SIR Corp sells shares to fund growth BURLINGTON, Ont. — Service Inspired Restaurants (SIR Corp.) is investing in building new restaurants as well as renovating existing locations. Earlier this year, SIR Corp. sold 750,000 units of SIR Royalty Fund for $10,612,500 to fund the projects, which includes re-positioning the Jack Astor’s chain and transforming the remaining Alice Fazooli’s locations into its Scaddabush restaurants. SIR has 60 restaurants, including 40 Jack Astor’s Bar and Grill units, eight Canyon Creek locations, four Scaddabush Italian Kitchen & Bar restaurants and two remaining Alice Fazooli’s. In addition to its chain concepts, SIR operates a number of signature restaurants in downtown Toronto, including Reds Wine Tavern, Reds Midtown Tavern, Far Niente, Four, Petit Four, The Loose Moose and Duke’s Refresher & Bar. With respect to the Jack Astor’s brand, SIR Corp. plans to renovate all locations over a period of two to three years. Chief executive officer Peter Fowler said the renovations will touch all aspects of the res-
taurants, including the decor, menu, beverage program and uniforms. If you only change the look of the restaurant, but everything else is the same, customers “discount the change,” Fowler said. “It actually works as a negative,” he explained. “By changing all aspects, you get a bigger bang for your buck.” Since SIR’s restaurants are operated corporately, instead of franchised, Fowler said the company is able to be more agile when it comes to renovations and new menus. “I’m actually doing four tests in four different Jack’s restaurants this fall that are different variants of the same thing. I couldn’t do that in a franchise organization,” Fowler explained. “Our growth has been slower than the franchise model, but our growth has been steady.” The Alice Fazooli’s restaurant concept has been around for more than two decades. “The brand was dated and we hadn’t updated it enough,” Fowler said, noting research indicated the brand was well known, but to those over the age of 45. “We wanted to target a younger, broader audience,” he said.
Peter Fowler The two remaining Alice Fazooli’s restaurants, located in Oakville and Vaughan, Ont., will become Scaddabush, an Italian concept SIR Corp. launched in 2013. The transition is expected to be complete by the end of the company’s next fiscal year. Another Scaddabush is slated to open at Front and Simcoe streets by November. Including the renovated restaurants, this will bring the total number to seven. In its signature restaurant portfolio, SIR Corp is opening a third rendition of the Reds
brand at Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga next summer. Fowler said the company is considering opening a second Duke’s Refresher as a test, but there are no plans to replicate any of its other signature restaurants. SIR Corp’s multiple concepts allow the company to establish density in the same area. Often found in groups, Fowler said the preference is to have more restaurants in the best locations, than more restaurants in more locations. “People go to different places for different occasions,” he said.
Now in its third year, Restaurants for Change continues to evolve TORONTO — Community Food Centres Canada’s (CFCC) vision of providing healthy food in a dignified way is resonating with chefs across the country. In 2014, the CFCC recruited about 30 restaurants, which agreed to donate proceeds from one night’s dinner service to the organization, creating the inaugural Restaurants For Change event. The event raised about $120,000. The second, year 59 restaurants participated in the event raising about $200,000. This year’s event, which takes place on Oct. 19, will see more than 65 restaurants in 15 cities donate funds from their dinner service to support the organization. “The chefs that are involved, they understand the world is bigger than their kitchen,” said Nick Saul president and CEO of CFCC. “They make beautiful food for people that walk into their restaurants, but they want to make sure everyone has access to that food.” The CFCC is working to establish 12 Community Food Centres across Canada by 2017. The centres offer food access, food skills as well as education and engagement programs to low-income community members. As well, the
Chefs Ted Corrado and Matt Ravenscroft from the Drake Hotel. CFCC supports 75 food organizations in 52 cities throughout Canada. “You go to a library, you read a book. You go to a community food centre and you sit down and eat the best meal you’ve had in your life,” Saul said. “It’s a beautiful, dignified, respectful
space where you can build a sense of hope, self worth and change.” Blair Lebsack, chef and owner of RGE RD in Edmonton, Alta., said the values of CFCC align with the values of his restaurant. “We want to connect people to food,” Leb-
sack said, during the Restaurants For Change launch, held Sept. 25 at Propeller Coffee in Toronto. Edmonton is not immune to the issues addressed by CFCC, and Lebsack said he would like to see one of the centres established in his city. Lebsack said. “Even though we don’t have one now, I think it’s a great goal to work towards,” Lebsack said. While chef Jonathan Gushue of The Berlin believes his community of Kitchener, Ont. is connected to its local food system, he would like to see increased awareness surrounding nutrition. Gushue also hopes Kitchener will see the opening of a community food centre. “There isn’t a centre, but hopefully that will change very soon,” he said. “There’s so much more we could be doing, particularly in regards to community access.” However, the hope of one day seeing a community food centre open nearby isn’t why chefs support the CFCC. “Above all we’re Canadians. If we can’t give back to our region, we give back to our country,” Gushue said.
Milestones unveils a new look and a new menu in Mississauga MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Milestones is testing a new look for its chain of restaurants. In September, the Milestones location at Mississauga’s Heartland Town Centre officially reopened, following a three-week renovation, to unveil a new design for the brand. “The new look reflects a casual, laid-back design that brings industrial features into a relaxed atmosphere,” said Ken Harrison, senior brand manager for Milestones. The 6,200-square-foot Heartland location, first opened in 2006, now includes a painted garage door that opens to a wide patio; a harvest
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table for large groups; and a kitchen enclosed with glass windows, designed to showcase the restaurant’s chefs at work. The Mississauga location, which is Caraowned and operated, serves as a corporate prototype for the restaurant chain. “We take the opportunity at corporate locations to test potential new initiatives for the brand, whether these be in our menu, design, or service,” Harrison said. “This allows us to validate and measure new programs before rolling them out to all of our stores.” The first Milestones opened on Denman
Street in Vancouver in 1989, and joined the Cara family of brands in 2002. Today, Milestones has more than 50 locations throughout British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Newfoundland and Saskatchewan. “We have big plans to continue renovating the look at many of our restaurants going forward,” Harrison said. Throughout the summer, all locations within the restaurant chain adopted a new menu created by executive chef Jeff Dell. Throughout brunch, lunch, dinner and dessert, Milestones has added 30 new dishes to its menus, including
vegetarian and gluten-free options. “Chef Dell brings unexpected yet tasty twists to classic favourites,” Harrison said. With a new menu in place, Milestones wanted to ensure its decor matched its offering. Heartland was the ideal location to introduce the new look, Harrison said. “The Heartland location has been open for some time and has had many years of delighting Mississauga guests,” Harrison said. “We wanted to make sure that the step forward we made in our kitchens was met with an equal step forward in our dining room.”