Atlantic Restaurant News - June 2013 by Ishcom Publications

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estaurant News R June 2013 Vol. 15 No. 3

Branching out at La Frasca

Stephanie and Maurizio Bertossi

Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40010152

By Leslie Wu, editorial director HALIFAX—Two restaurateurs with roots in the community since 1984 are bringing a bit of northern Italy to Halifax. Stephanie and Maurizio Bertossi opened La Frasca Cibi & Vini on Spring Garden Road on May 27. The new concept took over the couple’s 17-year-old Il Mercato restaurant, part of the Bertossi Group’s empire which also includes

another Il Mercato location, Ristorante a Mano and The Bicycle Thief. The name, which translates to “branch” in Italian, refers to a Friulian tradition of hanging a branch in the road to signify that people should come in to join friends for food and a glass of wine, said Stephanie Bertossi to ARN. “We call it the original pop-up,” she joked.

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Overseen by Maurizio and executive chef Lawry Deneau, the menu encompasses dishes from northern Italy and the Friuli region—an area in northeastern Italy where Maurizio hails from—and features items such as Gnocchi di Susine, with plum stuffing, cinnamon, brown butter sauté, and breadcrumbs for $16 and Cevapcici e Salsiccia, a housemade sausage dish for $22. With appetizers around $9 and entrees around $24, Bertossi said that the menu is designed to be changed often and accommodate sharing. “The olden days of having multicourse menus tends not to work any more,” she said. “People want to share things.” With 12 enomatic dispensers, plus another four for champagne, the restaurant will offer 25 wines by the glass for $8 and up, from a primarily Italian list. The beer menu also lists Bombetta (meaning “bowler hat” in Italian), a Friuli-style brew made exclusively for the restaurant by local Propeller Brewery. The 5,000-square-foot, 150-seat space includes 14 seats at a large bar and eight to 10 seats at two smaller stand-up bars. Designed by Stephanie Bertossi and local design firm MAC Interior Design, the restaurant took shape in five weeks from demolition to open. “It’s a little mix of modern and old school,” said Bertossi. A collage made by manager Steve Arsenault and other staff covers one wall and includes wine labels, pictures of Friuli and graffiti from Maurizio. All furniture is custom made, with wood tables inlaid with wine box tops, a black and white marble top bar, and old-style Venetian lights, said Bertossi. 5650 Spring Garden Road, Halifax. lafrascahalifax@gmail.com. lafrasca.ca

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Lavallée sells oysters by the seashore HALIFAX—Feisty chef Renée Lavallée is setting up shop on the Halifax harbour. The Shack Oyster Bar, opened with her friend and seafood supplier, will operate out of a Lower Water Street kiosk between Carmichael and Prince Streets. “There are picnic tables around and on the waterfront, there’s plenty of room for people to sit down around us,” said Lavallée to ARN. She will be shucking oysters and clams onsite and The Shack will offer them raw. Steamed scallops and mussels will also be offered with a choice to have them tossed in one of three sauces. Diners can also choose a crab or lobster roll and clam chowder with a Two if By Sea café biscuit. A meal is under $15, with prices ranging Feisty chef Renée Lavallée has partnered with a supplier and friend to open The Shack Oyster from steamed mussels or three oysters for $8 to lobster rolls for $13, or a dozen oysters for $24. Bar on the Halifax harbour.

Cocktail aficionado Jeff Van Horne will be developing a weekly, non-alcoholic beverage. For the shack’s first week, Van Horne whipped up a watermelon lemonade. Lavallée said the seasonal, take-out only establishment will start serving from the beginning of nice weather until October, and operate in the same period for the next three years, with the potential of extending the lease on the kiosk from three years to five. With Halifax’s rainy weather in late May, Lavallée said she, along with many other waterfront kiosks, was waiting on the sunshine to open The Shack. “Usually what happens with the kiosks is on rainy days most of them close—there’s nobody on the waterfront,” she said. 1751 Lower Water St., facebook.com/TheShackOysterBar, @theshackns.

A gathering on food security in Nova Scotia HALIFAX—For the first time since 2009, a collective of Nova Scotia food industry members gathered to talk on food security and local sourcing at Dalhousie University. The NS Food Gathering was held May 9 to 11 and fostered discussions on the state of food security in the province: where it was four years ago, where it is now and where it’s heading, said Keltie Butler, executive director, Farmers' Markets of Nova Scotia, one of the organizing members. “We wanted to come together and hold this gathering to bring together people to sort of take stock in the success and the challenges of the food movement in the past,” Butler told ARN. “We also thought that it was really time for the food movement to view itself as a food movement; to have that collective understanding. That was one of the great successes.” The event was a collaboration between the Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia, the NS Food Security Network, the NS Food Policy Council, Slow Food NS, the Food Action Research Centre at Mount St. Vincent University, the Food Action Committee of the Ecology Action Centre and the Dalhousie Student Union’s Sustainability Office. With such a network of voices on food security, one of the main talking points of the gathering was whether an overarching organization or structure was needed. Butler said the result of that conversation was that one of the network’s strengths is its diversity and rather than a structure, open and consistent communication between the coalition of food organizations that needs to be maintained. “As long as we maintain those connections, we’ll keep building,” said Butler. “Part of what we learned from that is that there are all of these fan-

tastic projects across the province. Some may be quite new or novel or innovative. Watching those projects progress, we think ‘could that be replicated or adapted to fit other areas’?” Some highlights of the gathering include a talk by local anti-poverty activist Wayne MacNaughton on living with food insecurity and a workshop led by Carleton University professor Peter Andree on power and policy change within the food system. One session focused on entrepreneurship and financing Chef Tom Kelloway from by looking at social enterprise. Chartwells. Seth Graham and Jessie Doyle, owners of Fruition discussed Halifax food truck Nomad Gourmet prepared how their Seaport Marketlocal pork belly with buttermilk mashed potatoes based vegan café moved into a formalized kitchen and apple gastrique, while fishing co-op Off the using a crowd funding campaign. Hook’s clams were served up steamed in Garrison “It was about the different ways of funding beer alongside Fruition’s vegan and sweet options. these types of initiatives and their experience in “Certainly chefs, like producers, are a key part starting a local food-based business,” said Butler. of the local food movement. So much of the sucIn a true celebration of local food and entrecess of the local food movement and growth of preneurship, the Dalhousie Student Union buildproduce is that we have these fantastic small or ing hosted the event Celebrating Local Food: A medium size businesses that want to take this loShowcase of Nova Scotia Chefs and Producers. cal product and make it into delicious food,” said A Slow Food Nova Scotia director, chef Chris Butler. Velden of the Flying Apron Cookery, served up “It’s about food security and access to healthy fresh seafood, in partnership with Slow Food, suplocal food, but also about being able to celebrate porting its new campaign, Slow Fish, based on the food and enjoy it and let it nourish you in many need to bring the issue of fisheries into the local ways.” food movement, Butler said.

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Editorial Director Leslie Wu ext. 227 lwu@canadianrestaurantnews.com Senior Contributing Editor Colleen Isherwood ext. 231 cisherwood@canadianrestaurantnews.com Assistant Editor Elaine Anselmi ext. 226 eanselmi@canadianrestaurantnews.com Assistant Editor, Digital Content Kristen Smith ext. 238 ksmith@canadianrestaurantnews.com National Sales Manager Dave Bell ext. 230 dbell@canadianrestaurantnews.com Senior Account Manager Debbie McGilvray ext. 233 dmcgilvray@canadianrestaurantnews.com Account Manager Kim Kerr ext. 229 kkerr@canadianrestaurantnews.com Production Stephanie Giammarco ext. 221 sgiammarco@canadianrestaurantnews.com Circulation Manager Don Trimm ext. 228 dtrimm@canadianrestaurantnews.com Controller Tammy Turgeon ext. 237 tammy@canadianrestaurantnews.com How to reach us: Tel (905) 206-0150

To cook, perchance to eat

hen it comes to eating, do you need to be able to cook in order to fully appreciate what’s on your plate? In today’s food conscious era, there’s a certain virtue ascribed to the person who can cook: healthy, cost-aware, and capable of producing both sustenance and pleasure. Somehow, society’s fascination with the celebrity of the chef has translated to the idea of celebrity in the act of cooking itself. The mantra has moved beyond the idea that through cooking, you can become a better person into the idea that by cooking, you are inherently a better person. But what does this shift mean for the noncooks in our midst? In the defense of non-cooks on Minnesota Public Radio, cookbook author and host of radio program “The Splendid Table” Lynne Roseto Kasper says that this new food aware-

ness leads to additional pressures that go beyond the kitchen and into our value systems. “We cook to save our identities, culturally, our traditions,” she says. “We cook to strike out against the forces we feel are evil – you name them. We cook because it shows how cool we are.” With these values ascribed to the nature of cooking food, why is it that in the act of eating – unlike sports or music, where you can be a passive observer rather than participant – there lies the idea that cooking makes you a better eater? For all that recent years have seen cooking transformed into a visual medium through food media, there’s a growing divide between the idea of cooking and the act of cooking. “This is peculiar,” writes Michael Pollan in his latest book, Cooked. “After all, we’re not watching shows or reading books about sewing

BITS Phinley’s Diner shows big Burger Love

Publisher Steven Isherwood ext. 236 sisherwood@canadianrestaurantnews.com

Volume 15 Number 3 Atlantic Restaurant News is published 6 times per year by Ishcom Publications Ltd. which also publishes: Ontario Restaurant News, Pacific/Prairie Restaurant News, Atlantic Restaurant News, Canadian Chains Directory 2065 Dundas Street East, Suite 201 Mississauga, Ontario L4X 2W1 Tel: (905) 206-0150 Fax: (905) 206-9972 In Canada 1 800 201-8596 Subscriptions: Canada & USA: $24.95/ year or $39.95/two years Single copy: $5.00 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to circulation department, 2065 Dundas Street East, Suite 201, Mississauga, Ontario L4X 2W1 Publication Mail Agreement No. 40010152 ISSN 1702-3483 GST number R102533890

STRATFORD, PEI—When Burger Love took over Prince Edward Island in May, Phinley’s Diner proved to be the most admired. The Stratford diner’s Smokin’ Fox burger won the competition that saw 31 restaurants create an artisanal burger to be voted on by customers. “The owner and I both had some ideas for the contest and we sort of just started doing some trial and error,” Phinley’s Diner chef David Moore told ARN. “As soon as we tried the combo that we had on the Fox we said, ‘that’s it’.” The winning burger was a stacked order with a P.E.I. beef patty topped with house-made sweet and spicy jalapeno bacon, homemade onion chips, two-year-old applewood smoked cheddar from the island’s Cows Creamery, homemade barbecue sauce, leaf lettuce and tomatoes, sandwiched in a poppy seed Kaiser bun. In line with the rules of the competition, the Smokin’ Fox was created specifically for Burger Love, but Moore said it has been added to the menu at Phinley amongst their diverse burger board that includes the “Maggie Likes It” with sour cream, bacon bits and caramelized onions, and “Jake’s Breakfast” with a fried egg and hollandaise sauce. As a first-time participant in Burger Love, Moore was enthused by the amount of business it brought in to P.E.I. restaurants during a generally slower time; more business than he had even hoped. “We didn’t know what to expect with the contest, we thought if we hit 30 burgers per day we’d be doing really well,” he said. In actuality, they sold closer to 40 burgers on the first day of Burger Love, 80 the second and then more than 200 burgers every day after.

“For me and my little staff in the kitchen it was unbelievable,” said Moore. “It’s me and three other guys. With four cooks here, the amount of prep and cooking we did from April 2 to May 1 was unbelievable. I think I had one day off and the guys maybe had three.” Down to the numbers, Moore said they cooked and made more than 10,000 patties in-house, more than 25,000 slices of jalapeno bacon by hand, and their shortest working day was probably 14 hours. “It was just a non-stop juggling act,” he said. “We were learning the whole time throughout the process, and pretty much, at the end, we had it down.”

More of Ches’ Fish and Chips for Newfoundland ST. JOHN’S—Ches’ Fish and Chips, a St. John’s mainstay since 1951, will open two new restaurants on the Rock this summer. Franchise agreements have been signed for locations in Marystown and Carbonear, according to The Southern Gazette. The fish and chip operation was started in St. John’s by Ches and Betty Barbour, and will count eight restaurants under its brand, including the two new locations, said the Gazette. As well as four in St. John’s, Ches’ has stores in Mount Pearl and Gander. “Marystown has been in our sights for a long time,” Jen Barbour, the granddaughter of Ches and Betty who handles media and marketing relations for the company, told the Gazette. “The Burin Peninsula has been near and dear to our hearts.” Barbour said both locations should open by August, with the Marystown location taking the space in the Peninsula Mall, formerly occupied by Kentucky Fried Chicken. “Everyone can expect the same

or darning socks or changing the oil in our car, three other domestic chores we have been only too happy to outsource.” This disconnect between the concept of cooking and the act itself manifests itself in many ways: most notably, through the fact that while we spend more time focusing on food itself, the amount of time that the average home cook spends in the kitchen actually producing food has been in decline over the years. And although this is creating a breed of diner who can’t roast a chicken to save their lives, it’s also a group that is supporting the restaurant industry either due to desire for convenience or curiosity about new experiences. “The noncook is someone who generally can be a great food lover,” says Kasper. “You fulfill a role that has not been acknowledged yet in this country. But you are a great supporter of all of the other folks who like to cook.” At the end of the day, non-cooks pay for a restaurant’s overhead by not eating at home, and that, in an era where margins is slim and food costs are high, is something the restaurant industry can certainly appreciate.

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Leslie Wu, Editorial Director

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Ches’ service that they know and love from St. John’s—the same great food quality,” she said. “We’ve got 61 years behind us, so we’ll still have our focus on the best fish and chips in Newfoundland.”

Saint John food vendors could return SAINT JOHN—City Council is making motions to bring food vendors back to the streets of Saint John. Councillor Susan Fullerton’s motion to change municipal bylaws that limit portable stalls on sidewalks saw unanimous approval at a meeting in early April, according to the CBC. While sidewalks will remain food vendor-free, the city agreed to open other spaces such as Loyalist Plaza to food vendor operations, said the CBC. “It’s the kind of thing that adds vibrancy,” Mayor Mel Norton said during an April 22 council meeting. “This is hopefully a bit of an interim measure that would assist those vendors that might have an idea,” said Norton.

A sunny outlook for restaurants this summer TORONTO—With patio season blossoming, more than one third of restaurateurs expect sales to pick up over the next half year, according to the first quarter results of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association’s (CRFA) Restaurant Outlook Survey. “With the bad weather behind us, restaurant operators are feeling more positive about business in the coming months,” Garth Whyte, CRFA president and CEO, said in a May 7 news release. “As a result, restaurateurs will be on a bit of a hiring spree—27 per cent plan to hire more employees over the next six months, up from 16 per cent in [the fourth quarter] of 2012.”

According to the survey, which saw 206 respondents representing more than 6,672 foodservice establishments, 19 per cent expect a slowdown over the next six months and 47 per cent expect sales to grow at a steady rate. In survey results, 67 per cent of operators cited rising food costs as their chief concern, 48 per cent said rising labour costs have impacted business and half blamed bad weather for hurting sales. About one third claim lacklustre customer demand affected business.

A Barrington bar says its final goodbye HALIFAX—The Pogue Fado on Halifax’s bar-laden Barrington Street officially closed its doors in late April. The Irish public house’s owners explained their position in a Facebook post, stating the move was effective immediately. “A long and careful evaluation of our position indicates to us, like it has to others in our industry, that moving forward given the current business environment downtown simply doesn’t make sense,” the owners wrote. The Pogue has been in operation for ten years at 1581 Barrington St., and co-owner Richard Stevens told CTV he and his four partners “saw that in the three to five-year horizon, there isn’t much future in our industry downtown.” Stevens and his partners thanked their customers, staff and the various east coast musicians and DJs that have graced their stage in the Facebook post. They wrote: “As owners, we are happy and proud of Pogue Fado Irish Public House and of all those among you who have made it possible. We are grateful for the past ten years and all it has given us; you have our heartfelt thanks.”

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ast year, one of Halifax-based Burrito Jax’s two restaurants sold 74,498 burritos. President and CEO Gordon Delano, who founded the chain with his wife Eleanor in 2009, says customers love to brag about how often they eat at one of their stores. Recently two mortgage brokers, Scott and Igor, showed him $1,600 worth of tax receipts from a Halifax store from the past year. “That’s a lot of $7.59 burritos,” he laughs. Delano focuses on the importance of price point, and feels he has found an appropriate one. “Consumers are expecting a better quality of product from fast casual stores and are willing to give you a few extra minutes to prepare it.” Fast casual is just beginning to emerge in Canada, says Alex Rechichi, president, CEO and co-founder of Extreme Brandz, which offers the Extreme Pita, Mucho Burrito and Via Cibo brands in the fast casual sector. “It is successful because it raises the experience and food quality to a level the customer has only experienced previously in casual dining. With fast casual, you get chef-driven offerings at the speed of QSR but in a more upscale environment. I think we will begin to see variations of fast casual models start to evolve in Canada over the next three years,” he says. “What makes the fast casual segment successful in Canada is customization or ‘build your own,’” says Brittany Sovak, marketing team leader for JL International, which offers more than 25 manufacturers’ products to the market. “This segment gives customers the increased

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ability to customize their food from the type of carrier to all the toppings they could dream of, even if offered at an added cost. Customers are willing to pay for the added value from this segment.” The challenge for an operator, Sovak says, is ensuring that menu items are priced correctly and that more expensive or gourmet toppings are priced at a premium level to reflect costs. “From our vantage point, the fast casual segment is growing for a few key reasons,” says Joseph Di Maria, business development m a n ager for JL International. “Economics are forcing people to trade down, however, they still want to eat out. Growth in fast casual is an indication that people want to sit down for meals but don’t have the time to stay for an extended period.” Scott Strickland is senior director of marketing, foodservice for Maple Leaf Consumer Foods, which offers a wide variety of products to the fast casual market. He identifies speed of service, specialty ingredients and globally-inspired flavours as trends. “Canadian consumers have adventurous palates and are willing to try bolder flavours. Chefs are able to scale back on high-end menus to demonstrate quality, flavour and unique preparation with only a few ingredients,” Strickland explains. “The fast casual model targets a customer who understands and is willing to pay more for the customer experience and quality of products,” says Strickland. There’s little margin for error with these attributes.

Indulgent versus healthy One operator who has no doubts about where he sits on the health continuum is Ryan Smolkin, founder and director of Torontobased Smoke’s Poutinerie, which has 50 units and is on the cusp of expansion. “We have a guarantee that we are below 20,000 calories per serving and can hit all four food groups if you choose the right item!” he laughs. Smolkin does half his business from midnight to 4 a.m., Thursdays through Saturdays. “While we do have five vegetarian options with veggie gravy, people order Triple Pork Poutine

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astCasual

A fast mover

with veggie gravy, too. We don’t try to pretend we’re a health craze. French fries are the base of my product. People still want to indulge when midnight cravings hit,” he says. Smolkin says the reason his concept is popular with consumers is the value of the product, including a three-pound “Wow” size. “We’re selling way more than fries, curds and gravy. And that’s what brings them back,” he says. On the other side of the health spectrum lies Freshii, which was started in Toronto as a healthy eating option. Founder and CEO Matthew Corrin “didn’t want people to have an excuse not to eat healthy,” explains public relations manager (and former nutritionist) Mia Jacobs. “We’ve created a new fast casual segment— health casual. People are realizing their health is in their hands and they want healthier choices. It’s our job to show them that it can be quick and delicious, but doesn’t have to be a bowl of plain lettuce,” says Jacobs, who adds that the chain of 70 stores (with 22 in Canada and more than 100 in development worldwide) buys organic and sources locally depending on availability. She sees super foods as a current trend and Freshii has introduced fresh-pressed juices to stores to capitalize on that. Kale as a substitute for lettuce is selling well as is their recently introduced gluten-free Green Wrap. Jeff Clarke, territory manager, Eastern Foodservice, a regional company that belongs to a buying group of 55 distributors that draw from one warehouse, says tortillas are a best seller because people want wraps and burritos that can be prepared ahead or quickly in front of them. “Healthy is very big. Salads are huge right now,” he adds. “Operators are getting smarter. They are looking at ways to be creative and asking what’s the best item on my menu to set me apart? Burrito Jax nailed it and their success is amazing. In downtown Halifax, there are at least three or four new quick casual restaurants that have opened in the last six months.”

Buying into burritos Halifax-based Burrito Jax is making a name with its imaginatively flavoured, customizable

By Marni Andrews

burritos. Delano and his wife visit Mexico several times a year for flavour inspiration. He says their concept is “close to a health food store.” “We believe our ingredients and spice profiles offer incredible flavours with no excessive salts and no commodity sauces except the mole. Everything else is store-made,” he says. Delano looks forward to a Korean-Mexican fusion – which he calls one of the big food trends in California – which will be reflected in one of the chain’s monthly features, a Korean burrito with kimchi. “Gourmet burgers and Mexican are very trendy right now,” agrees Morgan Van Horne, vice-president foodservice for Amca Sales and Marketing, whose Mexican-inspired ED Smith Saucemaker Sauces (Baja Chipotle and Pepitas Mole) are very popular. Amca is also selling a lot of “guaranteed to separate” flour tortillas from Solis Mexican Foods. Rechichi says Extreme Brandz introduced a different type of Mexican food to the Canadian market six years ago with Mucho Burrito “when everyone thought Mexican was $0.69 tacos and we came in with a $7 burrito and grew the chain to 70 restaurants in a short span.”

Building identity The Ghost Pepper Burrito, a Mucho Burrito creation, and the taco trip promotion celebrating Cinco de Mayo, were cutting edge and used social media in a way that captured its consumer base and enhanced its identity, says Hayes of JL International. Chains that are building identity by offering a unique, limited-menu selection have successfully built consumer loyalty because people know what to expect, says Michel Houle, sales director, foodservice for Berthelet Food Products, which offers 28 categories and nearly 1,000 SKU’s to the fast casual market. Rainer Mueller, CEO of Williams Fresh Café, with 37 locations in Southern Ontario, understands the power of building brand through events. In February, Mueller hosted a surprise 21st birthday celebration at his Waterloo location for twins attending school, away from home. “Their mother in Colombia contacted us about wanting to buy her daughters a piece

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of cake for their birthday. We decided to treat them to a free surprise dinner for four and we got mom on Skype to talk to her daughters on their birthday,” says Mueller. For some chains, catering can help create identity. Fast casual chains are leading growth in catering with almost one-third of consumers now catering this way, according to Advertising Age. Rechichi of Extreme Brandz says catering makes up a significant percentage of system sales. This summer he has a corporate order impacting a handful of restaurants across the country that will total almost $200,000 in revenue over two to three days. Panera Bread has also grown its catering business significantly. In addition to its wellpublicized practice of donating left-over baked goods at the end of each day, it also introduced a so-called “secret” menu on a trial basis in New York last November. This type of menu, which is generally promoted only through word of mouth, is one of the cheapest marketing tools around and has the cachet of exclusivity since not everyone knows about it.

Panera’s “secret” menu – offered only in the U.S. – is listed on its website but the items (all lower-calorie and low-carb) are not described.

Looking at labour Labour is always a key issue in the restaurant industry, says Houle. When you combine this with the fact that the breadth of the fast casual menu is larger than a QSR restaurant, it becomes difficult to manage. While labour shortages are not unique to the fast casual category, Mueller notes a problem that is

Fast Casual

prevalent for an operator. “We require a team member with a higher level of emotional maturity because they are dealing with almost a full service environment at times,” he says. “Our focus is helping franchisees hire the right people. Recruiting is a big focus because you can’t turn a porcupine into a peacock.” Delano notes that since Halifax is a university town, he decided to offer very flexible shifts and employee discounts. On weekends, he offers six-hour shifts so work won’t affect study time or friend time.

| 7 “We have staff who have been with us all through college and still work with us parttime,” he says. Rechichi suggests foreign labour should be allowed in all provinces. Organizationally, his company is focused on creating a strong culture with a concentration on people development and helping team members identify a career path early on. “The more people realize this is more than a part-time job and they see where they can end up in three to five years, the more they stay committed,” says Rechichi. On the other hand, Gerry Docherty, chief operating officer of Good Earth Cafés, says that labour problems are practically a nonissue for him. Most of the chain’s recruitment is done through word of mouth from current employees. “We attract employees who are like-minded and live their lives with many of the values that our brand represents. In addition, we offer an upscale, relaxed environment where employees are encouraged to be themselves and cultivate relationships with their customers. Great coffee and music doesn’t hurt either,” he says.

Concept Snapshots

Who: Burrito Jax (owned by G4U Foods Inc.). How Many: Two in Halifax (four under construction, eight in contract phase in Alberta, Greater Toronto Area, NB & NS). Started: July 2009 Philosophy: Freshly prepared burritos and quesadillas made from antibiotic and HgH-free meats with no added stabilizers or excessive salts, sauces store-made except mole. Average Footprint: 1,000 square feet. Average Check: unavailable Best Seller: Tie between Jax Chicken and Jax Messy Pork. Notable comments: Our audience is growing every week. Last year, in one 530-square-foot restaurant, we sold 74,498 burritos. Consumers are expecting a better quality of product from fast casual stores and are willing to give you a few extra minutes to prepare it. Price point is huge and we have found our happy price point. Who: Extreme Brandz, a group of privately-held Canadian companies with brands including Extreme Pita, Mucho Burrito and Via Cibo-Italian Street Food. How Many: 375+ in North America Started: Extreme Pita, 1997; Mucho Burrito, 2006; Via Cibo, 2013 Philosophy: Extreme Pita is fresh, healthy sandwiches. Mucho Burrito is fresh, handmade gourmet Mexican food. Via Cibo is Italian street food. Average Footprint: Extreme Pita: 1,200 to 1,300 square feet. Mucho Burrito: 2,200 to 2,400 square feet. Via Cibo: 2,500 to 3,000 square feet. Average Check: Extreme Pita, $9. Mucho Burrito, $14. Via Cibo (estimated), $17 to $20.

Best Seller(s): Extreme Pita, grilled Chicken Pita. Mucho Burrito, Med. Pollo Burrito. Via Cibo (not yet established). Brand identity: Talking about your products using social media is today’s word of mouth. Getting [customers] exposed to new and interesting combinations and creating a food mantra for your brand is more relevant than it has ever been. Guests want to know what you and your food stand for. When that is clear it makes it easier for them to connect with the brand and talk about it. Who: Smoke’s Poutinerie How Many: 50 from St. John’s to Vancouver. Started: 2008 in Toronto Philosophy: “Taking traditional poutine to the next level with 30 varieties and clogging arteries since 2008.” Average Footprint: 1,000 square feet. Average Check: $8.80 Best Seller(s): Pulled Pork Poutine from day one. Challenged by Bacon Double Cheeseburger Poutine and limited-time offers such as BLT Poutine, Kraft Dinner Poutine with Bullseye BBQ, Slaughterhouse Poutine and Pierogi Poutine. Brand identity: I source everything direct with top-notch suppliers. We custom seed our own potato fields. We use our own brand of potatoes, a premium yellow flesh variety, and Yukon Gold.

Photos: Page 6, top: Customers at Good Earth Cafe. Bottom: Extreme Brandz Mucho Burrito. Page 7, top: Smoke’s Poutinerie’s nachos grande. Bottom: Chicken Rice Box from Williams Fresh Cafe.

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red fife wheat on offer, it got its name: a nod to the national colours. In the interest of creating something with a true collaborative nature, breweries were invited to bring local ingredients, said Lockhart. “There are a lot of local honeys involved and local grains and even some locally grown hops,” he said, adding that a recipe was created from the sourced ingredients. The draught will be released in Victoria and Vancouver and Lockhart said it should be ready in early June. He said Phillips is going to try to get some of the beer to the participating breweries and all proceeds will go to a charitable cause, such as a brewing scholarship. Lockhart suspects the wit will have a sweet quality, noting he is not entirely sure what effect the orange peel and Tofino, BC elderflowers will have, but the brewers tried to keep it balanced. “It’s an animal entirely on its own, ” said Lockhart. “It’s going to be a big beer, that’s for sure.” He said it would be quite a challenge to recreate the brew. “We had a ‘recipe,’ but when it came down to it, the collaborative process kind of took a life of its own once you had everybody involved and kind of having fun with it,” said Lockhart. “I think it really is truly a one-off in the strictest sense of the word.”

A made in Canada collaboration VICTORIA—In true Canadian spirit, 26 breweries from six provinces – British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Ontario – got together at Phillips Brewing on May 10 during the annual Canadian Brewing Awards to create the Red and White Imperial Wit. “As far as we know, it’s the first Canadian collaboration beer of its kind,” said co-ordinator Matt Lockhart of Phillips Brewing, the brew site and driver of the Great Canadian Craft Beer Collaboration. Lockhart told ARN a fellow ale maker pitched the idea to join forces while in town for the Canadian Brewing Awards. “We thought ‘why not open it up to everybody? There’s such a strong brewing community across the country’,” said Lockhart. He said it didn’t take long to determine – through a giant email dialogue – that the brewers would create an imperial wit. With some Ontario

SUPPLY

L I N E S

New milk class changes cheese designation in Canada OTTAWA—As of June 1, the Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee (CMSMC) has approved a new milk designation for Canadian mozzarella cheese used specifically on fresh pizza. “It was a 15 year journey,” said Garth Whyte, president and CEO of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) to ARN. “We’ve done everything, such as go to court, appeal to the trade tribunal, appeal to the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC), and put out ad campaigns over this because of the inequity between frozen pizza and fresh pizza, using the same mozzarella.” Whyte said there is, on average, a 30 per cent difference in the price paid by frozen and fresh pizza makers, for the same mozzarella. The Dairy Farmers of Canada and the CRFA have been collaborating with the CMSMC for over a year on this specific designation, said Whyte. “What we try to do is try to find a win-win-win scenario,” he said. This includes lower prices for the customer,

getting more dairy on restaurant menus to benefit industry members and helping Canadian farmers by selling more of their product. The classification will cover Canadian mozzarella cheese used only for fresh pizzas by CDC-registered establishments. Whyte said more details on what registration will entail will come from the dairy commission, but “basically you have to prove you’re a restaurant. Grocery stores need not apply.” He said they hope to make it an easy, 15-minute process, where restaurateurs show that they operate a registered restaurant and report the amount of mozzarella used. “The mozzarella has to be in two and a half kilo blocks, diced or shredded and used for pizza,” said Whyte. A fresh pizza maker will see a reduction of up to 70 cents per kilo in their mozzarella cheese cost, he said. For a small pizzeria these savings could be up to $3,000 a year, for larger ones, up to $100,000. “It’s unprecedented, really, to give a new classification to an entire sector – it’s a big deal,” said Whyte.

Culinary Institute of Canada’s kitchen gets smarter CHARLOTTETOWN—Holland College is upgrading what is already called “Canada’s

THE

BEVERAGE

INDUSTRY

Red Rover comes to NB FREDERICTON—Red Rover Brewing Company is preparing to launch near Fredericton later this year and is looking for the right location for its cidery. Partners Adam Clawson and Nicola Mason moved to Fredericton five years ago and, while there is a selection of local craft beers in the area, they were hard-pressed to find a hard cider, especially a local one. Both originally from England, the couple began producing cider for their own enjoyment and then started sharing with friends. “We started to realize there is a large apple production in New Brunswick, but there is no one actually utilizing it to make cider,” Clawson told ARN. The pair must wait until autumn when the apples drop and larger-scale brewing can commence to launch. In preparation, they are scouting for the right type of location, producing consecutive batches and sampling, which they have been doing for about a year and a half. “We’re hoping to set up on a heritage property or something along those lines; something that really reflects the product we’re creating, which is a true, local product,” said Clawson. The couple plans to only use apples from the Saint John River Valley to start and eventually expand, using strictly New Brunswick apples. “Our hope is to create something that is slightly more unconventional than the standard ciders which are made from apple concentrate,” said Clawson. He said that additional sugar and flavours hide the base alcohol product. Red Rover is aiming to create a product made from varieties

Smartest Kitchen,” with help from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). With an investment of more than $100,000 from ACOA and another $34,000 from the college, the kitchen will stay at the cutting edge, according to an April 29 release. “We are very grateful for the support ACOA has provided to Holland College and Canada’s Smartest Kitchen,” Peter Crooks, kitchen executive director said in the release. “This financial contribution has allowed us to expand our capabilities in food product development and equip our new Smart Studio with leading-edge technologies for food concept ideation, food styling and professional photography.” Added equipment in the facility will allow for research into gluten-free foods, nutrition, seafood and beverage innovation. Canada’s Smartest Kitchen was established in 2009 and operates as the research and development arm of the Culinary Institute of Canada at Holland College.

Lobster prices settled after Maritime-wide strike CHARLOTTETOWN—With the lobster season beginning early May, more than 1,000 fishermen tied up their boats on May 8 and 9 in an effort to reduce supply to seafood processors

Adam Clawson and Nicola Mason.

of apples based on flavours and aromas to create a full mouth feel from the apples. Red Rover’s ciders will complement the different seasons: a fruity cider for spring, a dry cider for summer and a fall brew with cinnamon. The duo plan to release one or two products to local pubs and bars later this year or early 2014. Clawson noted that Red Rover has three bars confirmed to stock its cider and an additional eight interested. Various ciders will be available throughout the year. Although the gluten-free cider will be initially available to bars in the Fredericton area, Clawson said they are open to supplying other parts of the province depending on commercial viability and want to expand to the rest of the country within the next few years. Clawson said the dry cider is reminiscent of a dry white wine, while the fruity spring cider is more like a chardonnay. He noted beer drinkers tend to like a dry cider and wine drinkers prefer the fruity one. “We’ve been pulling in the local community to try and create a product that’s not what we think they would like but what they would actually like, based on their own feedback,” said Clawson. www.redroverbrew.com, www.facebook.com/redroverbrew, Twitter: @RedRoverBrew and about 700 P.E.I. fishermen rallied outside the Department of Fisheries and Oceans demanding a higher price for the popular crustacean. In mid-May, lobster fishers agreed to end the strike and head out to drop their traps. According to the CBC, many fishermen tied up their boats after learning commercial buyers were paying $3 a pound for lobster. CTV Atlantic reported that fishermen hoped to force seafood processors to pay $5 a pound and they reluctantly voted to accept $4.25. The fishermen said this is less than they received last season and will barely cover expenses. “Nobody is satisfied with the price,” fisherman Carl Pottie told CTV. “What are you going to do if they won’t pay anymore? You can’t get blood from a stone.” Demonstrations were heard across the eastern provinces on May 9, according to The Chronicle Herald. About 1,000 Nova Scotia boats – from along the Northumberland Strait and Gulf of St. Lawrence coast and Eastern Shore – refused to leave the wharf in protest against the low prices. Fisheries ministers from the Maritime Provinces have agreed to set up a panel in an effort to resolve issues surrounding the lobster-pricing dispute. The panel will review a number of issues including allegations of price-fixing.

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10 |

A T

AT L A N T I C R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

TOP 40 CHAINS 2013 Report ATLANTIC RESTAURANT CHAINS WITH GROSS SALES IN MILLIONS R ank 2013

R ank 2012

S ales 2013 ($ millions )

S ales 2012 ($ millions )

Units 2013

Units 2012

Tim Hortons (TDL Group)

618.95

601.45

360

356

McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd. **

317.80

300.04

119

Subway Franchise Systems of Canada Ltd. **

107.23

104.06

191

188

KFC Canada (YUM!)

70.99

Pizza Delight (Imvescor Inc.)

61.50

A & W Food Services of Canada Inc.

59.80

61.54

Wendy's Restaurants of Canada Inc. **

58.00

Boston Pizza International Inc.

48.92

47.49

Swiss Chalet (Cara)

44.00

47.10

Greco Pizza (Grinner's Food Systems)*

33.32

120

Burger King Restaurants of Canada Inc. **

33.00

10-15 new locations per year throughout Canada, focusing on primary markets in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Expansion will be considered in secondary markets upon market reviews. Newfoundland has great expansion possibilities.

Mary Brown's Inc.**

31.50

Adding 10 stores in 2013 and possible international expansion.

Robin's (Chairman's Brand Corp).

25.00

Dairy Queen Canada

23.50

Jungle Jim's Restaurants

23.00

Dixie Lee Food Systems Ltd.

22.50

Montana's (Cara)

22.00

19.00

Dooly's Inc.

21.50

East Side Mario's (Prime Restaurants)

19.52

Starbucks Coffee Co.

17.20

Planning to open 50 new stores across Canada in 2013.

Cora Franchise Group Inc. **

16.45

11 new units in western Canada and 3 in Ontario in 2013. 8 locations closed in Quebec in 2013.

Keg Restaurants Ltd.

14.57

Planning to open 5 new locations in 2013.

Capt. Sub (Grinner's Food Systems)

14.00

Pizza Hut Canada (YUM!)**

11.22

Quiznos Canada Restaurant Corporation **

10.41

Don Cherry's Sports Grill Inc.

9.50

TCBY Canada (MTY Group)

9.50

8.50

Jack Astor's Bar and Grill (Sir Corp)

9.48

Pizza Shack Holdings **

8.58

A minimum 3 units per year in the Atlantic provinces.

Pizza Partito

8.00

Seeking master franchise holders for Quebec, Ontario & western provinces.

Jessy's Pizza

7.50

Second Cup Ltd. **

6.20

6.67

Opened 18 new cafes, closed 17 and renovated 19 in 2012.

Extreme Pita (Extreme Brandz) **

5.78

Across Canada and USA; international development to begin in 2013.

Mexicali Rosa's **

5.50

4.40

Looking for franchisees.

West Side Charlie's **

5.23

Expanding in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Harvey's (Cara)

5.00

4.90

New York Fries

4.32

3.75

Pizza Town

4.20

Booster Juice

4.04

Baton Rouge (Imvescor) **

3.70

N ame

* Numbers from previous year. Did not respond this year.

Note: Some sales figures are estimates.**

E xpansion Notes New units planned for 2013: 160-180 - New Canadian stores in 2012: 159.

Aggressively seeking franchisees in all areas of Canada.

7 new stores added in 2012.

Opening 2-3 locations each year, including conversions. Labrador City, NL store opened recently.

30 new units planned for 2013.

Expansion plans all over Canada.

Continuing to develop stores in Canada and internationally.

The chain plans to open 50 new Canadian locations and 30 new international locations opening in 2013.

| 11

www.atlanticrestaurantnews.com

J U N E 2 013

A T

TOP RESTAURANT CHAINS BY CATEGORY

TOP 40 CHAINS 2013 Report Research by Peter Elliott

ATLANTIC BURGER CHAINS R ank R ank 2013 2012

S ales 2013 S ales 2012 Units 2013 Units 2012 ($ millions ) ($ millions )

N ame

McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd. **

317.80

300.04

119

A & W Food Services of Canada Inc.

59.80

61.54

Wendy's Restaurants of Canada Inc. **

58.00

Burger King Restaurants of Canada Inc. **

33.00

Dairy Queen Canada

23.50

Jungle Jim's Restaurants

23.00

Jessy's Pizza

5.00

Harvey's (Cara)

4.90

Relish Gourmet Burgers

3.50

2.50

Smitty's Canada Ltd.

2.00

ATLANTIC PIZZA CHAINS R ank R ank 2013 2012

S ales 2013 S ales 2012 Units 2013 Units 2012 ($ millions ) ($ millions )

N ame

Pizza Delight (Imvescor Inc.)

61.50

Boston Pizza International Inc.

48.92

47.49

Greco Pizza (Grinner's Food Systems)*

33.32

120

Dixie Lee Food Systems Ltd.

22.50

Pizza Hut Canada (YUM!)

11.22

Pizza Shack Holdings **

8.58

Pizza Partito

8.00

Jessy's Pizza

7.50

Pizza Town

4.20

Domino's Pizza **

3.53

ATLANTIC COFFEE/PASTRIES CHAINS R ank R ank 2013 2012

S ales 2013 S ales 2012 Units 2013 Units 2012 ($ millions ) ($ millions )

N ame

Tim Hortons (TDL Group)

618.95

601.45

360

356

McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd. **

317.80

300.04

119

Robin's (Chairman's Brand Corp.)

25.00

Starbucks Coffee Co.*

17.20

Country Style Food Services Inc. (MTY Group)* **

5.50

Second Cup Ltd. **

6.20

Treats Canada Corporation **

2.30

The Great Canadian Bagel, Ltd.

2.09

Timothy's World Coffee-(Threecaf Brands Canada Inc.) **

1.60

Please email any changes to data for our online listings or next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report to lwu@canadianrestaurantnews.com, subject line: Chains Report 2013 changes.

* Numbers from previous year. Did not respond this year.

Note: Some sales figures are estimates.**

TOP 5 CHAINS BY UNITS, NATIONALLY S ales 2013 S ales 2012 ($ millions ) ($ millions )

N ame

Units 2013

Units 2012

C hange

Tim Hortons

5907

5564

3436

3291

145

Subway

1600

1500

2850

2710

140

McDonalds

3750

3550

1404

1408

-4

Starbucks

943

920

877

836

851

831

773

754

13051

12365

9340

8999

341

17522

17690

-168

26862

26689

173

A&W

Total for the Big 5 All the rest

Total Notes for Top 5 Chains chart

This number is for Starbucks stand-alone locations only. Sales are estimated. There are about 477 restaurant chains in Canada currently. A chain is any organization with two or more stores. 1 2

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12 |

AT L A N T I C R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

ATLANTIC SUB/SANDWICH CHAINS R ank R ank 2013 2012

S ales 2013 S ales 2012 Units 2013 Units 2012 ($ millions ) ($ millions )

N ame

Tim Hortons (TDL Group)

618.95

601.45

360

356

Subway Franchise Systems of Canada Ltd. **

107.23

104.06

191

188

Robin's (Chairman's Brand Corp.)

25.00

Capt. Sub (Grinner's Food Systems)

14.00

Quiznos Canada Restaurant Corporation **

10.41

Starbucks Coffee Co.

17.20

Second Cup Ltd. **

6.67

Extreme Pita (Extreme Brandz) **

5.78

Country Style Food Services Inc. (MTY Group)* **

5.50

Arby's of Canada

2.42

ATLANTIC CHICKEN CHAINS R ank R ank 2013 2012

* Numbers from previous year. Did not respond this year.

S ales 2013 S ales 2012 Units 2013 Units 2012 ($ millions ) ($ millions )

N ame

KFC Canada (YUM!)**

70.99

A & W Food Services of Canada Inc.

59.80

61.54

Wendy's Restaurants of Canada Inc. **

58.00

Swiss Chalet (Cara)

44.00

47.10

Burger King Restaurants of Canada Inc. **

33.00

Mary Brown's Inc.

31.50

Dairy Queen Canada

23.50

Jungle Jim's Restaurants

23.00

Dixie Lee Food Systems Ltd.

22.50

Rotisseries St-Hubert Ltee **

2.50

1.50

Note: Some sales figures are estimates.**

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PEOPLE Luis Clavel

The team’s first meeting was in Vancouver in mid-April, and they will gather again to prepare a seven-course meal for up to 200 people at the Hotel Atlantica.

Marc Caira

The Canadian Culinary Federation/ Fédération Culinaire Canadienne (CCFCC) Culinary Team Canada has recruited three new members. Luis Clavel–chef at Seasons in the Hotel Atlantica, Halifax, Clement Chan– chef and owner of Vancouver-based Le Tigre food truck, and Hamid Salimian, instructor at the Vancouver Community College, were named to the roster. The team appointment is a fouryear-commitment over which time members will take part in international competitions, traveling to New York, Chicago, Germany and Spain. Clavel has been with Atlantica Hotel Halifax since 2009 and he competed with the Culinary Team Nova Scotia in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012. He has twice been named Nova Scotia Chef of the Year and Atlantic Chef of the year in 2008. Already on the Culinary Team Canada roster is another local chef, Peter Dewar, instructor at Nova Scotia Community College’s Kingstec campus.

Marc Caira has been appointed president and CEO of Tim Hortons Inc. As of July 2, Caira will replace Paul House in the top position, who will become non-executive chairman of the board of directors. Caira’s last posting in the foodservice industry was global CEO of Nestle Professional. He was also a member of the executive board at Nestle, where he led 10,000 employees in approximately 100 countries. Prior to his 2006 appointment at Nestle, Caira was president and CEO of Parmalat North America and chief operating officer of Parmalat Canada. The fifth annual Taste of Nova Scotia Cutting Edge Culinary Competition named Matthew Krizan first place winner. Krizan, chef at Mateus Bistro in Mahone Bay, beat out nine other chefs in the black box competition with his Meadowbrook Meat Market Chorizo and Fox Hill Cheese House Quark Surpise. The event was held on the Saltscapes culinary stage at Exhibition Park, where chefs had 45 minutes to prepare dishes for three judges out of a black box of Taste of Nova Scotia ingredients, with the help of a volunteer sous-chef from the audience. Krizan’s black box ingredients included chorizo sausage from Meadowbrook Meat Market, One Hop IPA from Garrison Brewing Co., rainbow carrots from Dominion Produce Ltd., and Sugar Moon Farm maple syrup. The winning creation involved stuffing the chorizo sausage with local quark cheese, a Valley apple goat cheese risotto using the IPA and maple glazed carrots. The other chefs in the Cutting Edge

Culinary Competition were: Christopher Ware, Seasons by Atlantica; Craig Flinn, Chives Canadian Bistro; Shelley Steventon, Old Fish Factory; Roger Joharchy, Atlantica Hotel & Marina Oak Island; Jon Geneau, Rhubarb Restaurant; Chris Velden, Flying Apron Cookery; Jason Townes, The Press Gang; Dale Nichols, Digby Pines; and Roland Glauser, Charlotte Lane. High Liner Foods Inc. announced its board of directors in early May, following an election at the Annual and Special General Meeting in Halifax. The new board of directors members are: Derek Buntain, James Covelluzzi, Henry Demone, Robert Dexter, David Hennigar, Matthew Hennigar, Shelly Jamieson, J. Thomas Macquarrie, R. (Andy) Miller and Robert Pace.

Three months after the Canadian Culinary Championships wrapped up in Kelowna, naming Marc St. Jacques of Toronto’s Auberge du Pommier winner, the competitors for the 2013 Gold Medal Plates tour have been named. As well as adding new chefs to the lineup, the culinary tour that determines competitors for the Canadian Culinary Championships has also added cities to the list. Halifax will, again, be a stop on the tour as it was in 2003 and 2004. Proceeds from Gold Medal Plates go to the Canadian Olympic Foundation in support of high performance programs, and various Canadian Olympians host and take part in the event. St. John’s—Nov. 14, St. John’s Convention Centre: Roger Andrews - Relish

Peter Ellsworth - Blue On Water Ed Farrell - Portobello’s Adam Gollop - Salt Water Steve Gugelmeier - Delta Hotel Andrew Hodge - Holiday Inn Roary MacPherson - Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland Mark McCrowe - Aqua Kitchen/Bar Ruth Wigman - Bistro Sofia Halifax—Oct. 17, Cunard Centre: Terry Vassallo - Café Chianti Roland Glauser - Charlotte Lane Café Mark Gabrieau - Gabrieau’s Bistro Sam Jaggi - Grand Taj Restaurant Bryan Corkery - The Westin Nova Scotian Jason Lynch - Le Caveau Restaurant Martin Ruiz Salvador - Fleur de Sel Tahir Salamat - Onyx Geir Simensen - Saege Bistro.

Ishcom appointment notices:

Kim Kerr

Stephanie Giammarco

Steven Isherwood, publisher of Ontario Restaurant News, Pacific/Prairie Restaurant News, Atlantic Restaurant News and Canadian Lodging News, is pleased to announce three new members to the team. Kim Kerr is a new account manager, covering territories across Canada for Ishcom print and digital products. Her sales experience includes nine years at W.T. Lynch Foods Ltd. and nine years at Intercorp Excelle Foods Inc. (Renee’s) in account manager positions. In the course of her career, Kim has dealt with a wide variety of clients in the foodservice industry, from chefs to distributors on a national scale. Stephanie Giammarco is the production co-ordinator, handling daily advertising design and client interaction for the production of all Ishcom magazines. Stephanie’s experience includes graphic design and production pre-press roles with small and medium-sized businesses, including restaurant branding, as well as freelance work for external clients. She has an advanced diploma in graphic design from Humber College. Kristen Smith comes to Ishcom as assistant editor, digital content. With newsroom experience as a reporter at the Orillia Packet & Times and a multimedia journalist at the Collingwood Enterprise-Bulletin, Kristen has also interned at the National Post following her postgraduate journalism diploma at Humber College.

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