Claim Jumper is a restaurant chain headquartered in Irvine, California with 45 locations in Arizona, California, Illinois, Colorado, Nevada, Washington, Wisconsin and Oregon. Founder Craig Nickoloff opened the first Claim Jumper Restaurant in Los Alamitos, California in 1977.[1] Until 2005, CWN Management, Inc., which operates the Claim Jumper chain, had been privately owned by the Nickoloff family. Leonard Green & Partners purchased a majority stake in the company in 2005 for a reported $200 million. [2] The company filed for bankruptcy on September 10, 2010.[3] On October 28, 2010, the chain was auctioned off with Landry's Restaurants being the winning bidder.[4]
Claim Jumper restaurants are typically known for the level of detail in their atmospheres. The restaurants feature a California Gold Rush theme, although newer locations have not included the numerous "artifacts" of the time period that are prevalent throughout the original stores.
They are known for fairly large portions of their dishes. The large menu features a wide range of foods, including sandwiches, pizzas, and salads, but focuses mainly on meats such as steaks, and ribs. They have become well known for their signature desserts, most notably their Chocolate Motherlode cake, which comes in six or three layer sizes. Each restaurant also features a full "saloon" bar which includes signature drinks.
Claim Jumper has licensed its name to frozen food producer American Pie, LLC to create a line of frozen dinners, which are sold in numerous grocery stores.[5]
Claim Jumper has a program once a year called "Tip-A-Cop" which aids the Law Enforcement Torch Run, a day when sheriffs and children with disabilities come in and help serve the guests, with all of the tips donated to the Special Olympics.[6]
In October 2010, Claim Jumper was auctioned off to Landry's Restaurants who had the winning bid.[7] The future of the various locations have yet to be announced.[8]
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