Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill

Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill is a full‑service barbecue restaurant group known for slow‑smoked meats, scratch‑made sides, and an active bar program built around whiskey, craft beer, and cocktails. The company operates primarily in Southern California with one restaurant in Texas, concentrating on high‑traffic retail, lifestyle, and entertainment centers that draw steady lunch, dinner, and weekend business. Core menu items include smoked tri‑tip, baby back and beef ribs, brisket, and chicken, alongside burgers, sandwiches, salads, and a meaningful takeout and catering offering that helps smooth demand throughout the week.

The brand was founded in 1992 by partners Eric Anders and Ofer Shemtov, who opened the first Wood Ranch in Moorpark, California after several years of developing their barbecue recipes and service approach. Early success in Moorpark led to additional locations across Greater Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange County, and the Inland Empire. A notable milestone came in the early 2000s with the opening of high‑profile restaurants in Valencia and Irvine, which raised the company’s visibility and solidified its role as a regional barbecue anchor in major suburban trade areas.

As of October 2024, Wood Ranch operates 18 restaurants across California and Texas under the Wood Ranch and WR Kitchen & Bar names. The California footprint includes communities such as Camarillo, Moorpark, Valencia, Agoura Hills, Corona, Rancho Cucamonga, Chino Hills, Cerritos, Long Beach, Irvine, Mission Valley in San Diego, and The Grove in Los Angeles, with the Texas presence at the Grandscape development in The Colony. Locations have shifted over time as the company has closed some older units and added new ones, but the trade area remains tightly clustered around higher‑income suburbs and major employment and retail nodes.

Over the last five years, Wood Ranch has focused on selective growth in contiguous Western and South‑Central markets, adding units in lifestyle centers, power centers, and mixed‑use projects that offer strong evening and weekend traffic. The introduction and refinement of the WR Kitchen & Bar format has been a key evolution, giving the brand a more flexible, bar‑forward option that fits comfortably into smaller or more urban footprints while still delivering the core barbecue menu. During the COVID‑19 period, the company expanded online ordering, catering, and third‑party delivery, and those channels continue to support sales beyond the four walls.

Wood Ranch is privately held and independently owned, which has allowed it to grow at a measured pace and maintain consistency across the estate. For landlords, brokers, and developers, the concept functions as a dependable food‑and‑beverage anchor in open‑air and mixed‑use environments, combining full‑service dining, a sizable bar, and a strong catering business that brings guests to a property across multiple dayparts and helps activate centers in the evenings and on weekends.