BAJA FRESH SELLS MAJORITY STAKE.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer Looking to make an already rapid expansion mas grande, the parent company of Baja Fresh Baja Fresh is a restaurant chain of Fresh Mex 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 has sold a controlling interest controlling interest The ownership of a quantity of outstanding corporate stock sufficient to control the actions of the firm. Controlling interest often involves ownership of significantly less than 51% of a firm's outstanding stock because many owners fail in the restaurant chain to an investors group. The new majority owner of Westlake Village-based Fresh Enterprises is headed by restaurant industry veterans Greg Dollarhyde and Pete Siracusa, who both worked for the Rusty rust·y adj. rust·i·er, rust·i·est 1. Covered with rust; corroded. 2. Consisting of or produced by rust. 3. Of a yellowish-red or brownish-red color. 4. Pelican chain. Carelton Partners of Connecticut also holds a stake. Siracusa, founder of the Rusty Pelican, will be Baja Fresh chairman, and Dollarhyde becomes its president and chief executive officer. Terms of the deal were not announced. Dollarhyde said Baja Fresh founder Jim Magglos will have a seat on the company's board, hold a ``significant minority stake'' in the company and help with the transition. Magglos, the former owner of a vehicle window tinting tint n. 1. A shade of a color, especially a pale or delicate variation. 2. A gradation of a color made by adding white to it to lessen its saturation. 3. A slight coloration; a tinge. 4. and detail shop, opened his first Baja Fresh on Kimber Drive in Newbury Park in 1990 with a $30,000 investment. ``It was something I always wanted to do, and I loved Mexican food,'' he said. ``So I came up with a concept of serving freshly prepared Mexican food in a clean and bright environment.'' It proved to be a hit. Soon customers from Westlake Village and Camarillo were jamming into the little restaurant, so Magglos expanded his chain even as the region was sinking into recession. ``It was sit-down, quality food at fast-food prices,'' he said, ``so the recession didn't hurt us. It actually helped.'' In July 1991, he opened a second store in Westlake Village. The chain has grown to 50 restaurants with about 1,000 employees in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , Arizona and Nevada. Twelve are company-owned, and 38 are franchised. Magglos said he is happy with his new role. ``I'm really excited about the transition,'' he said. ``I'll be there to do what I like to do best, which is new product development. I have no remorse Remorse See also Regret. Ayenbite of Inwit (Remorse of Conscience) Middle English version of medieval moral treatise, c. 1340. [Br. Lit. , not at all.'' Dollarhyde believes the company should be able to double its number of restaurants over the next two years. ``The concept has proven itself,'' he said. ``Jim has done a wonderful job of developing a concept that has built some customer loyalty.'' Target markets include Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay , Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. and Phoenix. The company also has two stores on the East Coast. Baja Fresh features made-to-order Mexican fare using fresh ingredients, a salsa bar and restaurants noted for their bright style. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion