BJ’s Restaurants Show Variable Cost Of Food Helps Charitable Giving

When an employee participated in a walk to raise money for Lou Gehrig’s Disease, BJ’s Restaurants provided the food for everyone at the walk. “We have a responsibility to do good (deeds) because we have the ability to do so,” co-CEO Paul Motenko said. “It’s a multiplier effect. I’d rather give $1,000 in food that’s worth $4,000 than give $1,000 in cash.” (This is a 25% variable cost for food, and indicative of a restaurant’s “barter cost” when trading inasmuch as their fixed costs are covered by their cash business.)

Charitable giving is part of BJ’s Restaurants’ corporate culture. The company, formerly Chicago Pizza & Brewery with corporate offices in Huntington Beach (CA), has given $2.5 million to various beneficiaries such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the local Saddleback Memorial Medical Center since 2000.

The average chief executive’s pay at local public companies is $2.2 million, even if corporate profits shrank or losses widened. However, BJ’s co-CEOs Paul Motenko and Jerry Hennessy earned $196,000 each...reflecting their commitment to charitable giving.

Reprinted by permission from BarterNews Magazine (www.barternews.com)