Claim Jumper Restaurants Started as a Father-Son Venture, Now Employs 4,500
During the holiday season, family and food go hand-in-hand. The Nickoloffs have taken this relationship to another level.
With 28 restaurants, Claim Jumper Restaurants has spread far beyond its original Los Alamitos location and now covers five Western states, with an eastward expansion planned. But to Craig Nickoloff, this growth does not come as a surprise.
“We have put our hearts and souls into this business,” said the co-founder and president.
Craig’s late father, Carl, was the other co-founder. But when the first Claim Jumper was opened in 1977 the Nickoloffs had not even imagined turning it into a chain.
“The original intent was to have one restaurant, and we had no interest in expanding,” Nickoloff said. Yet, in 23 years of existence, 100 employees have turned into 4,500.
Growing up, Craig Nickoloff worked at his father’s store, Nik’s Coffee Shop in Long Beach. At Nik’s, he worked as a dishwasher, cook’s helper, cook, bartender and manager. These experiences gave him the insight to team up with his father in the opening of Claim Jumper.
They opened a second restaurant in Laguna Hills because they needed a new challenge, Nickoloff said. By 1990, there were seven Claim Jumper restaurants in Southern California.
“Our growth has been conservative and well-managed,” said Larry Bill, director of community and public relations. “We do not want to cannibalize our services areas, and we tried hard not to overlap restaurants.”
While Bill stated that there might be room in Orange County for another restaurant, the company believes that OC already is well-served. In the past 10 years, Claim Jumper has looked elsewhere to expand, adding 21 stores in other parts of California, along with Washington, Nevada, Arizona and Colorado.
“Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley are two areas where we are seriously looking to expand,” said Nickoloff. “We do not have a formal plan of long-term growth, but everything is done slowly and deliberately.”
Nickoloff’s two children, Nick and Nicole, help with the business, though Nick has taken a greater liking to the company than his sister.
Part of Claim Jumper’s success, according to Craig Nickoloff, is that people always want to eat: “Even during a recession, eating out takes the place of entertainment. We want people to have a complete restaurant experience.”
One of the great challenges facing Claim Jumper is growing without losing touch with the founders’ ideals for the company. Nickoloff admits that as the number of restaurants grows, it becomes more difficult to offer the personalized service that was stressed in the original stores.
However, Claim Jumper believes it can manage a national chain of restaurants while retaining the qualities that allowed the company to grow.
“Claim Jumper offers great food, at excellent value, in a clean and friendly atmosphere,” Bill said. “This method can be applied on a national level.”
Another challenge facing Claim Jumper will be finding locations that are strategically placed between residential and commercial developments.
“Thirty percent of our sales come from Monday-through-Friday business lunches,” Bill said. “By the same token, a large portion of our sales come from families eating on the weekends.”
But two decades of experience have taught Claim Jumper how to approach new markets. When the company enters a new territory, it places a minimum of three restaurants in the area. According to Nickoloff, he does not want outpost restaurants, such as the one now in Colorado.
“We are in the process of building two more stores in the vicinity of our Denver stores. It’s so much easier for the a restaurant to operate if they have support.”
The company also is planning to open a restaurant in Las Vegas in April.
