Claim Jumper Restaurant and Saloon is an American restaurant chain with 11 locations as of October 28th, 2023. The company is based in Houston, Texas.
History
Restaurateur Craig Nickoloff opened the first Claim Jumper in Los Alamitos, California, on September 27, 1977. The original restaurant had a large menu and an atmosphere inspired by California's Gold Rush of 1849.
Acquisition by Landry’s, Inc.
In September 2010, the chain filed for bankruptcy and was slated to be auctioned off. In October 2010, Landry's, Inc. acquired Claim Jumper, with a bid of $76.6 million. Landry's President/CEO Tilman J. Fertitta relocated the company's headquarters from Irvine, California, to Landry's corporate headquarters in the Uptown area of Houston.
Franchised locations
All locations on the claimjumper.com website are franchised to Kelly Restaurant Group (KRG). , KRG has locations in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that part of the business was a buffet, KRG closed some of its locations, including the ones in Long Beach, California, Valencia, California,Nashville, Tennessee, and Lynnwood, Washington.
Non-franchised locations
There are three locations that are still owned and operated by Landry's. They are located inside the Golden Nuggets of Laughlin, Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Lake Charles, Louisiana. These are also the only Claim Jumpers to be under the Landry's Select Club rewards program.