Baja Fresh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baja Fresh is a restaurant chain of fresh Mexican style restaurants founded in Newbury Park, California, United States in 1990 by Jim and Linda Magglos. Categorized as a "fast-casual" restaurant, the quality and preparation time of its food is between that of a fast-food restaurant and a more formal restaurant. It is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California.
A feature of Baja Fresh restaurants is a self-serve salsa bar. Similar competitors include Baja Bud's, Mesa Fresh Mexican Grill, Sharky's Mexican Grill, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Moe's Southwest Grill, Qdoba, Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill and Bumble Bee's Baja Grill.
In 2002, Baja Fresh became a wholly owned subsidiary of Wendy's International with a purchase price of $275 million. Under Wendy's ownership, sales at the chain slid. On October 12, 2006, Wendy's announced that it would sell the chain for $31 million to a private investor consortium.
According to the Wendy's website, as of October 12, 2006:
There were 299 units operating, including company-owned and franchised. Annual revenues were $172 million. Average Annual Sales per restaurant were $1.2 million. Systemwide Average Check was between $7.00 and $8.00.
[edit] External link
People: John T. Schuessler | Dave Thomas
Restaurants: Wendy's | Cafe Express | Pasta Pomodoro
Marketing Slogans: Where's the beef?
Foods: Frosty | Spicy chicken sandwich
Annual Revenue: 
$3.74 billion USD (2004) | Employees: 58,000 (2004) | Stock Symbol: NYSE WEN | Website: www.wendys-invest.com/
