Who Needs Chipotle? Brew Pub Chain BJ’s Restaurants Soars After Earnings.

BJ’s Restaurants soared more than 20% Friday. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• BJ’s Restaurants stock rose nearly 20% after strong earnings, contrasting with Chipotle’s nearly 20% drop due to a weak outlook.
• The Pizookie Meal Deal, offering an entree and dessert for $13, is driving BJ’s success by attracting budget-conscious consumers.
• Traffic at BJ’s Restaurants accelerated to 3.5% over six weeks, outperforming the broader restaurant industry trends, according to an analyst.

Consumers may no longer have a hankering for burritos, chips, and guac, but they are apparently hungry for burgers, deep dish pizzas, and craft beer.

BJ’s Restaurants, which owns a casual dining chain featuring a brewhouse menu, soared nearly 20% Friday after reporting earnings on Thursday that topped Wall Street’s forecasts.

Contrast that with Chipotle Mexican Grill, whose shares plunged nearly 20% Thursday due to a weaker-than-expected outlook. For some diners, Chipotle might look overpriced. BJ’s, meanwhile, has a bargain offering helping it to attract more budget-conscious consumers.

BJ’s touted the success of its Pizookie Meal Deal, which lets customers order one of eight entrees while also getting a deep-dish cookie (the namesake Pizookie) for $13. Analysts are optimistic the value offering will continue to bring in more customers, too.

Jefferies analyst Alexander Slagle said in a report Friday the Pizookie Meal Deal is showing encouraging momentum. Slagle added the deal also seems to be a hit across income and age groups. That’s key at a time when persistent inflation is a concern for older and younger consumers regardless of how wealthy they are.

Slagle has a target of $50 on the stock, 47% higher than its current price. That makes him the most bullish analyst covering the shares. In fact, Wall Street is still skeptical that BJ’s will be able to stand out in a crowded and competitive casual dining landscape. Slagle is one of only two analysts with a Buy recommendation on BJ’s. Six rate it a Hold and one analyst dubs it an outright Sell.

But some of the skeptics are starting to succumb to the allure of the Pizookie. William Blair’s Sharon Zackfia, who has a Market Perform rating (essentially a Hold) on the stock, said in a report Friday she was impressed “traffic accelerated to 3.5% over the past six weeks, bucking the trends of the broader restaurant space on continued growth in the Pizookie Meal Deal.”

Todd Brooks, an analyst with The Benchmark Company, also has a Buy rating for BJ’s and said in a report the company has found success “with a more digitally forward approach to brand marketing,” including social media influencers and other word-of-mouth campaigns. Brooks has a $44 price target on the stock.

And it looks like the Pizookie Meal Deal isn’t the only bargain associated with BJ’s. The stock is trading for less than 15 times 2026 earnings estimates, a discount to rivals such as Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants, Texas Roadhouse, CAVA Group, and Wingstop —not to mention Chipotle.

So who needs a quesadilla with beans and rice when you can have a burger and Pizookie instead? Shares of BJ’s Restaurants could get a further boost from its signature value deal.

Write to Paul R. La Monica at paul.lamonica@barrons.com