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National franchises in Canada


National franchises in Canada

You will find that many American chains have a well-established presence here. Canadian chains include:
  • Tim Hortons franchises are spread across the country. Started by a hockey player as a chain of doughnut shops, their coffee has become an obsession for many Canadians, and are actually starting to make inroads in the United States, particularly border states such as New York and Michigan. A common joke holds that if a Tim Hortons was placed on every corner of every street, there would still be a lineup out the door. Even though coffee is what they are famous for, their menu is worth considering, offering a variety of very inexpensive sandwiches, soups, bagels and baked goods. Their doughnuts are very popular, as are the 'Timbits', small balls of doughnut. Tim Hortons is so popular that visitors from other countries are often shocked and amused by the Tim Hortons franchises (and coffee cups) found nearly everywhere. You will probably find it very hard to avoid a Tim Hortons while in Canada, however they are somewhat less prevalent in the west. The 'double double' - two cream and two sugar - is a common coffee.
  • Boston Pizza was founded in Edmonton, Alberta. Pizza and Pasta. Casual family dining. BP's lounges are usually a popular local watering hole.
  • Earls is a chain of casual full service restaurants found only in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (although there are also two locations in the western United States). A location has recently opened in Toronto. Like Boston Pizza, it also opened its first restaurant in Edmonton.
  • Harvey's is a fast food chain, common in Ontario and found in almost every province, that features made-to-order hamburgers and other sandwiches.
  • East Side Marios are American Italian restaurants with a New York theme.
  • Swiss Chalet sit down restaurants are operated by the same company that runs Harvey's. They specialize in rotisserie chicken and ribs.
  • The Keg steak houses, usually with tables and booths for 4-6 people. Apart from the steaks they also have good salads and starters. The Keg Mansion in Toronto is worth a visit.
  • Kelsey's provides casual family dining, very similar to Applebees or T.G.I. Friday's in the United States.
  • Lick's Homeburgers & Ice Cream is a restaurant chain famous for its fresh, thick, juicy burgers, which are called "homeburgers".
  • Second Cup serves coffee and cakes. This chain is very similar to Starbucks, in terms of atmosphere and product offerings.
  • Timothy's World Coffee (a.k.a. Timothy's) is the third-largest Canadian-owned chain of cafés, behind Tim Hortons and Second Cup.
  • mmmuffins is a coffee, muffin and doughnut retailer. Currently owned and operated by Timothy's World Coffee Inc. as an independent brand.
  • Country Style is a chain of coffee shops operating in Ontario, which serves donuts, soups, sandwiches, salads, and coffee.
  • Coffee Time is a chain of fast-serve doughnut restaurants. The company claims to be the main competitor of Tim Hortons chain in the Greater Toronto Area.
  • White Spot offers burgers, pasta, and "west coast style" cuisine, but only in British Columbia and some locations in Alberta.
  • Montana's is a family oriented, outdoor wilderness themed restaurant. Montana's promises hearty portions of home-style cooking and friendly, efficient service in a lodge setting.
  • Lone Star Texas Grill , started by a Texan who played pro football with the Ottawa Roughriders, offers Tex-Mex food and now has locations in Toronto, Ottawa, Etobicoke, Kingston, Pickering, Richmond Hill, Sault St. Marie, Halifax, and Moncton. Lone Star is famous for fajitas served on a sizzlin' skillet and makes fresh homemade tortillas throughout the day. The menu also offers other Tex-Mex classics and American favourites.
  • Mary Brown's can be found in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Nunavut in addition to Newfoundland, where they can be found in nearly every community. Offering unique chicken and famous for its taters, it would be considered a fast-food restaurant. "Mary Brown's got the best legs in town"
  • Humpty's specializes in its all day breakfasts but also serves dishes for lunch and dinner as well, and is one of the few chain restaurants to feature pirogies. Mostly in Alberta, but also some locations in the other 3 western provinces; many are open until after midnight, some 24 hours.
  • St-Hubert is a French-Canadian restaurant with a cuisine similar to that of Swiss Chalet, popular for its roasted chicken and coleslaw. It has many locations throughout Quebec, and a small number of locations in Ontario and New Brunswick. You can also buy their sauce mixes in some grocery stores.
  • Jimmy the Greek is a quick service restaurant franchise serving Greek cuisine which has 37 locations in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.
  • La Belle Province is one of the most popular fast-food restaurants in Québec, especially among teenagers and young adults. They serve cheap hot-dogs, hamburgers, poutine etc...
  • A&W Found all over Canada; although unrelated to the American A&W, many menu items are similar if not identical. It's targeted mostly to the boomer demographic, and as such has offerings of an arguably higher quality than most American chains, but prices can approach those of cheaper sit-down restaurants, with a combo meal (a "trio" in Québec) usually setting one back no less than $7.
  • Mr. Sub is a submarine sandwich store chain.
  • New York Fries is a fast food restaurant that mainly serves french fries and hot dogs. There are locations in several provinces throughout Canada.
  • Pizza Pizza is a chain of pizza restaurants mainly located in the province of Ontario. Other locations operate in western Quebec, in western Canada (chiefly Alberta) under the name "Pizza 73", and in non-traditional locations such as university campuses and movie theatres throughout Canada. It has over 500 locations, including over 150 non-traditional locations. Pizza Pizza is well-known in Toronto for it's phone number, 967-11-11, which most Torontonians have memorized.
  • Yogen Fruz is a leading frozen yogurt chain featuring Probiotic frozen yogurt, which was founded in Canada in 1986. Yogen Fruz is a staple in malls all over Canada.
  • Cora's started in Quebec, and is expanding across the country. Cora's serves only breakfast and lunch. If you want a hearty, North American style breakfast that makes you feel that you started your day right, Cora's is the place to go.

  • The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Canada


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    Canada Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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