O'Charley's facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 1971 in Nashville, Tennessee |
| Founder | Charley Watkins |
| Headquarters | , |
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Number of locations
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60 (January 2025) |
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Key people
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Craig Barber, CEO |
| Revenue |  US$830.1 million (2010) |
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Operating income
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US$-17.3 million (2010) |
| US$-34.9 million (2010) |
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| Total assets | US$422.7 million (2010) |
| Total equity | US$178.2 million (2010) |
| Owner | Cannae Holdings Inc. |
O'Charley's Restaurant & Bar is a well-known American restaurant. It serves casual meals in a relaxed setting. As of January 2025, O'Charley's had 60 locations. You can find these restaurants in many states. These include Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
For a while, O'Charley's was part of a bigger company. This company was called O'Charley's, Inc. Enterprise. It managed 363 restaurants under three different names. In 2012, another company bought O'Charley's, Inc. Enterprise. It became part of American Blue Ribbon Holdings. Later, in 2018, O'Charley's became part of Cannae Holdings, Inc.
Contents
History
How O'Charley's Started
A person named Charles (Sonny) Watkins started O'Charley's. He opened the first restaurant in 1971. It was located in Nashville, Tennessee, near Vanderbilt University. Watkins managed the restaurant for 13 years.
In 1984, David K. Wachtel bought O'Charley's. He had a lot of experience in the restaurant business. Wachtel wanted to make O'Charley's into a chain of restaurants.
Growing the Restaurant Chain
By mid-1987, the 12th O'Charley's restaurant opened. It was in Lexington, Kentucky. Wachtel also planned to change other restaurant buildings into O'Charley's. These were in Huntsville, Alabama, and Nashville, Tennessee.
In 1993, the company announced plans to grow even more. They wanted to open at least eight new restaurants in 1994. These new places would be mostly in the southeastern United States.
In February 1994, David Wachtel left his role as chairman. He had other business interests to focus on. New leaders took over the company.
Recent Changes and Closures
In 2007, O'Charley's changed how it got food to its restaurants. It started using a company called Performance Food Group. This helped deliver products to all locations.
A popular special started in 2013. It was called "Free Pie Wednesday." Customers who ordered a main meal on Wednesdays got a free slice of pie.
In recent years, O'Charley's has closed some locations. In April 2019, one restaurant in Florida closed. Three months later, eight more locations in Indiana and Georgia closed. By 2018, the company had 201 locations. This was fewer than the 213 locations it had in 2016.
More closures happened in 2023. The Bristol, Virginia, location closed for good. In April 2023, a restaurant in Augusta Exchange, Tennessee, also closed. In June 2023, seven more locations closed suddenly. These were in states like Georgia, Kentucky, and Alabama. By August 2023, eighteen locations closed without warning. This was about 17% of all stores. More closures continued into late 2023. This included locations in Alabama, Louisiana, and North Carolina.
Awards
O'Charley's has received some awards over the years.
- In 2002, Forbes magazine named O'Charley's to its "200 Best Small Companies in America" list. This was the third year in a row it received this honor.
- In 2014, The Tennessean newspaper named American Blue Ribbon Holdings a Top Workplace. O'Charley's was part of this company at the time.
