BJ's Restaurants, Inc. BJRI recently opened a restaurant in Columbus, OH, under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse brand. This marks the company’s third restaurant in Columbus and the seventh opening so far this year.
Located at the new specialty retail center Easton Gateway, the restaurant is spread across an area of approximately 7,500 square feet. This new restaurant can accommodate roughly 225 guests. Its extensive menu includes BJ's signature deep-dish pizza, handcrafted beer and the famous Pizookie dessert.
Among the casual dining chains, BJ’s Restaurants is one of the few that have been expanding even amid a sluggish economy. With the resurgence of consumer confidence, management accelerated its unit openings and expects to maintain the trend. With this opening, the company moves a step closer to its target of 15 restaurant openings this year.
The next three restaurants are scheduled to be opened in Alabama, Florida and Tennessee, which is expected to next month. With capacity growth, the company is gaining scale advantage as well, which will help generate cost efficiency.
Meanwhile, BJ’s Restaurants is focusing more on its smaller new 7,400-7,500 square foot prototype restaurants that cost approximately $1 million lesser than the prior prototype. This helps in reducing operating costs amid a tepid economy.
Due to lesser food wastage and improved labor productivity, these restaurants generate higher margins. Given its operational efficiency and launch of new higher return restaurant prototypes, the company’s margins are likely to increase.
BJ’s Restaurants has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other stocks that can be considered in the restaurant industry are Zoe's Kitchen, Inc. ZOES, Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. PLAY and Bravo Brio Restaurant Group, Inc. BBRG. While Zoe's Kitchen and Dave & Buster's Entertainment sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Bravo Brio carries a Zacks Rank #2.
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