Red Robin was originally founded in 1969 under the name of Sam’s Tavern in Seattle, Washington. The owner was part of a barbershop quartet, whose favorite song happened to be “The Red Robin.” The name was later changed to Sam’s Red Robin. Gerry Kingen of Seattle purchased the restaurant and simply dropped “Sam’s” from the name.
Today, Red Robin has more than 500 locations across the U.S. The company is a casual dining chain which features a wide variety of hamburgers, salads, and sandwiches. Red Robin began franchising operations in 1980, with the first franchise located in Yakima, Washington.
Red Robin is now a part of the Snyder Group. The company went public in 2002 and is traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol: RRGB. Red Robin had nearly $1 billion in revenue in 2014.
In mid-2018 the company announced that it would temporarily cease opening new restaurants for at least 18 months.
