Lyle Tick believes BJ’s recent momentum has staying power beyond just short-term promotional success, and he attributes that confidence to three factors. First, BJ’s has spent the last several quarters rebuilding operational foundations—sharper execution, a more consistent experience, and a renewed focus on hospitality. Those efforts, Tick says, have translated into multiyear highs in both guest satisfaction and team member retention.
Second, the brand has successfully turned its now-iconic Pizookie Meal Deal into a true everyday value platform, not a one-off event. The Jumbo Pizookie—also known as the Pizookie Platter—is a shareable twist on the brand’s popular cookie-and-ice-cream dessert. The off-menu item started gaining momentum on TikTok in January, and both the marketing and operations teams responded quickly to harness the trend. BJ’s introduced the PMD in September, which includes an entrée, side, and a Pizookie for $13.
And third, the marketing team has leaned into social buzz and trend culture that has driven continued engagement and repeat visits. The recent All-American Smashburger tie-in and the limited-time Spooky Pizookie, for example, “really took off in social,” Tick shares in an exclusive interview with FSR, resulting in over two billion impressions on National Cheeseburger Day alone.
And there’s more menu innovation coming. The brand rolled out a refreshed pizza platform on November 6—the first major pizza platform refresh in nearly five decades. Since 1978, BJ’s signature spin on Chicago-style deep dish has been core to the brand. The reimagined take remixes the best influences from around the U.S.—inspired by the BJ’s culinary team coast-to-coast research trip—while staying rooted in the brand’s 47-year legacy. Tick also says BJ’s will debut its first LTO pizza in more than five years in Q1 2026 to continue ramping up excitement and engagement.
“Now that we’ve made material progress in building the foundations for a stronger and more consistent BJ’s, we’re beginning to introduce improvements to our product offerings and experiences that will power continued momentum,” Tick says.
In Q3, the brand saw same-store sales rise 0.5 percent, driven by traffic growth—marking BJ’s fifth consecutive quarter of sales growth. In the last six-plus weeks, traffic is tracking at roughly 3.5 percent year-over-year, close to 9 percent on a two-year basis, and outperforming Black Box casual-dining benchmarks overall, Tick notes.
“I’m pleased with the progress we continue to make to drive profitability while enhancing the guest experience,” he says. “In Q3, we delivered an 80-basis point improvement in RLCF margins year-over-year, marking our fourth consecutive quarter of profit expansion.”
BJ’s reported total revenue for the quarter increased 1.4 percent to $330.2 million. Restaurant-level operating profit climbed 8.8 percent to $41.3 million, while adjusted EBITDA reached $21.1 million, up 14.1 percent.
The recent momentum comes alongside meaningful leadership change. Following activist investor pressure, former CEO Greg Levin stepped down in August, interim CEO Brad Richmond stepped in, and Tick was promoted to CEO and president in June. Earlier this year, BJ’s also entered a cooperation agreement with Act III Holdings, Ron Shaich’s investment firm, giving it an advisory role. What’s notable here is that the momentum has continued through the transition.
READ MORE:
BJ’s CEO Lyle Tick is Reigniting the Brand’s Original Spark
BJ’s Traffic Climbs on Dessert Buzz
BJ’s Sales Soar as Value-Packed Pizookie Deal Wins Over Diners
BJ’s Scores with Social Splurges and Pizookie Power
What’s Next
Looking ahead, BJ’s is preparing to roll out advanced tech initiatives, an updated systemwide training platform for both managers and hourly staff, and continued remodel investment. On the back of those remodels, BJ’s will also pilot a refreshed prototype in late 2026—something Tick positions as groundwork for 2027 expansion and beyond.
On the culinary side, the brand is renovating core menu categories and simplifying where it can. Operationally, BJ’s is scaling its AI-driven labor model, which will reach 30 percent of the system by early 2026 to “ensure we have the right team members in the right place, at the right time, to drive guest satisfaction and sales,” Tick says.
BJ’s is also preparing for a significant off-premises experience redesign in 2026, aimed at making digital ordering and pickup more intuitive and consistent. The work begins behind the scenes, according to Tick: the company has already been improving kitchen display systems and order routing to reduce missing or incorrect items, creating a stronger operational foundation before reshaping the guest-facing experience. The next phase will focus on eliminating friction in the digital ordering flow, improving menu merchandising for to-go, and narrowing the off-premises menu to items that travel well. Tick emphasizes that this is not just a tech overhaul, but a brand experience one—ensuring that off-premises guests receive a meal that feels as intentional and satisfying as guests who are dining in.
“All of our efforts really coalesce around two key drivers: making things easier and better for our team members and/or our guests, and we believe by doing that we will create a better experience and more efficient operation,” Tick explains. “Whether it is our ongoing simplification efforts and focus on gross-to-net that has resulted in sustained double-digit improvements in comped food and beverage incidents or our AI-driven labor model that helps ensure we have the right people in the right place at the right time, we have plenty of opportunities to continue to improve operations while keeping the team member and guest experience at the center of our thinking.”
Tick notes he’s also watching frequency metrics very closely, “because that tells us whether we’re delivering a compelling value equation to the guest and building sustainable relationships.”
Encouragingly, BJ’s is now seeing frequency rise across all age and income cohorts, resulting in an increase in total average spend per customer. “Importantly, we continue to see our guest satisfaction scores and team member retention metrics are at multi-year highs,” Tick adds.
As far as the company’s remodel program goes, BJ’s is on schedule to complete 20 remodels in 2025, bringing the total to 72 over the past three years. Tick says they “are pleased with the value-accretive results we continue to see,” while also laying the groundwork to pilot a new BJ’s prototype in the second half of 2026, which will set the foundation for further growth in 2027 and beyond.
BJ’s has also been methodical about new unit growth, focusing where the brand already has a footprint and strategically building out using the concentric circle method to leverage awareness. Tick says the company has signed two leases with a number of deals in late-stage development, and is targeting up to two new openings in the second half of 2026 to pilot the refreshed prototype while setting the ground for further growth in 2027 and beyond.
While BJ’s is still in the early days of its comeback era, strong guest satisfaction, rising frequency and sales, improved training, and a product lineup designed for excitement signals strong potential for success. The next stage will be about proving that durability as new prototypes, menu refreshes, and digital enhancements roll out systemwide. And for Tick, “These signals, combined with continued traffic growth, all point to a stronger and more durable BJ’s.”
