Baja Fresh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 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, Panchero's Mexican Grill, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Baja Happy's, Moe's Southwest Grill, Qdoba, Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill, Poquito Mas 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, and it began to lose money. On November 28, 2006, Wendy's sold Baja Fresh to a private investor consortium for $31 million.[1]
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 was $1.2 million. Systemwide Average Check was between $7.00 and $8.00.
