Food

Jimboy’s Tacos Corporate Office

Jim and Margaret Knudson had never heard of tacos before they ate some at a friends house in 1949. In fact, much of the US had yet to hear about Mexican tacos. Jim, known in his town as Jimboy, decided tacos would be a hit. He converted a trailer and took it to Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe, California. He was right.

Franchising began out of Sacramento, California, in 1969. Today, there are 40 locations throughout California, Texas, and Washington. In 2013, the company announced that it would go international with locations in India.

In April 2019, the company announced that it was rebranding and remodeling most of its restaurants.

While Jimboy’s Tacos has been criticized for not being authentic Mexican tacos, the company doesn’t advertise them as such, calling them the “original American taco.

The corporate office for Jimboy’s is located in Sacramento, California.

Jimboy's Tacos

History

In April 2019, the company announced that it was rebranding and remodeling most of its restaurants.

While Jimboy’s Tacos has been criticized for not being authentic Mexican tacos, the company doesn’t advertise them as such, calling them the “original American taco.

The corporate office for Jimboy’s is located in Sacramento, California.

Reddy Ice Corporate Office

Reddy Ice is the largest producer and packager of bagged ice in the United States. Although the origins of the company go back as far as 1927, it’s current history lies with the Southland Corp. Originally a minor division of the Southland Corporation, parent company of Seven-Eleven convenience stores, Reddy Ice was sold off to Suiza Foods in 1988. Reddy Ice was again sold to private investors, Centerbridge Partners, in 2000. The company went public in 2005.

In 2012, the company declared bankruptcy. As part of the bankruptcy procedure, Centerbridge Partners agreed to merge Arctic Glacier, which was also in bankruptcy at the time, with Reddy Ice and all debt was forgiven with the combination creating a new company.

Arctic Glacier was sold to the Carlyle Group in 2017.

Although CEO Deborah Conklin stated in January 2017 that the company had rebounded with increased profits due to a streamlined operation system, Bloomberg reported that Centerbridge Partners was considering selling Reddy Ice as of April 2019, although no final decision has been made.

Company headquarters are located in Dallas, Texas.

Reddy Ice

History

Arctic Glacier was sold to the Carlyle Group in 2017.

Company headquarters are located in Dallas, Texas.

Blue Apron Corporate Office

Blue Apron is a recipe and meal ingredient subscription service. Weekly boxes contain ingredients and include suggested recipes that are cooked by hand by the customer using the pre-ordered ingredients.

Founded in 2012, friends Matt Salzberg, Ilia Papas, and Matt Wadiak packed the first boxes and delivered them from a commercial kitchen. Within one year, the company launched larger operations, first with a launching site in California, and later adding 3 additional sites. By 2015, Blue Apron was able to serve every state in the continental US.

In 2016, Buzzfeed reported unsanitary conditions at the original launch site in California. The company attributed this to its “new” status and made the necessary changes.

The company went public on the NYSE under the ticker symbol APRN in June of 2017. Since that time, Wall Street has cut the company’s stock price in half, which prompted Blue Apron to cut their staff by 6%.

Company headquarters are located in New York, New York.

Blue Apron

History

In 2016, Buzzfeed reported unsanitary conditions at the original launch site in California. The company attributed this to its “new” status and made the necessary changes.

Company headquarters are located in New York, New York.

Tazza Kitchen Corporate Office

Tazza Kitchen was founded in 2013 by friends John Davenport, John Haggai, and Jeff Grant. All had previous restaurant and finance experience, which came together when they decided to create a restaurant that they themselves would love.

This upscale restaurant features a from scratch menu that is cooked over a wood-fired grill or oven. The original restaurant became so popular that the company has since expanded into 6 other locations in 3 states, including Virginia, North & South Carolina.

In 2018, the original restaurant site in Short Pump, Virginia, was remodeled to include an additional 1,000 square feet of dining room and kitchen space at a cost of $500,000.

Tazza Kitchen also announced in late 2018 that they were launching a drive-through option, offering their gourmet foods from the Short Pump restaurant for those who wish to take items home. Called “The Big Kitchen”, this concept eliminates people standing in the main restaurant for to-go orders.

Headquarters for The Tazza Kitchen are located in Henrico, Virginia.

Tazza Kitchen

History

In 2018, the original restaurant site in Short Pump, Virginia, was remodeled to include an additional 1,000 square feet of dining room and kitchen space at a cost of $500,000.

Headquarters for The Tazza Kitchen are located in Henrico, Virginia.

Blaze Pizza Corporate Office

Blaze Pizza was founded by Rick and Elise Wetzel in 2011. The name comes from the quick way that pizza’s are cooked; taking only 3 minutes on average.

Customers order similar to the way Subway sandwich shops work, with customers choosing their toppings as they walk down the service line, then picking up their pizza at the end. The Blaze ovens are 7 foot-wide gas-fired units that operate at average temperatures of 700 °F (371 °C) to 800 °F (427 °C). Since the high-temperature gas-fired pizza oven is the only piece of cooking equipment inside each of the restaurants, the same oven is also used to roast the chicken, cook the Italian sausage and meatballs, and bake some of the desserts.

In 2016, the company signed agreements which allowed them to operate locations inside buildings, such as college campus’ or airport terminals.

In 2017, the company posted earnings of $279 million, a 51% increase over the previous year, causing concern among bigger pizza operations, such as Dominoe’s.

Blaze Pizza went international in 2015, opening locations in Canada, and then in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in 2018.

Headquarters for Blaze Pizza is located in Pasadena, California.

Blaze Pizza

Blaze Pizza was founded by Rick and Elise Wetzel in 2011. The name comes from the quick way that pizza’s are cooked; taking only 3 minutes on average.

History

In 2016, the company signed agreements which allowed them to operate locations inside buildings, such as college campus’ or airport terminals.

In 2017, the company posted earnings of $279 million, a 51% increase over the previous year, causing concern among bigger pizza operations, such as Dominoe’s.

Blaze Pizza went international in 2015, opening locations in Canada, and then in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in 2018.

Headquarters for Blaze Pizza is located in Pasadena, California.