BJ’s Restaurants may have found something with its Pizookie Meal Deal.
Customers flocked to the brewpub chain for the $13 value meal in the last quarter of 2024, driving same-store sales up 5.5% year over year. Executives said the growth came primarily from higher traffic. It was BJ’s best same-store sales result in nearly two years.
The meal, launched in September, features a choice of entree, a side and a Pizookie—BJ’s signature ice cream-topped-cookie dessert. It’s available Monday through Friday for a limited time.
“We like what we're seeing in the Pizookie Meal Deal. We like the traffic that it's motivating,” said BJ’s President Lyle Tick during an earnings call on Thursday.
The meal is one of a number of value bundles being offered by casual-dining chains as they go after inflation-weary customers. And it comes at a moment of transition for BJ’s, which has new leadership in Tick and interim CEO Brad Richmond, who are laying out a fresh vision for the chain after a few years of subpar performance.
Tick detailed that vision for the first time Thursday, breaking it down into four priorities: employee experience, food and beverage, hospitality, and atmosphere. Here’s a look at what BJ’s has planned for each of those areas.
Employee experience
BJ’s is investing in simplification and training. For instance, it has a team analyzing all the tasks that workers are responsible for and identifying ones that could be eliminated or automated.
It’s also looking at streamlining processes such as how items are rung into the POS. It recently simplified how its craft margaritas are entered and saw a 20% decrease in mistakes as a result.
On training, the chain is looking to return to more “shoulder-to-shoulder” training after shifting to an almost entirely digital regimen since the pandemic. A new program is lighter on digital modules and gets to the in-person training faster.
Tick said the new process is already helping with hiring and retention. “Our new team members get buddied up from the beginning and more quickly feel part of our community and are executing better for our guests,” he said.
Food and beverage
On the menu, BJ’s plans to focus on three core items: Pizza, Pizookies and its craft beer program. Recent customer surveys showed that there is room for improvement on these items, and they will be an immediate point of emphasis for BJ’s.
At the same time, the chain will look to cut less-profitable items from the menu. That effort follows a roughly 10% menu reduction last year.
Losing some items will help simplify BJ’s operations while also creating room for menu innovation, Tick said.
Hospitality
BJ’s prides itself on what it calls “wow” hospitality, and it wants to be able to deliver that more consistently.
A large part of that will have to do with restaurants staffing correctly to meet demand. BJ’s has been using an AI model to forecast sales and help with labor scheduling, and it sees more opportunity to improve there, Tick said. Better staffing and simpler operations should help employees provide better service, he said.
The focus on hospitality will also extend to BJ’s off-premise business, which accounts for about 17% of its sales. Tick said there’s a need to improve the entire to-go journey, from merchandising to ordering and fulfillment, though he did not go into detail.
Atmosphere
In an effort to keep its restaurants fresh, BJ’s will remodel up to 30 locations this year in a continuation of its successful remodel program.
However, it is pumping the brakes on new restaurant openings this year. The chain has a new strategy about where it will open restaurants, and some of its planned sites were dropped as a result. It expects to open just one new restaurant this year but will return to building its pipeline in 2026, Richmond said. BJ’s opened three restaurants in 2024.
The strategic shift at BJ’s comes after a pair of activist investors began pushing for changes at the 218-unit chain early last year. In August, former CEO Greg Levin stepped down and was replaced by Richmond. The Darden Restaurants veteran had previously been added to BJ's board at the activists’ bidding.
And in January, BJ’s struck a cooperation agreement with influential investor Act III Holdings that will give Act III a supporting role in the direction of the chain. Act III is owned by former Panera Bread CEO Ron Shaich.
Investors seemed to be pleased with BJ’s performance so far under the new regime. Its stock spiked in after-hours trading Thursday and was up more than 6% late Friday afternoon.
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