Rodizio Grill is a Brazilian steakhouse restaurant or churrascaria that was established in the United States. It was founded in 1995, the first to be established in the United States, by founder and president Ivan Utrera, a native Brazilian born in São Paulo. Currently there are 22 locations in the United States.
History
Rodizio Grill founder Ivan Utrera grew up in São Paulo, Brazil, where the traditional churrasco style of dining is common and popular. An entrepreneur from an early age, Utrera had an interest in business which led him to pursue higher education in the US. There he supported himself as a janitor until earning a Masters in Business Administration from Brigham Young University'sMarriott School of Management in 1992. Utrera served as Marketing Director for Pizza Hut and its parent company, PepsiCo for its Latin American markets until he was made Marketing Director over US Markets. At that time, however, he began to feel stifled by the constrains of a large corporate environment and began to explore the idea of opening a restaurant of his own. In 1995, Utrera left Pepsi Co to develop his own restaurant, basing his concept off the traditional Brazilian "churrascaria" model. In 1996 in Littleton, Colorado, he opened the doors of Rodizio Grill, the first churrascaria in the U.S. In 1999, Nation's Restaurant News awarded the company the "Hot Concepts Award." By the year 2000, Rodizio Grill had opened six restaurants, including its flagship store in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was earning revenues of $14 million per year. Though many of those early locations would close down, by 2009 the company embraced its first franchisee in Fort Collins, Colorado. Franchising has proved successful, bolstering Rodizio Grill to 22 locations in 13 states as of June 2020.
Concept
Rodizio Grill's business model follows a traditional Brazilian churrascaria concept, with a central salad bar serving pre-made and house-made salads and a hot bar with traditional Latin American offerings like rice and beans. The main feature of any churrascaria is the service of protein options, which come around on three-foot skewers in a continuous rotation to each table and are carved per guest preference. Rodizio Grill periodically introduces promotional menu alterations, such as their Wild Game Fest or Bacon Fest.
Locations
As of June 2020, there were 22 locations in thirteen states, mostly in the western and southern U.S.
Community Involvement
Rodizio Grill supports Image Reborn Foundation which helps breast cancer survivors by providing weekend retreats to survivors at no cost to participants. The individual restaurants support a variety of local charities and nonprofits.
