Chart House Enterprises, the Solana Beach-based restaurant...

Chart House Enterprises, the Solana Beach-based restaurant operator, announced the commencement of its initial public stock offering, totaling 3.8 million shares priced at $13.50 each. One million of the shares are being sold by existing shareholders, with the balance made up of newly issued shares sold by the company.

Co-managing underwriters of the stock offering are Montgomery Securities and First Boston Corp. Proceeds from the offering, which could generate about $37 million for the company, will go mainly to reduce Chart House’s debt.

Among Chart House’s 73 restaurants under management are 59 Chart Houses, 1 Peohe’s and 13 Paradise Bakery outlets.