Claim Jumper is down to one Orange County restaurant after closing its Buena Park location this week. The restaurant served its final meal on Monday, Sept. 21, confirmed by an employee.
Read more Administration’s focus on noncitizen voting has led to 160 arrests. Experts say that shows it’s rare
Reddit users took notice of the closure on Sept. 21. The Buena Park venue, across the street from Knotts Berry Farm, has since been removed from Claim Jumpers’ locations page. That leaves its Costa Mesa outpost, located inside South Coast Plaza, and San Diego spot as the chain’s only remaining California locations.
In June, the San Bernardino space quietly closed, ending the chain’s presence in the Inland Empire.
ALSO READ: Are restaurants the new anchors at Orange County malls?
Craig Nickoloff and his father, Carl, founded Claim Jumpers in Los Alamitos in 1977. The Nickoloff family name has long been synonymous with dining in Orange County. Craig’s son, Nick Nickoloff, who owns and operates namesake restaurants Nick’s and South of Nick’s.
Craig Nickoloff sold a majority stake in his eatery to a private equity firm in 2005. The chain later went into bankruptcy in 2010. At its height, Claim Jumpers operated 45 locations in eight states.
Read more Is it ‘killer robots’ or ‘super intelligence’? At the UN, leaders see both
Claim Jumpers is known for its its Gold Rush-era decor, with steaks galore and oversized portions of comfort fare.
Additionally, there are three other Claim Jumper locations, owned and operated by Landry’s and sometimes branded as CJ, found at Golden Nugget casinos in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada, and Lake Charles, Louisiana.
No word yet what, if anything, will replace the Buena Park location found at 7971 Beach Blvd.
Read more Judge orders Texas to have air conditioning at all prisons by end of 2029