Baja Fresh

Baja Fresh
Industry Restaurant
Founded August 1990 (1990-08)
Newbury Park, California, U.S.
Founder Jim Magglos and Linda Magglos
Headquarters Scottsdale, Arizona[1], U.S. (2016–present)
Number of locations
 162 (September 2016)[1]
Area served
  • United States
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Singapore
Key people
 David Rink (CEO and president)[2]
Products Mexican-style fast casual food
Owner MTY Food Group
Parent BF Acquisition Holdings
Website http://www.bajafresh.com/

Baja Fresh is a chain of fast-casual Tex Mex restaurants founded in Newbury Park, California in 1990 and headquartered in Irvine, California.[3] The chain emphasizes fresh ingredients, and each restaurant features a self-serve salsa bar.

The chain does business as Fresh Holdings, LLC,[4] and is owned by Canadian franchisor MTY Food Group.[1]

At the time of its acquisition by MTY in 2016, the chain operated 162 restaurants in the United States, Dubai, and Singapore, most of which are franchised.[1]

History

Baja Fresh's former logo, used until 1997.
Baja Fresh's former logo, used from 1997 to 2010.
A Baja Fresh restaurant on Sunset Boulevard at Hollywood, California in 2008.

1990s

In 1990, Jim and Linda Magglos took out a third mortgage on their home[5] and opened the first Baja Fresh in Newbury Park, California in the Conejo Valley. Franchising began in 1995,[5] and the chain had expanded to 31 outlets by 1997.[6] In 1998, the Magglos worked with Greg Dollarhyde and Pete Siracusa, who recapitalized the parent company, acquired venture capital and bought shares from outside holders to take control of Baja Fresh.[5][7] Dollarhyde became CEO with Siracusa as Chairman and Magglos as President, they then grew the chain from 45 locations in 1998 to 249 stores.[8]

2000s

In 2002, Wendy's International purchased Baja Fresh for $275 million.[9] As a wholly owned subsidiary of Wendy's, the 249 restaurant chain[10] saw consistently declining same store sales.[10] In 2006, Wendy's sold the roughly 300-location Baja Fresh chain for $31 million to BF Acquisition Holdings, a private investor consortium that operates other restaurants, including Sweet Factory, La Salsa, Cinnabon and Denny's.[11] At the time of the firm's acquisition by BF Acquisition Holdings in 2006, Baja Fresh had 144 company-owned and 154 franchised locations located in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington as well as the District of Columbia.[12] The consortium was led by David Kim, who took on the role of CEO,[10] and appeared on Season 2 episode 20 of the reality tv series Undercover Boss.[13]

In 2009, Baja Fresh moved its corporate headquarters from Thousand Oaks to Cypress, California,[6] and closed all locations in central Ohio.[14]

2010s

Between 2009 and 2010, the chain closed stores in Berkeley, Pasadena and Torrance, California. When chain open its first international location in Dubai in 2010, the chain also had 255 restaurants in 28 U.S. states.[15]

In late 2011, the company moved its main corporate office from Cypress to Irvine. In early 2012, the chain closed its store in Newbury Park, California although this was a different location in Newbury Park than the original site of the first Baja Fresh.[16] On April 12, 2013 Baja Fresh closed all 5 locations in Phoenix, Arizona without notice.[17]

On April 5, 2012, David Kim stepped down from his position as company CEO. His position was assumed by company president Chuck Rink, who began to hold both titles.[2]

Five Phoenix-area locations were closed by a franchise operator in 2013.[18]

In September 2016, it was announced that Baja Fresh's parent, BF Acquisition Holdings, was sold to MTY Food Group for $27 million.[1] At the time of the acquisition by MTY, Baja Fresh had 162 restaurants and its sister company La Salsa had 23 restaurant with 16 of the combined 185 locations were franchised.[1] It is unclear if the new owner would combined the two chains or keep them separate.

International Expansion

The first location outside of the United States was open inside the Dubai Mall in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in 2010 by franchise owner Vetra Investments.[15] By the end of 2011, two additional locations were opened in Dubai at the Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre plus another location in Sharjah by the same franchisee.[19] A fifth UAE location was opened at Mirdiff City Centre in Dubai in 2014.[20] By the end of 2015, the lone location in Sharjah and the locations at the Dubai Mall and the Deira City Centre in Dubai were closed and replaced by new location in the Yas Mall in Dubai.[21] In August 2016, Vetra opened a food truck in Dubai.[22]

The first location in East Asia opened in Singapore in 2012 by franchisee Gloria Foods Pte. Ltd.[23] A second location was opened in Singapore in 2015.[24]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Luna, Nancy (2016-09-12). "Irvine owner of Baja Fresh sold for $27 million to restaurant company tied to Pinkberry". ocregister.com. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  2. 1 2 "Chuck Rink Appointed Chief Executive Officer of Baja Fresh® Mexican Grill". Business Wire (Press release). April 5, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-04-10. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Contact Us". Baja Fresh. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  4. ↑ "California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control License Query System Summary". California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  5. 1 2 3 Axelson, Barb (November 1, 2001). "Hurry Up & Relax Fast Casual is Booming". Restaurant Hospitality. (subscription required (help)).
  6. 1 2 Hoops, Stephanie (March 25, 2009). "Baja Fresh company leaves Thousand Oaks: Corporate operations are now in Orange County". Ventura County Star.
  7. ↑ Woo, Ken (December 3, 1998). "Investor Group to Take Control of Baja Fresh". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ↑ "Fresh Enterprises Inc. History". Funding Universe.
  9. ↑ "Wendy's diversifies with purchase of Baja Fresh". USA Today. May 31, 2002.
  10. 1 2 3 Jennings, Lisa (December 18, 2006). "Baja Fresh buyers look to inject new life into struggling chain" (PDF). Restaurant News – via QSR Consulting Group.
  11. ↑ "Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. :: News Release". Wendy’s/Arby’s Group (Press release). 2006-11-28. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
  12. ↑ "Baja Fresh Opens New Restaurant in Camarillo, California". PR Newswire (Press release). January 11, 2007.
  13. ↑ "Undercover Boss: Baja Fresh CEO Invests in the American Dream". CBS News. 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  14. ↑ Chronister, Bill (July 21, 2009). "Central Ohio bids adios to Baja Fresh locations". The Columbus Dispatch.
  15. 1 2 "Quick-Causal Fresh Mexican Chain to Open in Dubai's World Famous Burj Khalifa". Franchising.com (Press release). January 22, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Baja Fresh Newbury Park Location Closed as of Tuesday, January 10th". Conejo Valley Guide. January 11, 2012.
  17. ↑ Gallen, Tim (April 12, 2013). "Baja Fresh closing all Phoenix-area locations". Phoenix Business Journal.
  18. ↑ Hahnefeld, Laura (April 12, 2013). "CLOSED: Every Baja Fresh in the Valley After Today". Phoenix New Times.
  19. ↑ "Welcome to BajaFreshUAE.com". Vetra Investments. Archived from the original on 2011-12-05.
  20. ↑ "Welcome to BajaFreshUAE.com". Vetra Investments. Archived from the original on 2014-12-16.
  21. ↑ "Welcome to BajaFreshUAE.com". Vetra Investments. Archived from the original on 2015-12-04.
  22. ↑ "Meals on Wheels: Food Truck Park 'Last Exit' opens in Dubai: Hosts more than 10 gourmet food trucks and convenience stores". Emirates 24/7. August 1, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Baja Fresh opens in Singapore". Fast Casual. March 19, 2012.
  24. ↑ "Free Burrito Day at Baja Fresh". The Straits Times. April 27, 2015.

External links

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