BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) Piper Sandler 4th Annual Growth Frontiers Conference summary

Strategic initiatives and value platforms

• Focused on strengthening business foundations, improving operational effectiveness, and delivering a better value proposition over the past year.

• Pizookie Meal Deal, a $13 value platform, drives significant traffic and brand engagement, accounting for 15–20% of business on weekdays.

• Ongoing evolution of the Pizookie Meal Deal includes add-ons and product testing, such as the successful introduction of the Smash Burger.

• Plans to keep the value platform fresh and leverage it for menu innovation and guest retention.

Menu innovation and core category focus

• Identified four core menu platforms: pizza, Pizookies, craft beverages, and shareables, with additional focus on steaks and burgers.

• Undertook a complete reinvention of the pizza, improving crust, sauce, cheese, and toppings based on guest feedback and market trends.

• Pizza relaunch scheduled for November, with a reduction in menu complexity and a focus on top-performing items.

• Seasonal and limited-time offerings, such as the Monkey Bread Pizookie, will be used to drive excitement and social engagement.

Operational improvements and technology adoption

• Enhanced operational efficiency through targeted outlier programs, waste management, and simplification of POS and KDS systems.

• Reduced food and beverage comps by double digits by addressing process complexity and errors.

• Piloting an AI-driven activity-based labor model (ABLM) in 20 restaurants, showing improved guest metrics and labor savings.

• Plans to expand ABLM to 20% of restaurants this year, with a methodical rollout continuing next year.

• Future AI use cases may include prep and ordering optimization.