Chevys Fresh Mex

Chevys Inc.
Wholly owned subsidiary
Industry Casual dining restaurant
Founded 1981 (1981)
Alameda, California, U.S.
Founder Warren Simmons
Headquarters Cypress, California, U.S.
Number of locations
 About 100
Area served
 United States
Key people
 Charles Rinker, President
Nick Mayer, SVP Operations
Steven Tanner, CFO
Products Mexican-style cuisine
Revenue $65.1 million (2007)
Owner Real Mex Restaurants
Number of employees
 3,000 (2007)[1]
Parent Real Mex Restaurants[2]
Website www.chevys.com

Chevys Fresh Mex is an American chain of Mexican-style casual dining restaurants located in the United States. The chain was founded in 1981 by Warren Simmons in Alameda, California. The chain's headquarters are currently located in Cypress, California.[3] The chain is owned by Real Mex Restaurants, Inc.

History

A Chevys Fresh Mex restaurant in April 2001.
An Eden Prairie, Minnesota Chevys Fresh Mex restaurant in November 2006.

The chain was founded in 1981 by Warren Simmons,[4] when he opened the first restaurant in Alameda, California.[5] It grew to 37 restaurants across California by August 1993, when it was acquired by PepsiCo subsidiary Taco Bell. When PepsiCo decided to exit the restaurant business in 1997, Chevys was sold to the investment group J.W. Childs Associates.[4] In 1999, Chevys purchased Rio Bravo Cantina, a poorly performing chain of Tex-Mex restaurants with 66 locations across the United States, from Applebee's International for $59 million.[6]

However, business was poor at the Rio Bravo locations, and in 2003 Chevys' executives filed for Chapter Eleven bankruptcy protection.[4] For the next year and a half, Chevys operated as debtor in possession under Chapter Eleven. In January 2005, Chevys and Fuzio Universal Pasta were acquired by Real Mex Restaurants, Inc., the Long Beach, California-based parent company of El Torito Restaurants and Acapulco Mexican Restaurants.[2] The acquisitions gave Real Mex Restaurants claim as the largest operator of full-service Mexican restaurants in the United States. Real Mex subsequently passed through bankruptcy in 2011-2012.

Restaurants

As of July 2014, there were 49 Chevys Fresh Mex restaurants located throughout the United States, mostly in Northern California (24 locations). Many of these locations are owned by the company; however, some are franchisee-owned., [5][7][8][9]

Products

The chain sells a variety of Mexican-style foods, including tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, fruit-flavored margaritas, alcoholic beverages, fajitas, tortillas, enchiladas, and burritos.[5][10] Approximately 70 percent of Chevys revenue comes from dinner sales, while lunch accounts for roughly 30 percent of sales.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Chevys Restaurants LLC Company Profile". Yahoo Finance. 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-11-15. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  2. 1 2 "Real Mex Restaurants, Inc. Acquires Chevys Inc.'s Chevys Fresh Mex Restaurants and Fuzio Universal Pasta Restaurants". Business Wire. BNET. 2005-01-19. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  3. ↑ "Contact Us." Chevys Fresh Mex. Retrieved on June 6, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Yulico, Nicholas (2004-09-25). "Chevy's may be auctioned off". Oakland Tribune. BNET. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  5. 1 2 3 "Chevys". Real Mex Restaurants. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2008-09-23.,
  6. ↑ Liddle, Alan (1999-02-22). "Chevys prescribes Fresh Mex as Rx". Nation's Restaurant News. BNET. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  7. ↑ http://www.chevys.com/locations.aspx
  8. ↑ "Real Mex set for Ch. 11 auction".
  9. ↑ http://chevys.com/location-map/
  10. ↑ "Chevys Fresh Mex Continues National Expansion". Business Wire. BNET. 2008-06-23. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  11. ↑ Kusch, Ed. "Franchise Opportunities". Chevys Fresh Mex. Archived from the original on 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
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