Bob Evans Restaurants facts for kids
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A Bob Evans in Huntington, West Virginia
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| Subsidiary | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: BOBE |
| Industry | Food |
| Genre | Family style |
| Fate | Company split in 2017; restaurant division sold to Golden Gate Capital, and BE Farms sold to Post Holdings |
| Successor | Golden Gate Capital (restaurant) Post Holdings (farms) |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Founder | Bob Evans |
| Headquarters | 8111 Smith's Mill Road New Albany, Ohio, U.S. |
| Products | Breakfast foods, steaks, chicken, seafood, burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads, desserts, beverages |
| Revenue | US$384.94 Million (2017) |
| Owner |
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Number of employees
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30,625 |
Bob Evans Restaurants is a popular American restaurant chain. It is owned by a company called Golden Gate Capital. The main office is in New Albany, Ohio.
The chain was started in 1948 by a man named Bob Evans. Over time, it grew into a bigger company called "Bob Evans Farms, Inc." This company also had a separate part that sold food products in grocery stores.
In 2017, the company split into two. The restaurant part was sold to Golden Gate Capital. The food product part, called BEF Foods, was later sold to Post Holdings in September 2017.
As of April 2024, there are 436 Bob Evans restaurants. They are located in many states across the U.S. These include Ohio, Florida, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. All the restaurants are owned by the company. They are not franchised (meaning they are not owned by independent business people).
Bob Evans restaurants have a country-living style. Most locations also sell baked goods, snacks, and small gift items. The company used to sell pork products and side dishes in grocery stores. These products were sold under the Bob Evans and Owens Country Sausage brand names. This part of the business was separate from the restaurants.
Contents
How Bob Evans Restaurants Started
The Beginning of a Farm-Fresh Idea
Bob Evans Restaurants began in 1948. Bob Evans started by making and packaging sausage. He sold it from his small diner in Gallipolis, Ohio. His first operations were on his farm in Rio Grande.
More and more people heard about his tasty sausage. They started visiting his farm to buy it in large amounts. In 1953, Bob Evans and his family and friends created Bob Evans Farms, Inc. Because so many people visited, he built the first company restaurant on his farm in 1962. It was called "The Sausage Shop."
Growing Across the States
More Bob Evans restaurants were built in the years that followed. By the mid-1970s, there were 20 locations. All of them were in Ohio. These included cities like Cleveland and Columbus.
By 1980, there were 59 restaurants in seven different states. By 1992, Bob Evans owned and ran 261 restaurants in 16 states. These states included Ohio, Florida, and Texas. Their food products were sold in 26 states and Washington D.C.
Bob Evans worked with his cousin, Tim Evans, to package the sausage products. Another relative, Dan Evans, was the CEO until he retired in 2000.
In 1987, the company bought Owens Country Sausage, a company from Texas. Because of name rules, their restaurants in Texas were called Owens Restaurants. However, all Owens restaurants closed by January 2006.
For a short time in the mid-1990s, the company tried a Mexican-themed restaurant. It was called Cantina del Rio. Bob Evans himself later said this idea was "a disaster."
The Evans family managed the company's daily work until 2000. After Dan Evans retired, Stewart K. Owens took over as CEO. In 2001, he became the chairman of the board. The company's profits went down during his time. In August 2005, Owens resigned. Steven Davis became the new CEO in May 2006.
In July 2004, Bob Evans Farms bought the Mimi's Cafe restaurant chain. This chain had 144 locations across the U.S. Mimi's Cafe offered casual dining with American food and a French style. Bob Evans Farms later sold Mimi's Cafe in 2013.
To make the company look more modern, Bob Evans introduced a new design in 2009. This new look included flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi. It also had curbside pickup for orders and new uniforms for staff. The design was inspired by the Bob Evans family farm.
CEO Steven Davis resigned in December 2014. In December 2015, the chain planned to sell 145 of its properties.
In January 2016, Bob Evans Restaurants announced a plan. They wanted to use 100 percent cage-free eggs by 2025. This decision came after working with suppliers and animal welfare experts. However, this promise was later removed from their policy.
The Company's Big Changes
On January 24, 2017, Bob Evans Farms announced a major change. They would sell their restaurant business to a company called Golden Gate Capital. Golden Gate Capital also owned other restaurant chains like Red Lobster. This sale included the Bob Evans Farm in Bidwell, Ohio.
After the sale, Bob Evans Farms CEO Saed Mohseni became president of the Bob Evans restaurant division under Golden Gate Capital. The part of the company that made grocery products, BEF Foods, remained a separate public company.
On the same day, Bob Evans Farms also agreed to buy Pineland Farms Potato Co. This company processed potatoes and had a large potato farm. Both the sale of the restaurants and the purchase of Pineland Farms happened on March 1, 2017.
On September 19, 2017, Bob Evans Farms announced another big change. They would be bought by Post Holdings. Post Holdings planned to combine their existing Michael Foods business with Bob Evans Farms. This new part of the company would focus on refrigerated retail products. The sale to Post Holdings was completed on January 12, 2018. After this, Bob Evans Farms stopped being an independent company.
See also
- List of casual dining restaurant chains
- List of restaurant chains in the United States
