Black-Eyed Pea (restaurant)

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Black-eyed Pea Restaurant
Type	Restaurant
Founded	1975
Headquarters	Denver, Colorado and Houston, Texas
Industry	Food
Products	American Food & Spirits
Website	Black-eyed Pea

Black-Eyed Pea is a United States restaurant chain based in Denver, Colorado. The restaurants are located primarily in Colorado and Texas.

[edit] History

Black-Eyed Pea was founded in 1975 by Dallas restaurateur Gene Street. The chain eventually expanded across the Southern United States.

In early 1997 DenAmerica purchased the Black-Eyed Pea restaurant chain from Unigate P.L.C., a British food manufacturer and distributor, for $65 million. At that time the Black-Eyed Pea chain consisted of 130 restaurants, about a quarter of which were franchises.

In 2001, weeks after the September 11th terrorist attacks, DenAmerica, now operating as Phoenix Restaurant Group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This resulted in the closing of 48 Black-Eyed Pea locations, reducing the chain to 44 locations (not including the Colorado locations, whose owners were in much better financial shape). [1] In 2002, under new management, Black-Eyed Pea was reformatted as a "country casual" chain by adding more appetizers and seafood offerings, along with more grilled items as well as an increased emphasis on its bar. [2]

As of July 12, 2007, Black-Eyed Pea has a total of 50 locations, including 35 in Texas and 15 in Colorado. The Texas locations are largely located in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan areas, while the vast majority of the Colorado restaurants are situated in the Denver area.

[edit] Menu

Black-Eyed Pea's menu features home-style Southern U.S. cuisine such as fried catfish, chicken fried steak (including a "Texas Sized" version that takes up an entire plate), pot roast, mashed potatoes, fried okra, broccoli and rice casserole, corn bread, and rolls. Main entrees are usually order with a choice of two vegetables. The signature dish is the namesake of the chain, "black-eyed peas."

The restaurants also have full liquor service.

Every Tuesday night after 5:00 pm, a child under 12 who is accompanied by a paying adult may choose a free meal from the children's menu.