🠈 Sizzler 🠊
Sizzler Restaurant
Sizzler is a chain of fast casual steak houses located primarily in the Western US.
The chain was founded in 1958 by Del and Helen Johnson of Culver City, California and named "Del's Sizzler Family Steak House." The goal of the restaurant was to create a dining experience that felt like a full service restaurant with prices only slightly higher than fast food.
The restaurant is noted for its steak and seafood. The chain added a salad bar in the 1970s for health conscious diners.
The chain was owned by the Australian based Pacific Partners Equities in the 1990s which expanding the chain in conjunction with Collins Foods. The chain was acquired by the US based a company called "Sizzler USA" which is located in Mission Viejo, California.
Corporate Timeline
Below is a list of events in the company's timeline drawn primarily from Wikipedia1:
- 1958: Del and Helen Johnson opened Sizzler Family Steak House in Culver City, Ca
- 1967: James Collins acquired Sizzler from the company's founder
James Collins started a hamburger stand in Culver City in 1960 and began franchising Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1963.
- 1968: Collins launched Collins Foods Limited as a publicly traded company with 240 restaurants.
- 1990-1991: Collins sold its KFC stores to Pepsi.
- 1996: Sizzler filed bankruptcy with $100 million in debt. They closed over 130 locations "to escape costly leases on unprofitable restaurants"
- 1990: Sizzler started Buffalo Ranch Steakhouse as an upscale brand.
- 2005: Company changed its name to Worldwide Restaurant Concepts.
- 2005: Australian based Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) bought a 52% stake in World Wide Restaurant Concepts. They move the corporate headquarters to Brisbane, Australia and changed the name to Collins Food.
- 2011: US management formed Sizzler USA, headquartered in Culver City, to acquire 178 American restaurants.
- 2011: PEP spun off the Australian sizzlers as Collins Foods on the Australian Security Exchange with the symbol CFK.3
- 2012: Sizzler USA moved its headquarters to Mission Viejo, Ca.
- 2020: Sizzler USA filed bankruptcy citing COVID-19 as a primary factor.
References:
- Wikipedia - Sizzler (Drawn 10/8/2017)
- Restaurant Business - Sizzler Declares Bankruptcy (Drawn 11/14/2020)
- Wikipedia - Collins Foods (Drawn 11/14/2020)
- CalPoly Pomona - James Collins (Drawn 11/14/2020)