Beef O'Brady's facts for kids
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Beef O'Brady's in Starke, Florida
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurants Franchising |
| Founded | 1985 in Brandon, Florida |
| Founder | Jim Mellody |
| Headquarters |
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United States
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Number of locations
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151 (2019) |
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Area served
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United States |
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Key people
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RJ Del Rio (CEO) |
| Owner | Family Sports Concepts Inc. |
Beef O'Brady's is a popular American restaurant chain. It's known as a "Family Sports Restaurant." Jim Mellody started it in 1985 in Brandon, Florida. Its main office is now in Tampa, Florida.
How Beef O'Brady's Started
Jim Mellody moved to Florida in 1971. He tried different restaurant ideas. Finally, he came up with the idea for Beef O'Brady's. He wanted to create a friendly Irish pub style restaurant. It would be a place for families. He opened the first Beef O'Brady's in 1985.
In 1998, Jim Mellody sold most of his share in the company. He sold it to Family Sports Concepts Inc. This company was led by Chuck Winship. Mellody still kept a part of 13 restaurant locations. Beef O'Brady's started letting other people open their own restaurants. This is called franchising. By August 2000, there were 40 Beef O'Brady's locations.
When Jim Mellody passed away in November 2002, the chain had grown a lot. There were 88 locations across seven southeastern states. After his death, his remaining share in the company was bought out. By December 2005, there were 183 locations in 19 states. Jim Mellody's daughter continued to run the very first restaurant in Brandon, Florida, as of 2009.
In early 2010, Chuck Winship, the CEO, retired. Chris Elliott took over as the new CEO. He had worked for other big companies like Cinnabon. At that time, Beef O'Brady's had about 245 locations. By September 2019, the number of locations had changed to 150. Out of these, 26 were owned and run by the company itself.
Sponsoring College Football Games
From 2009 to 2013, Beef O'Brady's helped sponsor a big college football game. This game was called the St. Petersburg Bowl. It happened every year in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 2009, the game was officially named the "St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef 'O' Brady's."
Then, for four years (2010–2013), the game was renamed the "Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl." After 2013, the game went back to one of its older names. In 2017, it became known as the Gasparilla Bowl.
See also
- List of Irish restaurants
