Are all BJ’s Restaurant locations closing down? While the company closed some unprofitable locations over the past few years, I’m happy to report that this chain is very much still in business. In fact, the company has announced plans to expand to 425 locations in the coming years and is investing in remodels for older locations.

In this article, my goal is to give you the full story behind BJ’s closing down restaurants. After all, the company has closed certain locations due to poor performance that’s led to rumors that the company could be closing all locations forever. Here are the details on what’s happening with this classic restaurant and brewhouse.

What BJ’s Restaurants Have Closed?

BJ’S Restaurants and Brewhouse have recently been on the news for closing a location in Towson, Maryland but that’s not the only location they’ve been closing so far. Here is a list of the following BJ’s Restaurants that permanently closed:

  • BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse (Jantzen Beach)
  • BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse (Northgate Mall, San Rafael)
  • BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse (Pasadena)
  • BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse (Westfield Century City)

Why are BJ’s Restaurants Closing Down?

BJ’s Restaurants have not disclosed any specific reason as to why they’ve closed some of their restaurants but they did release a statement when they closed their Towson, Maryland location:

“After 8 years in Towson, we have made the decision to close our Towson location on August 27, 2023. The decision to close this restaurant was by no means an easy one. This has been a great BJ’s Restaurant location, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of our community, as well as the dedication of our team over the years. We are working to relocate our team members to our other BJ’s locations in the greater Baltimore area. We have truly enjoyed being part of the Towson community and encourage our guests to visit nearby locations.”

BJ’s is a destination for cocktails.

As for the Jantzen Location which closed down last February 21, 2023, the only reason that was stated in the memo was “changing business needs.”

Meanwhile, no other reason was reported for the closure of the locations in Northgate Mall, Westfield Century City, and Pasadena other than a closure announcement.

How many BJ’s restaurants are there in the US?

According to the official BJ’s website, there are still 215 BJ’s Restaurants and Brewhouse in 30 states. California has the highest number of BJ’s at 59 restaurants followed by Texas with 36.

However, those numbers could grow even more. Despite BJ’s restaurants announcing several closures, they’re also opening more locations in certain areas. For instance, they opened a restaurant in Henrietta, New York. They also opened a new restaurant in San Antonio, Texas and plan to open 3 more in the area. Another BJ’s restaurant opened in Chandler, Arizona last August.

Where is BJ’s restaurant headquarters?

BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse headquarters is located at 7755 Center Avenue Huntington Beach, CA 92647.

Is BJ’s Restaurant Profitable?

If you’re wondering if owning a BJ’s restaurant would be profitable, then the answer is it depends on how much you invested in it. You won’t know how much profit you’re going to get if you don’t have the exact numbers available. There are also several factors that can affect these such as location, the company’s inventory, labor, and many more.

According to Macro Trends, BJ’s restaurants have a profit margin of 1.32%. That number is considered really low because a good and healthy profit margin for a restaurant is considered to be around 10%. This could explain why BJ’s decided to shut down certain unprofitable restaurants.

It’s also difficult to analyze if BJ’s restaurants are profitable because we don’t have publicly available FDD documents that highlights business performance metrics like revenue and profit. BJ’s restaurants do not franchising or licensing opportunities so they haven’t made such financial information open to the public.

Prime Rib at BJ’s Restaurants.

However, if you still wish to do business with them, you can invest in BJ’s restaurants by buying purchasing stock in the company through a brokerage account. The company’s ticker symbol in the NASDAQ Global Market is BJRI. Surprisingly, this stock has been available to the public since 1996.

BJ’s restaurants’ revenue has been on the rise since 2017. There was a dip in 2020 due to the pandemic but they’ve managed to get back on track in 2022 with revenue of $1.284 billion. Their gross profit in the same year is $934 million.

What Does the Future Hold for BJ’s Restaurants? 

At this point, it’s clear that BJ’s Restaurants is not going out of business any time soon. In fact, there are indications of a brighter future on the horizon.

For example, CEO Gregory Levin purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock on August 9th at an average price of $33.05 each, totaling $49,575. After this transaction, Levin holds 92,957 shares worth approximately $3,072,228.85. This purchase was reported in an SEC filing, available on the SEC website. Insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

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The act of a CEO or other insider buying shares of their own company can be interpreted as a positive indicator of company performance, but it’s essential to consider the broader context. When insiders, especially high-ranking executives like the CEO, buy shares, it often signals that they have confidence in the company’s future prospects.

There are also numerous analysts that track the business performance of this company. Many of these analysts have given the company a neutral rating. According to this report from MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.64.

Some recent articles have been published stating that BJ’s could execute a turnaround. One surprised was an increase in the consensus EPS (Earnings Per Share) estimate by 2.1% over the last 30 days. This upward revision in earnings estimate indicates a more optimistic outlook on the company’s performance by analysts, which can be a positive sign for potential investors and is an indicator company could perform better than expected. Historically, stocks with rising earnings estimates have a good track record of outperforming the market in the short to medium term.

Often, the perception of a stock or company can drive its price as much as its actual performance. If the broader market starts to view BJRI more favorably, this could contribute to a rebound. At the end of the day, stock performance doesn’t always match real-world business performance in the short term.

I hope this guide was able to give you an insight on the news surrounding BJ’s Restaurants and Brewhouse. You can take a deep breath knowing that not all locations will closing. In fact, you may see new locations in the coming years.