Perkins Restaurant and Bakery
Private
Industry
Restaurant and
Bakery
Founded
As Perkins Pancake House: 1958
; 59 years ago (1958)
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
As Perkins Family Restaurant: 1987
; 30 years ago (1987)
Founders
Matt and Ivan Perkins
Headquarters
Memphis, Tennessee,
U.S.
Key people
Jeff Warne (
CEO)
Products
Food
Revenue
$352.3 million as of FY 2005
Owner
Wayzata Investment Partners
Number of employees
25,000
Parent
Perkins & Marie Callender's
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Perkins Restaurant & Bakery
Perkins Restaurant and Bakery, or simply Perkins, is a North American casual dining restaurant chain that serves breakfast throughout the day. It also has a bakery that sells pastries.
The Perkins chain was established in 1958, when Matt and Ivan Perkins opened what was called Perkins Pancake House in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the 1960s, the chain expanded as a franchise. One franchisee in Minnesota, Wyman Nelson, introduced an expanded menu and an aggressive advertising campaign in 1967.
From 1969 to 1978, Nelson consolidated Perkins and another chain, Smitty's, into Perkins 'Cake & Steak'. From headquarters in Edina, Minnesota, he assumed nationwide development control of the company, and focused on opening over 220 restaurants. In 1979, Matt and Ivan retired, selling their remaining interest in the company, including trademark and distribution rights. In August 1979, Perkins became a wholly owned subsidiary of Memphis-based Holiday Inns, Inc.; corporate headquarters were established in Tennessee.
In 1985 restaurant entrepreneur Donald N. Smith, who then served on the Board of Directors of Holiday Inns, purchased an ownership interest in Perkins, becoming Chairman of the Board and the company's CEO. Smith remodeled buildings, and introduced in-store bakeries, distinctive brand imagery, and standardized signage. The company became focused on table-service family dining.
The company was renamed Perkins Family Restaurants in 1987 and was organized into a master limited partnership with interests publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The corporation expanded into Canada, opening a restaurant in Thunder Bay, Ontario. In 1990, the company began its philanthropic relationship with Give Kids the World, contributing money and meals to the Florida-based charity for terminally ill children globally.
In the 1990's, Perkins left the Rochester area but came back in 2001 then left again in 2012 along with Buffalo.
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Wikipedia