Beef O'Brady's

History

Jim Mellody left his native Pennsylvania for Florida in 1971, spending years trying out different restaurant ideas before landing on the winning formula: a family-friendly Irish pub that skips hard liquor. He opened the first Beef O'Brady's in 1985. In 1998, Mellody sold off most of his stake to Family Sports Concepts Inc., run by Chuck Winship, though he kept a piece of 13 locations. Franchising kicked off that same year, and by August 2000 the chain had hit 40 spots.

When Mellody passed away in November 2002, the chain had grown to 88 locations spread across seven southeastern states. After his death, the company bought out his remaining interest, and by December 2005 the count had jumped to 183 locations in 19 states. As of 2009, Mellody's daughter was still running that original Brandon location. In early 2010, CEO Chuck Winship retired and Chris Elliott—a former executive from Cinnabon and Church's Chicken—took over.

At that time, the chain had about 245 locations, down from a high of roughly 270. By September 2019, the number had dropped to 150, with 26 of those company-owned and operated. In 2009, the company stepped up as the title sponsor of the St. Petersburg Bowl, a college football bowl game held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

That year's game was called the St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef 'O' Brady's. From 2010 through 2013, it was renamed the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl. In 2014, the game went back to one of its earlier names, and by 2017 it was once again the Gasparilla Bowl.