Baja Fresh is a chain of fast-casual

Fast casual restaurant

A fast casual restaurant is a type of restaurant that does not offer full table service, but promises a higher quality of food and atmosphere than a fast food restaurant. In the US, it is a relatively new and growing concept positioned between fast food and casual dining...

 Tex Mex restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

s founded in Newbury Park, California

Newbury Park, California

The community of Newbury Park, California is located in the western portion of the city of Thousand Oaks and Casa Conejo, an unincorporated area of southeastern Ventura County's Conejo Valley, which is also in the northwestern Greater Los Angeles Area...

 in 1990 and headquartered in Cypress, California

Cypress, California

Cypress is a suburban city located in the northern region of Orange County within Southern California. Its population was 47,802 at the 2010 census.-History:...

. The chain emphasizes fresh ingredients, and each restaurant features a self-serve salsa bar.

The chain operates 256 restaurants in 29 states, and in 2010 opened a store at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai

Dubai

Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

.

Competitors include California Tortilla

California Tortilla

California Tortilla is a chain of franchised fast casual Mexican restaurants, the first of which was opened in 1995 in Bethesda, Maryland by business partners Pam Felix and Alan Cohen. The chain's menu, which features burritos, is comparable to that of its competitors, such as Baja Fresh and...

, Panchero's Mexican Grill

Panchero's Mexican Grill

Panchero's Mexican Grill is a chain of fast casual Fresh Mex restaurants in the United States serving Mexican-style cuisine. The chain was founded in 1992 by Rodney Anderson when he opened two units: one in Iowa City, Iowa , and one in East Lansing, Michigan...

, Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. is a chain of restaurants in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada specializing in burritos and tacos, founded by Steve Ells in 1993 and based in Denver, Colorado...

, Moe's Southwest Grill

Moe's Southwest Grill

Moe's Southwest Grill is an American chain of fast casual style Tex-Mex restaurants headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.Moe's was founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in December 2000, by Raving Brands. In August 2007, the brand was purchased by FOCUS Brands...

, Qdoba, Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill

Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill

Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill, formerly known as Rubio's Baja Grill, also simply known as Rubio's, is a fast casual "Fresh Mex" or "New Mex" restaurant chain specializing in Mexican food, with an emphasis on fish tacos. As of 2007, Rubio's operates, licenses or franchises more than 170 restaurants...

, Tijuana Flats

Tijuana Flats

Tijuana Flats is an American chain restaurant serving Tex-Mex cuisine. It is known for its hot sauce selection and for its unusually-decorated interiors, which depict mythological creatures. Company founder Brian Wheeler opened the first Tijuana Flats restaurant in Winter Park, Florida in November...

.

History

In 1990, Jim and Linda Magglos took out a third mortgage on their home and opened the first Baja Fresh in the Conejo Valley of California with the vision of fast food, Mexican-style, that was not processed

Food processing

Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...

. The result was a chain of restaurants where the customer would "never see a can opener" — and the motto “no microwaves, no can openers, no freezers, no lard and no MSG.” Franchising began In 1995, and the chain had expanded to 31 outlets by 1997. In 1998, the Magglos worked with Greg Dollarhyde, who recapitalized the parent company, acquired venture capital and bought shares from outside holders to take control of Baja Fresh. Dollarhyde then grew the chain from 45 locations in 1998 to 249 stores.

In 2002, Wendy's International purchased Baja Fresh for $275 million. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Wendy's, the 249 restaurant chain saw consistently declining same store sales. In 2006, Wendy's sold the roughly 300-location Baja Fresh chain for $31 million to a private investor consortium that operates other restaurants, including Sweet Factory, La Salsa, Cinnabon

Cinnabon

Cinnabon is a chain of American baked goods stores and kiosks, normally found in high-traffic areas such as malls. The company's signature item is a grande cinnamon roll. As of July 2009, over 750 Cinnabon bakeries are in operation in over 30 countries around the world...

 and Denny's

Denny's

Denny's is a full-service coffee shop/family restaurant chain. It operates over 1,500 restaurants in the United States , Canada, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan , Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.Denny's is known for always being...

. The consortium is led by David Kim

David Kim (restaurateur)

David Kim is an American businessman and CEO of Mexican fast food chain Baja Fresh. He is also the CEO of other food brands including Sweet Factory and La Salsa....

, who took on the role of CEO of the company.

In 2009, Baja Fresh moved its corporate headquarters from Thousand Oaks to Cypress, California, and closed all locations in central Ohio. Between 2009 and 2010, the chain closed stores in Berkeley, Pasadena and Torrance, CA.