Claim Jumper

Claim Jumper is a restaurant chain headquartered in Irvine, California, USA, with 45 locations in Arizona, California, Illinois, Colorado, Nevada, Washington, Wisconsin, Oregon and Tennessee. Founder Craig Nickoloff opened the first Claim Jumper Restaurant in Los Alamitos, California in 1977. 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. The company filed for bankruptcy on September 10, 2010. On October 28, 2010, the chain was auctioned off with Landry's Restaurants being the winning bidder.

Claim Jumper restaurants are typically known for the level of detail in their atmospheres. The restaurants featured a California Gold Rush theme. Newer locations have not included the numerous "artifacts" of the time period that were prevalent throughout the original stores, and recent remodels since the Landry’s purchase have been stripping the decor from the older ones.

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 grocery stores.

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 help serve the guests, with all of the tips donated to the Special Olympics.

The future of the various locations has yet to be announced.