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Perkins Restaurant & Bakery facts for kids
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Trade name
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Perkins |
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Restaurant and Bakery |
| Founded | As Perkins Pancake House: 1958 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. As Perkins Family Restaurant: 1987 |
| Founders | Matt and Ivan Perkins |
| Headquarters | Sandy Springs, Georgia, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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280 (2022) |
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Area served
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United States (32 states) and Canada (2 provinces) |
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Key people
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Michael B. Abt (CEO) |
| Owner | ASCENT Hospitality Management |
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Number of employees
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25,000 |
Perkins LLC, often called Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, is a popular American restaurant chain. It's known for serving breakfast all day long. You can also find other tasty, homestyle meals there. Plus, they have a bakery with delicious pies, muffins, and other sweet treats.
A Perkins restaurant in Tomah, Wisconsin
The Story of Perkins
How Perkins Started
Perkins began in 1957. Two brothers, Matt and Ivan Perkins, opened a place called Smithies Pancake House. This first restaurant was in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1958, the brothers started letting other people open their own Perkins restaurants. This is called a franchise. A person named Wyman Nelson, who owned a Perkins in Minnesota, made the menu bigger. He also started a lot of advertising in 1967.
From 1969 to 1978, Nelson brought Perkins and another chain, Smitty's, together. He called the new company Perkins 'Cake & Steak'. He helped open over 220 restaurants across the country. In 1979, Matt and Ivan Perkins retired. They sold their part of the company. Later that year, Perkins became part of Holiday Inns, Inc. The main office moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
Growing and Changing
In 1985, a restaurant expert named Donald N. Smith bought a part of Perkins. He became the boss of the company.
In 1987, the company changed its name to Perkins Family Restaurants. It also started selling parts of the company to the public. Perkins then expanded into Canada. They opened a restaurant in Thunder Bay, Ontario. In 1990, Perkins started helping a charity called Give Kids the World. This group helps children with serious illnesses. Perkins gives them money and meals.
Matt Perkins passed away in 1991. Ivan Perkins died in 1998. When Ivan died, there were 462 Perkins restaurants in 32 states.
A Perkins Restaurant and Bakery in Gillette, Wyoming
Recent Times
The 2000s brought more changes for Perkins. In 2000, it joined with another company called The Restaurant Company (TRC). In 2005, a company called Castle Harlan bought TRC.
In 2006, Perkins' parent company bought Marie Callender's. This was another restaurant chain known for its pies. They combined the two, forming Perkins & Marie Callender's Inc.
In June 2011, many Perkins restaurants closed suddenly. This happened in several states. Later that month, the company faced financial difficulties. They had to close 65 restaurants and many people lost their jobs. The company worked through these challenges. They came out of it under new ownership in November 2011. However, they still faced some tough times. In 2012, most Perkins restaurants in western New York closed.
On August 5, 2019, Perkins & Marie Callender's again faced financial challenges. They announced the closure of 29 restaurants that were not doing well. The next month, more locations in northern Pennsylvania closed.
On September 12, 2019, a company called ASCENT Hospitality Management bought all the remaining Perkins restaurants. This included 342 locations.