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history
Since the company's first restaurant opening in 1987, PB&J has succeeded in establishing an assortment of flourishing restaurants. Each PB&J restaurant features an inventive, fun, comfortable décor, superb service and exciting cuisine. These elements combined with reasonable pricing, create a casual dining experience of extraordinary value. Paul Khoury and Bill Crooks, co-founders, have created these unique restaurant concepts, own and operate 6 casual dining restaurants in the Kansas City area. One of those concepts, Yia Yia's, has additional locations in Wichita, Kansas; Denver, Colorado; St. Louis, Missouri; and Memphis, Tennessee. The newest concept called Eau Café and Bistro is located in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in midtown St. Louis, Missouri.
PB&J Restaurants, Inc.'s Mission Statement is: To provide a comfortable dining experience that consistently exceeds the expectations of a guest who demands only the best from a casual dining experience and to build a restaurant company that is profitable and attractive to the investment community. The Company focuses on service, food quality, and price in order to fulfill the claims of their mission.
Every person employed by the Company is trained to understand that the distinction between a PB&J Restaurant and its competitors is its commitment to quality service, service that exceeds even the highest expectations of a customer. The Company believes that it has established a culture that inspires attention to detail and that challenges its workforce to provide extraordinary service.
Each PB&J Restaurant offers a diverse menu of high quality, traditional favorites as well as innovative cuisine. The entrees consist of beef, chicken, seafood and pasta items. Each restaurant offers special menu items daily, created by the chefs. Menus change up to three times a year to insure variety. Fresh ingredients are a trademark of PB&J Restaurants. Only three frozen items are purchased, and packaged mixes are not used in our kitchens. Sauces and stocks are all made from scratch, including staple condiments such as ketchup and salad dressings.
The Company's menu items range from $5.50 for salads and sandwiches, up to $20.00 plus for creative entrees. PB&J's policy is to provide guests with a broad selection of dining opportunities, from an affordable meal for the entire family, to an exquisite celebration. PB&J will provide a dining experience for every occasion that will rival any in the Industry. The commitment to extraordinary service, distinctive cuisine created with the freshest of ingredients, reasonable prices and delightful surroundings combine to provide the best in casual dining.
PB&J Restaurants, Inc. currently employs 880 individuals. Salaried personnel have employee benefits including group health insurance (most employees share the cost), paid vacations and holidays, and a 401(k) plan. Most full time hourly employee benefits include access to group health (employee pays majority of the costs), paid vacation and a 401(k) plan.
The Company's general managers and executive chefs currently participate in a non-qualified stock ownership program. In general, the plan provides ownership to general managers and executive chefs that have been in their respective positions more than one year. As each new restaurant is opened, the eligible general managers and executive chefs receive stock options.
PB&J Restaurants, Inc. has been the subject of a number of publications and the recipient of a number of awards, which testifies to the successful implementation of strategies for fulfilling the Company's vision:
- Restaurants featured in Bon Appetit, Food Arts, Nations Restaurant News,
Adweek Studio and many other trade publications
- Menus featured in Menu Design and Restaurant Graphics
- 1990 Small Business of the year from The Greater Kansas City Chamber
of Commerce
- Inc. Magazine's 1994 Entrepreneur of the year from Ernst and Young
- 1994 Entrepreneurial Success Award from the U.S. Small Business administration
- Kansas City's Best Overall Restaurant - Grand Street Café 1997
- Kansas City's Best New Restaurant - Yia Yia's 1995, Paulo and Bill 1996, Yahooz 1998
- Kansas City's Best Business Lunch - Grand Street Café 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001
- James Beard Foundation Guest Chef Appearances in 1998 and January 2001
- Several Zagat Survey Awards
- A Mediterranean/Italian décor features mosaic tile floors, stone columns, and fabric-covered wall panels. Heavy beamed ceilings and hand-blown chandeliers contribute to the warm, lodge atmosphere. A combination of American, Italian, French and Greek cuisines inspire the menu. The original Yia Yia's opened in December of 1993. The free-standing building is located in Overland Park, Kansas. The second Yia Yia's opened in April 1995 in Wichita, Kansas. The Denver Yia Yia's, which opened in November of 1996, is located in the Denver Technological Center at the corner of Belleview and DTC Boulevard in Greenwood Village. The St. Louis Yia Yia's opened in November 1998. The area is Chesterfield, which is a west suburb of the city. The most recent Yia Yia's location opened in February of 2000 in Germantown, Tennessee. Germantown is a beautiful, upper income suburb east of Memphis.
- The original concept, created in 1987, combines a 1950's diner with a contemporary, whimsical twist, producing a light, cheerful atmosphere. The original restaurant, Paradise Diner was located in the Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, Kansas. The menu elevated a traditional diner fare into the 90's with West Coast-influenced American classics. The Paradise Grill, which opened in 1992 in a freestanding building, carries the same theme to the North Kansas City area.
- Inspired by Santa Fe and the Southwest, this restaurant showcases aggressively seasoned Southwestern regional cuisine. Several popular American entrees broaden the selection. The distinctive flavor of the Southwest is evident in the comfortable, adobe-styled décor, accented by silhouetted howling coyotes. The Coyote Grill is the second restaurant created by PB&J; it opened in 1989 in Mission Center, an enclosed shopping center in Mission, Kansas.
- Considered to be the flagship restaurant of the chain, this establishment opened in 1991. The interior offers a lush, botanical environment with unique, vined wall coverings and woven leather chairs. The menu combines regional, all-American favorites thriving on assertive flavors and the stimulating influence of many cultures. The Grand Street Café is located on the ground floor of a low-rise office building just east of the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri.
- This restaurant is located near the Yia Yia's in Overland Park, Kansas, which is the south Johnson County area in Kansas City. "Contemporary Cowboy Cuisine" best describes the theme of Yahooz. The food - regional American with roots in the Midwest-spotlights wood fired steaks, grilled seafood and rotisserie, slow-roasted meats and poultry. The rich fabrics and oversized leather furniture, original western artwork, and custom fixtures contribute to the ambiance of a guest ranch hearth room. Yahooz opened in February of 1998.
- This concept is located in a recently renovated hotel, the Chase Park Plaza in midtown St. Louis, Missouri. It opened September 16, 2000. This location is actually two separate dining areas, each with its own kitchen. The hotel lobby divides the two restaurants. The Café side has a large bar area leading out to a patio that looks over the hotel pool. The seating area in the Café is dominated by six-foot high booths that enable a guest to experience a quiet meal, surrounded by the dynamic energy of this brand new nightspot.  The furniture follows the contrasting color theme of the walls and a large, bright mural that decorates a large wall. The menu is similar to the Grand Street Café, with additional influences from the Pacific Rim. There are some items shared between the Café and the Bistro menus, while other dishes are exclusive.
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