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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Key people
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Craig Barber, CEO |
| Owner | Cannae Holdings Inc |
O'Charley's is a popular American casual dining restaurant. As of April 2024, you can find 62 O'Charley's restaurants. They are located in many states, including Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
O'Charley's used to be part of a bigger company called O'Charley's, Inc. Enterprise. This company ran 363 restaurants under different names like O'Charley's, Ninety Nine Restaurant, and Stoney River Legendary Steaks. In 2012, O'Charley's, Inc. Enterprise was bought by Fidelity National Financial. It then became part of American Blue Ribbon Holdings. Later, in 2018, O'Charley's joined Cannae Holdings, Inc.
Discovering O'Charley's History
The very first O'Charley's restaurant opened in 1971. It was founded by Charles (Sonny) Watkins in Nashville, Tennessee. The restaurant was right across from Vanderbilt University.
Charley Watkins ran O'Charley's until 1984. Then, he sold it to David K. Wachtel. Mr. Wachtel had a lot of experience in the restaurant business. He wanted to help O'Charley's grow into a chain of restaurants.
By mid-1987, the 12th O'Charley's restaurant opened. This one was in Lexington, Kentucky. It even took over a spot where another restaurant chain, Bennigan's, used to be. Mr. Wachtel also planned to change other Bennigan's locations into O'Charley's restaurants. These included spots in Huntsville, Alabama and Nashville, Tennessee.
In 1993, the company planned to open many more O'Charley's restaurants. They wanted to become one of the largest restaurant chains in the southeastern United States. In 1994, they hoped to open at least eight new locations. These new restaurants were planned for places like Cookeville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky.
Changes and Challenges
In 2007, O'Charley's changed how it got its food supplies. They stopped using their own distribution center in Nashville. Instead, they started working with Performance Food Group to deliver products to all their restaurants.
A fun tradition started in 2013 called "Free Pie Wednesday." If you ordered a main meal on a Wednesday, you would get a free slice of pie! In 2014, O'Charley's chose BOHAN Advertising to help with their marketing.
Over the years, O'Charley's has closed some of its locations. For example, in April 2019, one restaurant in Florida closed. In June 2019, eight more locations in Indiana and Georgia closed suddenly. The number of O'Charley's restaurants went from 213 in 2016 to 201 in 2018. More closures happened in 2023 across several states, including Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama.
Awards and Recognition
O'Charley's has received some special awards.
- In 2002, Forbes magazine named O'Charley's one of the "200 Best Small Companies in America." This was the third year in a row they made the list!
- In 2014, American Blue Ribbon Holdings (the company O'Charley's was part of at the time) was named a Top Workplace by The Tennessean newspaper.
