If JB's Restaurants had been in business when I was young, the eatery would have given me some free meals since I didn't miss a day of school between the sixth grade and high school graduation.
The restaurant chain's Gold Star Program awards a free meal to elementary-school children who don't miss a day of school for one year. Between 1990 and 1993, the company gave away 202,705 free meals worth $664,309.The Gold Star Program is just one of several projects JB's has going as it tries to carve a niche in the highly competitive eating-out business.
Steering away from its old image of being a hamburger-related place, JB's Restaurants Inc., with headquarters at 1010 W. 2610 South, has geared itself toward the family, whether it be a divorcee with three children or senior citizens taking their grandchildren out to eat, said Clark D. Jones, chairman of the board, and Fred P. Gon-zales, president and chief executive officer.
To achieve the "family image," JB's has sold some restaurants, added some features in existing restaurants, built some buffet restaurants and become involved in a variety of community projects such as the Gold Star Program.
One of the more recognizable restaurant chains, JB's has 106 restaurants in several Western states, 12 Sbarro Restaurants in Arizona and Oregon and operates five HomeTown Buffet Restaurants (one in Utah at 5682 S. Redwood Road). The company has 4,500 employees, and 1992 sales totaled $124 million.
JB's got its start through Bob's Big Boy Restaurants, a California chain. Using his own initials, restaurateur Jack Broberg opened a JB's Big Boy in Provo in 1961, a second one in Ogden and a third at 3250 S. 700 East. He added one more JB's Big Boy every year for several years.
Jones, a certified public accountant, was assigned to conduct routine audits for JB's. He joined the organization in 1970 as the chain prepared to go public.
The company expanded by building new restaurants and purchasing other Big Boy outlets. Eventually the Marriott Corp. acquired the master Big Boy franchise, but JB's retained the franchise rights in eight states. In 1987, the group of franchises was restructured and Gonzales starting working as the chief operating officer.
In October 1988, Marriott sold the franchise to Elias Brothers, and Jones and Gonzales decided to get out of the Big Boy chain. They saved $1 million in royalty fees with that decision. Sales have increased since the name was changed to JB's Restaurants.
Unlike some restaurants that don't offer breakfast, JB's serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, Jones said. "We have tried to make our restaurants a place where you can bring your children and feel comfortable," he said.
Working on the theory that mothers make many of the decisions on where a family eats, JB's has a new expanded menu for children that lists 15 items and is printed on a place mat that features riddles, educational information and space to draw on both sides.
Children under 10 eat free when an adult purchases a full-priced meal, and that also includes a free trip to the sundae bar. "We want every guest to leave knowing they are part of the JB's family," said Gonzales.
Children aren't the only focal point for the chain. A new menu for senior citizens is being developed and will be implemented in all of the restaurants this month. The menu will include special healthful alternatives such as low-fat margarines, low-cholesterol eggs, light syrups and reduced sugar-free desserts from the JB's in-restaurant bakeries.
Over the years JB's has quietly become part of the community through various projects. Recently, the company donated 700,000 crayons with coloring sheets to elementary schools in the Salt Lake area. The sheets can be returned to a JB's Restaurant for a free kid's meal, and the work is displayed on the restaurant walls.
Several years ago, employees in the JB's Restaurants in Arizona wanted to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Since
1990, through bowlathons, golf tournaments and other activities, the restaurant chain has raised $104,301 for MDA, Jones said.
Like many companies, JB's has had some ups and downs. The company lost money in 1991 and 1992, but by divesting itself of some underperforming restaurants in the Pacific Northwest, the restaurant is in a position to do better financially in 1993, Jones and Gonzales said.
According to the company's 1992 annual report, JB's will concentrate on the popularity of buffet-type restaurants by opening several new HomeTown Buffets.
Jones didn't plan to be in the restaurant business; he originally wanted to be a partner in a CPA firm. The native of Reno, Nev., received a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1957 from the University of Nevada at Reno and spent two years in the U.S. Army as an officer.
Later, while working for a CPA firm in Elko, Nev., he started doing some audit work for JB's. He was hired as the controller and since has become executive vice president, president and now chairman of the board after 23 years with the company.
Gonzales, a native of Big Springs, Texas, has a bachelor's degree in business and a master's in business administration from St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas. He has worked in packaged goods for M & M Mars and Associated Milk Producers and spent 16 years in the food-service business with Church's Fried Chicken, Village Inn and Ponderosa Restaurants.
Gonzales became JB's president in 1989 and chief executive officer in 1991. He came to Utah six years ago while working for Ponderosa in Dayton, Ohio, as senior vice president of marketing.