Jillian's
Jillian's is a restaurant and entertainment chain with locations in the United States, headquartered in Reno, Nevada.[1] Jillian's locations as of March 2016 are San Francisco, CA and the original location in Boston and Worcester,MA.
History
Jillian's was founded in 1985 as a billiards club located near Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The club was "named" after a woman named Jillian Foster, who is the spouse of the establishment's founder. The couple later founded the chain Lucky Strike Lanes. Within several years, the owners opened another branch in Seattle, Washington. By the early 1990s, it had become a competitor of Dave & Buster's, expanding its locations to include restaurants, video games, bowling alleys, nightclubs, and conference rooms. By 2000, there were roughly 30 locations in the U.S. and one in Montréal, Québec, Canada. In 2004, Jillian's Entertainment Holdings, Inc.[2] filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and arranged to sell its assets.[3][4] Nine of the Jillian's locations and the Jillian's tradename were sold to Dave & Buster's. At least some of these locations were eventually converted to operation under the Dave & Buster's name, and some were rebranded as "Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe".[5] In 2009, D&B, which itself was going through the process of being sold from one venture capital firm to another, sold the rights to the name to Gemini Investors. That company later established JBC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.[6] to operate these locations.
Many of the locations no longer exist: the location at Neonopolis in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada (which closed in 2008 after also being used as a concert venue) and the location at Peabody Place in Memphis, Tennessee, which shut down in 2009, and the Jillians of Youngstown, Ohio at the Southern Park Mall was closed down on January 30, 2011 but for reasons unknown.[7] The location in Charlotte, North Carolina closed down in February 2010.[8] The Cleveland Heights, OH location also closed on February 20, 2011 and was converted into Myxx, a tapas bar, by its owner.[9] The location in Seattle, WA closed in 2012. The location in Peoria, IL closed May 2013. The location in Chesapeake, VA was closed July 28, 2014, then reopened as a GameWorks August 1, 2014. On January 6, 2016, Inside Universal reported that the Jillian's Hi-Life Lanes location in Universal City has closed its doors and will be replaced by Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.[10]
References
- ↑ "Jillian's San Francisco at the Metreon". Jilliansbilliards.com. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ↑ "History of Jillian's Entertainment Holdings, Inc. – FundingUniverse". Fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-11-07. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-09-19. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
- ↑ "Jbc Entertainment Holdings, Inc. | Company Profile from Hoover's". Hoovers.com. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ↑ "Youngstown news, Jillian's closes in Boardman". Vindy.com. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ↑ "Jillian's closes in South End". Wcnc.com. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ↑ Trattner, Douglas (2011-07-21). "Old Jillian's Space in the Heights Reopens Tomorrow as Myxx, a Tapas Lounge | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog | Cleveland Scene". Clevescene.com. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ↑ About Jon Fu (2016-03-18). "Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is coming to CityWalk Hollywood, replacing Jillian's Hi-Life Lanes – Inside Universal". Insideuniversal.net. Retrieved 2016-08-27.