulatory conditions and requirements, (xxii) the success of our key
sales-building and related operational initiatives and (xxiii) numerous
other matters discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. BJ's Restaurants, Inc. undertakes no obligation to
update or alter its "forward-looking” statements whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise.
