Rock Bottom Restaurants, Inc. Franchise Overview

Franchise History

When Frank B. Day, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Rock Bottom Restaurants, Inc., opened the first Old Chicago in Boulder, CO, in 1976, no one could predict the success that would follow. With a little trial and error, a few trips back and forth to the Windy City and secret tips from some real pros, they concocted their own pizza with made-from-scratch dough prepared daily, homemade sauce and 100% pure fresh Mozzarella, not the frozen kind. Then, they moved onto their next love, hand-selecting 110 of the world's finest beers. It caught on quickly. So, with a cook, a pizza oven, some ingenuity and a vision, Day and company established what today is one of the nation's leading restaurant groups. Today, Louisville, CO-based Rock Bottom Restaurants Inc., operates 102 casual dining restaurants across the nation, including 39 Brewery Restaurants and 63 Old Chicago's. The brewery restaurants operate under the names Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery (32), Walnut Brewery (1), ChopHouse (4), and Sing Sing (2). The company also owns Boulder Beer, Inc. (Rockies Brewing Company), Colorado's first microbrewery, and operates a Franchising corporation. Rock Bottom Restaurants has continued to succeed for reasons that go beyond great food. All of our restaurants are casual dining establishments featuring, high quality, moderately priced food and a distinctive selection of craft brewed and specialty beers served in a comfortable and entertaining atmosphere. Since its privatization in August 1999, 27 new restaurants have been added and average annual sales have grown over 15% from $190 million to a projected $264 million in 2004. The company also began franchising its Old Chicago concept and now has 62 franchise agreements in various stages of development, as well as 8 open franchise locations.

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