In 1982, a group of private investors from northern California purchased the Farrell’s chain from Marriott for $20 million. The group, known publicly as BK Restaurant Venture Inc., was headed by Richard Blum, husband of then-San Francisco mayor Diane Feinstein. The newly-private Farrell's was now headquartered in San Francisco, California. Tom Petika, who had been Vice President in charge of Farrell's under Marriott, assumed the position of President of Farrell's, Inc. 

As part of the purchase agreement, the existing leadership and select corporate staff would remain with Farrell’s for a specified period of time. Also, a clause was included that protected the investors; if the chain did not return to solid financial profitability within three years of the purchase, Marriott would reassume management and financial responsibility for the company.

The number of parlours had changed little from 1978, with 32 franchised stores and 74 company-owned units. The new ownership took an aggressive look at Farrell’s, with an eye toward rebuilding the company from the ground up. They commissioned a study from a (then) globally-renowned consulting company to identify customer perceptions and establish a new path for growth. This study stated the following findings:

• Customers no longer found the bell, siren, and drum pleasing.
• Customers were interested in a more grown-up parlour.
• Customers wanted a better variety of food items.
• Customers wanted higher quality food and service.

This study would become the premise for a company initiative known internally as “Impact ‘83”. Farrell's retained the services of a consulting firm who implemented the investors new vision for the chain. Like the Hollywood menu of 1976, the new menu would be food-centric, emphasizing quality and variety on the kitchen menu items while deemphasizing ice cream items. New food items which were unveiled included larger, fresh-pressed hamburgers, New York Strip Steak (really!), Fried Shrimp, Cobb Salad,...

Impact ‘83 also eliminated the birthday club (which was seen as an undesirable expense), and retired the bell, siren, drum and remaining player pianos from the parlours. The new owners also intended to eliminate the candy shoppes and replace them with game arcadesd (one of the investors was from the video gaming industry); however, the leases for the mall locations forbade the introduction of arcade games into the parlours. The new owners apparently hadn't checked that issue out before buying the company and Marriott didn't volunteer that information.

Parallel with the Impact ‘83 project was the little-discussed “Sacramento Concept”. Farrell’s still had two parlours operating in the metropolitan Sacramento, California area; one on Howe Avenue, and one in suburban Citrus Heights. The Sacramento Concept was a contest of sorts. Both stores were closed, and each was remodeled using a different motif  (one was redesigned with an "Old West" decor, complete with cutout cowboys). When the two stores would reopen, guest reactions could be monitored to determine which concept was more popular. It was believed that one of the two concepts would become the basis for all future Farrell’s parlours.