Atlantic Restaurant News - May 2016 by Ishcom Publications

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A T L A N T I C May 2016 | Vol. 18 | No. 2

N AT I O N A L

C O V E R A G E

R E G I O N A L

F O C U S

$ 5 . 9 5

On a roll

TOP 35 CHAINS REPORT HErE’s wHo sold tHE most in AtlAntic cAnAdA

Dave’s Lobster moves into New Brunswick

By Bill Tremblay, Assistant Editor SAINT JOHN, N.B. — A lull in IT consulting has helped create a growing chain of lobster roll eateries. In early 2014, Dave Hyndman, an independent IT consultant, noticed business was sluggish, so he decided to create a side project to fill the void. “I had a concept,” Hyndman said. “There are lots of places that sell a lobster roll in Charlottetown (P.E.I.), but there was nowhere that specialized in it.” With the concept of “fresh, local and authentic” in mind, Hyndman opened the first Dave’s Lobster in Charlottetown’s Founder’s Hall. Hyndman’s experience in the tech world helped him launched his new business venture. “I applied what I knew about how you would launch a tech startup to launching a restaurant Dave’s Lobster employee Jordan Burrows and owner Dave Hyndman. startup,” Hyndman said. “I spent a lot of time in the tech startup world, there’s a lot that I’ve bun and four ounces of broken claw and knuck- grilled cheese on the menu made with P.E.I.’s learned about patterns and how you start a busi- le lobster meat. The amount of lobster used for Cow’s Creamery Extra Old Cheddar. At each location, local businesses are recruiteach sandwich is key to success, Hyndman exness.” The second Dave’s Lobster opened in Hali- plained. “At the end of the day, it’s about the ed to supply the menu. Hyndman explained he finds a local bakery for his buns and serves local lobster,” Hyndman said. fax last year. The rolls, which cost $16 each, come in beer from breweries near each location. Now, he is opening two more locations in “We try to play up the local story,” HyndSaint John, N.B., and Cavendish, P.E.I. All four three styles: The Local, a traditional East Coast locations are seasonal businesses that operate roll dressed with a seasoned mayonnaise; Some man said. Although Dave’s Lobster has grown to four Fancy, which features lobster warmed in butter, throughout the summer. “I’m geared towards growing it, but I’m garlic and lemon; and the Lobster Taco, served locations, Hyndman continues to call IT condoing it carefully. I opened in Charlottetown in a soft tortilla with spicy lime mayonnaise and sulting his day job. However, he has plans to APPROVAL REQUIRED thinking I had a good concept and developed sugar and vinegar coleslaw. A kosher dill pickle open more locations in the future, with Ontario The enclosed proof is sent for your approval. We will not proceed with the job until the proof is returned. NOT GIVEeven VERBAL and INSTRUCTIONS. CHECK CAREFULLY! New Brunswick’s Covered Bridge Potato serving as his first outpost outside of Atlantic a good brand,” Hyndman said. DO “It went Beyond this point we cannot accept responsibility for any errors. Alterations (other than typographical errors) will be charged extra. Mark proof “OK” or “OK with corrections” as the case may Canada. “My goal is to get this to the point Chips are served on the side. better than I expected.” be, signing your name so we may know that the proof reached the proper authority. As an alternative to lobster, there is also where it is my full-time job,” Hyndman said. Dave’s Lobster rolls are made using a toasted

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Gallery grows to feature culinary arts Ground Beef Pizza Crumble

By Bill Tremblay

GRATES COVE, N.L. — The restaurant at Grates Cove Studios fuses Cajun and Newfoundland flavours, but its origin was largely born in South Korea. In 2011, Courtney and Terrence Howell moved to Newfoundland from Louisiana. They purchased an old schoolhouse in Grates Cove, where Terrence’s father had lived, and turned the property into an arts studio. Three years later, the couple decided to add a restaurant to the property. “We spent so much energy renovating the space we didn’t have time to create a menu,” Courtney said. “We knew we had to start, so we started doing what we knew.” What they know is eclectic. Courtney, who grew up in Louisiana, brought Cajun cooking experience to the kitchen table. Terrence, a native Newfoundlander, added East Coast flavour. As well, the couple met while teaching English in South Korea. “Our entire courtship was over food. We fell in love with Korean food,” Courtney said. The menu started with pea soup and evolved to include gumbo, jambalaya, and kimchi. “After we started the restaurant, the food seemed to tie everything in,” Courtney said. “We brought people in who had never been here before. “People who were not necessarily connected to the art world.” The restaurant features a casual dining room with about 40 seats. An entrée ranges from $14 to $25. “It’s a very country type feeling, we really want people to come in and feel relaxed,”

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Courtney and Terrence Howell.

Courtney said. Grates Cove is a small town on the Baccalieu Trail about two hours from St. John’s. The

population is about 175 people in the off-season, growing to about 250 in the summer. “People do expect a certain type of food in

the outport area and it’s not what we’re making, but it’s worked for us,” Courtney said. “If we’re going to do this, we might as well do what we want to do. The food is very creative, I think people recognized that.” While the recipes have their Cajun and Korean roots, Courtney and Terrence use ingredients found in their region. “Instead of going all over Newfoundland trying to find the exact replica ingredients, we just started using what we had,” Courtney said. “We’re in a really rural area, we can forage too.” New regulations in Newfoundland now allow restaurateurs to purchse seafood directly from local fishermen, and Courtney and Terrence plan to use that to their menu’s advantage. The gumbo includes local snow crab, cod and shrimp. As well, sushi was recently added to the menu using local smoked cod and lobster. “We live right on the water, so we use whatever seafood is available,” Courtney said.

Service NL serves Mallard Cottage a side of bureaucracy ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — A routine health inspection has left one of Newfoundland’s notable restaurants scratching its collective head. In March, Service NL health inspectors visited Mallard Cottage for its annual examination. A week later, Mallard Cottage received a letter suggesting it should change its classification from “restaurant” to “other” for its food establishment license. “It might be silly, but if I’m not a restaurant, nobody is a restaurant,” said chef Todd Perrin, who is also co-owner of the establishment. “I’ve built a restaurant that I’ve basically been working on my whole life. For someone to say ‘technically by paperwork we’re not going to call you a restaurant,’ I find that somewhat offensive.” Perrin explained the issue is with Mallard Cottage’s “obscure practices” like smoking, curing and whole animal butchery. “The restaurants they’re typically going into are not like ours. They’re going into the larger big box-style restaurants. Their direction is that’s the norm and someone like us is obscure,” Perrin said. “They don’t understand the methods we use even though they’re old. We didn’t invent smoking and curing, obviously.” A statement from Service NL explained the inspection report indicated Mallard Cottage intends to pursue canning, which would require a commercial canner.

As well, Service NL inspectors are willing to help operators ensure their proposed changes are done safely. “In the same way, if the operator intends to engage in smoking or curing of meats, it is necessary to be properly classified and then follow the appropriate food safety regulations to ensure food products are safe for public consumption,” the statement read. “This does not mean that the property is no longer a restaurant, just that there is also a part of the operation that has a different classification in addition to the restaurant.” However, Perrin noted more paperwork is met with more costs. “Paperwork requires man hours, that’s a cost we have to absorb,” he said. “We don’t have the ability to demote someone for hours a week of just keeping a record of how we make bacon.” He added the paperwork doesn’t change their food preparation methods. Instead, Perrin suggests it would simply give a government employee something to do. “My whole life is invested in this. I’m motivated to not make people sick and do things properly,” Perrin said. “For a government inspector to come in — with not as much knowledge as we have of what we’re doing — then demand a level of BS paperwork, then I have an issue with that.” The chef added he worries that the proposed change to Mallard Cottage’s license is

Chef Todd Perrin. just the beginning of new regulations for the restaurant industry. “It’s a bit of a slippery slope. If what we do here is obscure and moves us out of the restau-

rant category, according to the regulator, then what comes next?” Perrin questioned. “I hope it’s not a precursor of more regulation and needless bureaucracy and paperwork.”

May 2016 | 3

A T L A N T I C

EDITORIAL

Taxation is ruining our appetite As Restaurants Canada senior economist Chris Elliot noted in his economic forecast, Alberta and Saskatchewan aren’t the only provinces affected by the oil industry slump. Newfoundland and Labrador is taking a hit as well. While offshore operations pale in comparison to Alberta’s oil sands (in terms of both production volume and subsequent job cuts), petroleum has a significant effect on the province’s GDP. Elliot noted the effect of lower oil prices is twofold: while consumers save some money at the pumps and have more to spend on entertainment, spending in the energy sector takes a hit. Even Molson Coors said its beer sales have decreased in Canada’s oil-producing provinces, so restaurateurs are surely tightening their belts.

So what is the province of Newfoundland and Labrador — which itself has seen a significant decrease in oil royalties — doing to help? CBC commentator Rex Murphy called the mid-April budget “an avalanche of misery and gloom.” That break at the pumps consumers were getting? Newfoundland residents will not see it much longer due to a temporary increase of 16.5 cents per litre for gasoline, effective June 2. The budget included an HST increase from 13 to 15 cents, an income tax hike and a deficit reduction levy, wording Murphy took issue with during his Point of View segment. “The Liberal government, by the way, called it a levy because they already overworked the word tax, and they thought they better save ‘kick in the taxpayer’s groin’ until next year,” Murphy said. Restaurants Canada voiced disapproval over the budget, especially with the two per cent HST increase.

“That’s twice the headache for restaurants, because the HST is not applied uniformly across all sectors,” said Joyce Reynolds, executive vice-president of government affairs with Restaurants Canada. “It discriminates against restaurants, where customers must pay HST, relative to grocery stores, where HST is not charged on many of the same or similar foods and beverages. It’s going to take a bite out of restaurant sales at a time when many businesses are already scrambling to make ends meet.” The national foodservice association has a new president and chief executive officer, Shanna Munro, who is profiled on page 14. With a stonger together approach, she plans to take this role by storm and head out and meet the foodservice industry’s stakeholders. We hope Newfoundland and Labrador is near the top of that list.

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ATLANTIC RESTAURANT NEWS VOLUME 18 · NO. 2 · MAy 2016

NEWS BRIEFS TIAPEI developing 5-year plan CHARLOTTETOWN — The Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island (TIAPEI) and tourism industry stakeholders are developing a new five-year integrated strategic plan for tourism on Prince Edward Island. The PEI Strategic Plan for Tourism: 2016-2021 will be built on research, strategic analysis and consultative framework involving all sectors of the tourism industry. The strategy will identify the actual and perceived barriers facing P.E.I.’s tourism industry and recommend innovative strategies and actions that will focus stakeholder attention on the key issues, challenges and opportunities. Vital to a comprehensive strategy and implementation will be identifying and confirming authentic visitor experiences and examining key factors like accessible and affordable air, sea and land transportation, favourable tax and regulatory environments, access to capital, investment and financing, and labour force development. The plan will be presented to tourism industry members at the TIAPEI annual general meeting in late November.

Friends of We Care Gala TORONTO — Friends of We Care Foundation celebrated 33 years of helping children with disabilities attend Easter Seals summer camps on April 30. Through the support of the foodservice and hospitality industry, a cheque for more than one million dollars was presented to Easter Seals Canada at the annual event. Members of the foodservice and hos-

4 | Atlantic Restaurant News

pitality industry were also recognized for their contributions to the industry. The Corporate Friends of We Care Award was presented to C.W. Shasky & Associates Ltd. The We Care Hall of Fame Award was presented to Gary Seaman. The Gary Wright Humanitarian Award, named in honour of the founder of Friends of We Care Inc., was presented to Bernice Blomme.

Devour! Film Fest expands WOLFVILLE, N.S. — Devour! The Food Film Fest has been aggressively expanding its reach, organizing events in Canadian, United States and European cities in advance of the festival’s main event, scheduled for autumn in Wolfville, N.S. Earlier this spring, for example, Devour! organizers Michael Howell and Lia Rinaldo held pop-up events in Berlin and Los Angeles, and in May, mounted events at Watermark Resort, in Osoyoos, B.C. and Fox Harb’r resort, in Wallace, N.S. Over the past year, Devour! organizers have produced more than 20 pop-up festival events around the world. The Devour! festival is an experiential celebration of food on film, the culture of food and the dramatic impact it has on our day-to-day lives. The sixth edition of the festival will take place Nov. 2-6.

Record attendance at SIAL MONTREAL — The 13th edition of SIAL Canada and SET Canada tradeshow, which took place in Montreal in midApril saw more than 17,300 visitors from about 60 countries. The annual show features 928 exhibi-

tors and brands from 50 countries showing their wares on more than 200,000 square feet of floor space at The Palais des congrès de Montréal. The jump in attendance represented a 17 per cent increase over the 2014 Montreal show and exhibitor-reserved space grew by 21 per cent. There were more than 50 workshops and conferences at the show, including the first SIAL Food Hub. The new event tackled the topic of foodservice costing and increasing profitability with more than 50 industry professionals taking part and 11 experts putting together recommendations. Assorted desserts filled with sorbet and ice cream by Montreal-based Essence Glacier won the 2016 SIAL Innovation. SIAL Canada will be in Toronto next year May 2-4 at the Enercare Centre.

McDonald’s hires record staff TORONTO — A one-day recruitment blitz mounted by McDonald’s Canada and its franchisees in early April resulted in more than 8,900 new hires. This follows the announcement on April 19 that McDonald’s will be rolling out its Create Your Taste menu to 1,000 of its Canadian locations by the end of 2016. Introduced last September, the Create Your Taste menu lets diners customize a one-third-pound patty with choice of bun or lettuce wrap with about 30 toppings and sauces. Kiosks allow customers to order and retrieve menu items at a designated pick-up section or have a seat and wait for servers to deliver their Create Your Taste meal. Investment costs to overhaul each restaurant range from $200,000 to $250,000.

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Sean Beckingham

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Rules for Engagement Social media has the power to make ketchup famous. Here’s how it may help your business. By Bill Tremblay

n item on an Orillia, Ont., man’s grocery list is credited with sparking a national buy local food movement. While grocery shopping in February, Brian Fernandez noticed French’s — a company he knew for its mustard — had started selling ketchup. Rather than purchasing the unknown product, he went home to research French’s new condiment. That’s when he learned Heinz had closed its plant in Leamington, Ont., and French’s had moved into its competitor’s former facility with a promise to only use tomatoes grown in the vicinity. Fernandez bought the ketchup and shared the story with 400 Facebook friends. “Two days later, my phone was going crazy with notifications from all over Canada,” Fernandez said. His post was shared more than 133,000 times on Facebook and translated into dozens of media interviews with national publications from Buzzfeed to the Toronto Star. While the viral post earned Fernandez notoriety, it also pushed the relatively unknown French’s product into the Canadian spotlight. The ketchup sold out shortly after his post went viral. Essex MPP Taras Natyshak presented the Ontario legislature with a petition to remove Heinz from the Queen’s Park cafeteria. Premier Kathleen Wynne tweeted a photo of herself with the French’s product. “Proud to buy Ontario-grown. We’ve invested in Leamington’s Highbury Canco plant where French’s ketchup is made!” Wynne said in the tweet.

Don’t be direct The topic of how foodservice companies may leverage social media was addressed during Restaurants Canada’s recent Breakfast With Champions. Manjit Minhas, co-founder and chief executive officer of Minhas Breweries and Distillery, explained social media content requires soft branding paired with a proper plan. “It has to be a little more intuitive than right in your face,” Minhas said. David F. Clanachan, president and chief operating officer for Tim Hortons, explained the company used footage from a television commercial to create soft-branded social media content. Tim Hortons filmed NHL stars Sidney Crosby and Nathan Mackinnon returning to their hometown of Cole Harbour, N.S., to work at one of the restaurant chain’s drive-thrus. “The idea was for footage for a TV commercial, but someone was smart enough to put cameras everywhere in the restaurant,” Clanachan said. With about 20 hours of footage, Tim Hortons posted the hockey players’ drive-thru antics

on YouTube. Within five weeks, the video series was watched by millions of viewers, with four of the clips ranking in YouTube’s top 10.

If you can’t afford Sid the Kid While viral social media posts have the power to draw international attention, Facebook is working on methods to capture audiences from the immediate community surrounding a business. This year, Facebook launched local awareness campaigns allowing brick and mortar businesses to target their posts to specific demographics. “This local awareness campaign is definitely the one restaurants have been waiting for,” said Sean Beckingham, founder of Branding & Buzzing, a social marketing agency specializing in foodservice. Right now, the new tool may cost as low as five cents per click. Beckingham noted other sponsored content on Facebook costs as much as $1.50 per click. “They’re making this cheap right now because they’re essentially beta testing it on the market,” Beckingham said. “Because it’s new, Facebook is really rewarding restaurants with a low cost per click. I’ve seen some pretty good results with a few of our brands.” Beckingham explained one of their clients is using a local awareness campaign to attract parents in the 25 to 35 year old age group. The campaign content focuses on what is available for youth, while Facebook’s geo-targeting is used to reach parents in the predetermined age group living in the area of the restaurant. Drawing from its massive knowledge base, Beckingham noted Facebook’s geo-targeting ability is quite specific.

“If you have your cellphone on, and you accept all the privacy terms and conditions for Facebook, it will know when I’ve walked past your store,” Beckingham said. When creating sponsored Facebook content, Beckingham recommends ensuring the ad has a clear call to action. As well, start with a budget of about $50. While a paid Facebook campaign is customizable, guidance is nearly non-existent. There’s no help waiting at the end of an 800 number. “One of the hardest things about Facebook is there is zero customer service. Navigating it can be kind of tricky,” Beckingham said.

A picture is worth 1,000 words Photography can make or break a social media campaign. Using quality photographs, a restaurant should also try to tell the story of their business through images of dishes as well as key staff. “It is so important. People eat with their eyes first,” Beckingham said.

To tweet, or not to tweet? At the end of 2015, Facebook had about 1.59 billion users. For Twitter, about 320 million people are actively tweeting and Instagram has grown to more than 400 million users. While Facebook’s usage eclipses other platforms, Beckingham doesn’t recommend ignoring other social media channels. “Instagram is the fastest growing social network for food and Twitter is still good for customer service and community engagement,” he said. Beckingham recommends posting to Instagram three to five times per day, Twitter daily and Facebook about once a week.

“In the past, we used to pump out content every single day on Facebook,” Beckingham said. “They changed their algorithms in 2015 and only 10 per cent of posts are seen by fans organically.” Restaurateurs should also pay attention to review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. “Don’t ignore it. Stay in check with it,” Beckingham advised. “I’ve seen success and horror stories with people complaining about those sites. If they’re done right, they can be a powerful tool.” With social media platforms constantly changing algorithms that dictate content viewed by its audiences, Beckingham suggests following a podcast such as Social Media Examiner to stay on top of the changing formats.

Check your inbox Years ago, email was the primary form of online contact. However, with the advent of social media, the inbox began to fade away. Things have, once again, changed. “Now if anything is back in 2016, it’s getting inside somebody’s email box,” Beckingham said. Ron Cates, director of digital marketing at Constant Contact, explained email now has the highest return on investment of any form of marketing. He added the majority of email marketing campaigns leave ample room for improvement. “I would suggest the average email isn’t that great. If you do email really well I would suggest your return is phenomenal,” Cates said. Consumers have “raised the bar” when it comes to what they will read in their inbox. “If it doesn’t look great, people assume the product served at the restaurant is second rate or amateur somehow,” Cates said. Constant Contact, as well as services like MailChimp, offer html templates that will improve the design of an email newsletter. Cates explained an html template generates eight times the action compared to plain text. “You can just cut and paste your content and it looks great,” Cates said. Alongside a professional design, an email newsletter should be short and quickly get to the point. “I don’t want to read a long email ever. I’d rather have a root canal,” Cates said. The tone of the email should also be genuine to the brand and show off the persona of the restaurant. “If your restaurant were a person, what language would it use? What words would it use or not use? That’s how to communicate in email,” Cates said. So how does a business build its audience for a newsletter? Just ask your customers, Cates recommends. When simply asked, 57 per cent of consumers will provide their email address, he explained. “If that gets 57 per cent, what happens if the staff is trained well?” Cates said.

May 2016 | 5

Amy Rosen (right) helps Chicago-based media trainer Steve Dolinsky with a mock culinary demo. “They want you to take control; you’re not stepping on anyone’s toes.”

François Chartier explained how flavours of the same aromatic family (with molucular harmonies) can be combined to make something better than the sum of its parts.

Tenth Terroir sees record attendance

Food stations were set up around the AGO. Photo by Rick O’Brien.

TORONTO — More than 1,000 delegates converged on the Art Gallery of Toronto on April 25 for the annual Terroir Symposium. Attendees included 140 speakers, installation artists and operators and chefs from Canada and abroad. Terroir brings together local and international hospitality professionals for a day of learning, networking and eating. “This 10th anniversary was our most ambitious event to date and a true labour of love,” said Arlene Stein, executive director and founder of Terroir Hospitality. “We started as a grass roots project with the desire to share ideas, best practices and hopefully impact positive change in our industry. Our international guests often tell us how much they’ve learned, been inspired and how their networks have grown through being a part of the symposium.” The new location at the AGO came with a new seminar format starting with practical workshops in the morning and concurrent seminars in the afternoon under the guiding umbrellas of taste, culture, technology and pecha.

Organizers Renée Lalonde and Arlene Stein at the rural retreat at Ocala Orchards Farm Winery in Scugog, Ont.

6 | Atlantic Restaurant News

Wine seminars were at capacity. Photo by Rick O’Brien.

Ontario chefs Ryan O’Donnell, Mercer Hall, Stratford, and Ryan Crawford, Backhouse, Niagara-on-the-Lake cook a feast over fire for Terroir speakers.

Top

Chains Report While large national players dominate the top spots in Atlantic Restaurant News’ annual Top Chains Report, homegrown concepts are faring quite well in the region. Pizza Delight, Grinner’s Food Systems, Mary Brown’s, Dooly’s and Jungle Jim’s are holding their standing in the top 15. Smaller chains, such as Wing ‘N It Restaurant, Pizza Shack and Pizza Twice, are either adding units, or keeping the doors open to existing locations. Nova Scotia-based The Battered Fish has grown to eight units (with two more in Toronto) since 2009 and moved onto the Top 35 list for the first time this year.

R E S E A R C H BY P E T E R E L L I OT T

RANK 2016 RANK 2015 COMPANY

Please send changes to pelliot t@canadianres taurantnews.com

SALES 2016 ($MILLIONS) SALES 2015 ($MILLIONS) UNITS 2016 UNITS 2015

Tim Hortons (Restaurant Brands International)

677.4

641.5

368

366

McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd.

311.3

122

Subway Franchise Systems of Canada Ltd.

77.6

92.8

210

209

A&W Food Services of Canada Inc.

68.0

62.9

Pizza Delight (Imvescor Restaurant Group)

60.0

56.6

Wendy's Restaurants of Canada Inc.

58.0

KFC Canada (Yum! Restaurants International)

57.6

55.4

Boston Pizza International Inc.

52.0

49.6

Swiss Chalet (Cara Operations)

45.0

45.7

Mary Brown's Inc.

38.0

34.5

Starbucks Coffee Co.

38.0

18.0

Burger King Restaurants of Canada Inc

31.0

Greco Pizza (Grinner’s Food Systems)

30.5

Dooly's Inc.

27.0

36.0

Jungle Jim's (Safari Eatertainment)

27.0

28.0

Dairy Queen Canada

24.0

24.5

Robin's (Chairman's Brands)

23.0

Montana's (Cara Operations)

18.0

Cora Franchise Group Inc.

15.0

East Side Mario's (Cara Operations)

15.0

14.7

Keg Restaurants Ltd.

15.0

Jack Astor's Bar and Grill (SIR Corp)

13.8

Smitty's Canada Ltd.

11.0

10.0

Pizza Hut Canada (Yum! Restaurants International)

11.0

10.0

Pita Pit

10.5

8.8

Dixie Lee Food Systems Ltd.

9.0

6.5

Harvey's (Cara Operations)

9.0

10.2

Wing'N It Restaurants

9.0

Don Cherry's Sports Grill Inc.

9.0

Moxie's Grill & Bar (Northland)

9.0

6.0

Second Cup Ltd.

8.5

10.7

Pizza Shack Holdings Inc.

8.0

N/A

Pizza Twice

8.0

8.5

TCBY Canada (MTY Group)

8.0

8.5

The Battered Fish

8.0

7.0

* In some cases sales and unit numbers have been estimated.

May 2016 | 7

Top

5 Burger Chains RANK 2016 RANK 2015 COMPANY

SALES 2016 ($MILLIONS) SALES 2015 ($MILLIONS) UNITS 2016 UNITS 2015

McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd.

311.3

122

A&W Food Services of Canada Inc.

68.0

62.9

Wendy's Restaurants of Canada Inc.

58.0

Burger King Restaurants of Canada Inc.

31.0

N/A

Dairy Queen Canada

24.0

24.5

Top

5 Chicken Chains RANK 2016 RANK 2015 COMPANY

SALES 2016 ($MILLIONS) SALES 2015 ($MILLIONS) UNITS 2016 UNITS 2015

KFC Canada (Yum! Restaurants International)

57.6

55.4

Swiss Chalet (Cara Operations)

45.0

45.7

Mary Brown's Inc.

38.0

34.5

N/A

Dixie Lee Food Systems Ltd.

9.0

6.5

Rotisseries St-Hubert Ltee

7.5

Top

5 Pizza Chains RANK 2016 RANK 2015 COMPANY

SALES 2016 ($MILLIONS) SALES 2015 ($MILLIONS) UNITS 2016 UNITS 2015

Pizza Delight (Imvescor Restaurant Group)

60.0

56.6

Boston Pizza International Inc.

52.0

49.6

Greco Pizza (Grinnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Food Systems)

30.5

Pizza Hut Canada (Yum! Restaurants International)

11.0

10.0

N/A

Pizza Shack Holdings

8.0

8 | Atlantic Restaurant News

* In some cases sales and unit numbers have been estimated.

Top

5 Sandwich Chains RANK 2016 RANK 2015 COMPANY

SALES 2016 ($MILLIONS) SALES 2015 ($MILLIONS) UNITS 2016 UNITS 2015 677.4

641.5

368

366

Subway Franchise Systems of Canada Ltd.

77.6

92.8

210

209

Robin's (Chairman's Brands)

23.0

Pita Pit

10.5

8.8

Quiznos Canada Restaurant Corp

6.5

8.0

Tim Hortons (Restaurant Brands International)

N/A

Top

5 Coffee Chains RANK 2016 RANK 2015 COMPANY

SALES 2016 ($MILLIONS) SALES 2015 ($MILLIONS) UNITS 2016 UNITS 2015

Tim Hortons (Restaurant Brands International)

677.4

641.5

368

366

McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd.

311.3

122

Starbucks Coffee Co.

38.0

18.0

Robin's (Chairman's Brands)

23.0

N/A

8.5

10.7

Second Cup Ltd.

* In some cases sales and unit numbers have been estimated.

CRIS + CROS addresses foodservice landscape TORONTO — The restaurant industry’s role within retail is comparable to that of live sports in the world of broadcasting, according to Ed Khediguian, senior vice-president of franchise finance for GE Capital Canada. “You deliver the experience and they’ll come,” Khediguian said during his opening address at the Canadian Restaurant Investment Summit and the Canadian Restaurant Operators Summit in March.

The foodservice landscape Robert Carter, executive director, Foodservice Canada, The NPD Group, opened the speaker sessions with Todd Jones, senior managing director, brand management of GE Capital, franchise finance. According to Carter, new channels and emerging technology are affecting the way consumers are using foodservice. “The more we know about the consumer,

the better position we are in to achieve success both in Canada and in the U.S.,” Carter said. “There’s no doubt that their eating patterns are evolving.” In what’s a “steal-share game,” Carter said the way customers are interacting with restaurants is shifting from functional visit drivers to emotional ones, such as liking the establishment or having a specific craving. In 2015, Canadians spent $196 billion on food with $50 billion spent on commercial foodservice reflecting “soft gains,” Carter said, noting foodservice visits were “relatively flat” at about 6.5 billion, an increase of about one per cent. The average number of visits to a foodservice establishment was 181, which is four fewer than the previous year. Carter noted an increased emphasis on special occasion dining represents an interesting opportunity for operators. Carter said there is an increased demand

for “better-for-you food,” with 55 per cent of NPD respondents saying they want more food sourced from Canada on menus.

Industry and economic outlook In the association’s 2016 outlook survey, 43 per cent of operators said they expect sales to grow about the same as last year, while 30 per cent said their sales should grow at a greater rate and 27 per cent predict sales to grow at a lesser rate. “But if you really break those numbers down, a lot of people who are in the optimistic camp are from Ontario and British Columbia and those who are in the pessimistic camp are from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Restaurants Canada senior economist Chris Elliott, adding not one respondent from Alberta said they expect to see greater sales growth than last year. “It’s really Armageddon out there right now.”

Since June 2014, there has been a 70 per cent decrease in crude oil prices. Elliott said the impact is twofold. “The consumer is a little bit happier because they have more money to go out and spend elsewhere,” he said. “But the downside is we’ve seen basically a 35 per cent reduction in investment spending in the energy [sector] and that has, of course, hit Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador really hard.” According to the February forecast, Canada is expected to have real GDP growth of 1.2 per cent in 2016, down one per cent from predictions made in March 2015. “Of course this has a ripple effect across our economy and certainly on our industry,” Elliott said. “It really depends on where you are in the country,” he said, adding he doesn’t feel the restaurant industry should be panicking. “The good news is this is a growing industry overall.”

May 2016 | 9

Consumers expect businesses to source responsibly, respect the environment and support the community. While this may make the foodservice industry more complex, it might also make good business sense. We reached out to industry experts about how to be more sustainable and why operators, chefs and suppliers should.

Sustainability Then and Now By Bruce McAdams

or the majority of restaurant operators “sustainability” is a word that entered their worlds about a decade ago. Back in the mid-2000’s, sustainability was most closely associated with environmental issues. Fair trade coffee had been established, the push on local food was underway and many companies were already tackling the issue of energy conservation. Fast forward to the present and we not only find more topics in the discussion, but they are also more far reaching. While the environmental issues of sustainability still top the list, there is an ever-increasing focus on the social side of sustainability. Perhaps the hottest topic is the increasing importance of health and welfare to consumers. Although where food is produced is still of importance to many consumers, the big shift has been towards “what’s in my food?” By itself this topic is far reaching, touching on healthy diets right through to the ethical treatment of animals. Look no further than A&W’s “Beef Guarantee” and you can see consumers are

1 0 | Atlantic Restaurant News

concerned about what’s in the their food and are making an ever-increasing number of purchasing decisions with this in mind. Gluten-free diets, a shift to more plant-based dishes and regulation on the menu labelling of caloric and

fat content are all hot button topics that operators are dealing with and will continue to do so. On the environmental side of things, the importance of energy has stayed front-of-mind with electricity prices increasing. While many restaurant companies have been implementing plans to conserve on energy through the purchase of Energy Star equipment and LED lights, a new issue has gained huge traction worldwide. According to the Sustainable Restaurant Association based out of London, England, food waste has become the most pressing problem in the world food system. With more than 30 per cent of meals consumed in the province being made outside the home this means it’s also an issue for foodservice. While restaurants are usually quite effective at controlling food waste during production, food left over from a diner’s meal (plate waste) is a concern. A study we conducted at a restaurant in Guelph, Ont., showed that 12 per cent of food that was served came back to the kitchen uneaten. When looking to what the future holds for sustainability in restaurants food waste is once again front and centre. With an increasing

amount of accountability by governments to reduce greenhouse gases, restaurants need to be prepared for an increase in regulation. Our belief is that you will also see more restaurant companies working to become better global citizens as there is reason to believe this can provide competitive advantage. B Corp certification is one example. The Neighbourhood Group of Restaurants just became B Corp certified, only the second of any restaurant in Ontario. Only time will tell if this strategy will have positive financial ramifications. No matter what your level of commitment to sustainability, it will become increasingly important for operators to be aware of the issues facing the industry. Whether it’s increasing regulation or the ability to gain competitive advantage, sustainability is here to stay. Bruce McAdams is an assistant professor at the School of Hospitality, Food, and Tourism Management at the University of Guelph. He has more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles within the foodservice industry and is co-founder of the University of Guelph Sustainable Restaurant Project.

Seating with Style... Business as a force for good From left: Fountain Santos, Neil Dubois, Marc Bosboom, Bob Desautels, Paul Randall, Court Desautels and Jason Waterfall (Neighbourhood Group of Restaurants). Photo by Chris Tiessen. By Kristen Smith GUELPH, Ont. — In mid-March The Neighbourhood Group of Restaurants became a Certified B Corporation, bringing the number of restaurants with the designation in Canada from three to seven. “B Corp certification is to sustainable business what Fair Trade is to coffee and LEED certification is to buildings,” explained group leader and chief operating officer Court Desautels after proudly announcing the designation at the University of Guelph Sustainable Restaurant Project’s annual symposium. The only other restaurant group to have this certification is Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Essence Restaurant Group, which has three eateries under its banner. There are less than 20 B Corp restaurants in the world. Chris Klugman’s Paintbox Bistro and Catering in Toronto was the first restaurant in Canada to receive the certification. Vancouver’s Save on Meats and Smak Food were certified in June of 2014 and last September, respectively. Instead of opening the Regent Park establishment as a charity or non-profit association, Klugman decided to operate Paintbox as a social enterprise. Paintbox’s social mission is the training and career development of marginalized individuals, those who have some sort of barrier to employment. Klugman said B Corp status lends authenticity to the work Paintbox is doing. “It certifies that I am what I say I am,” he said. “One of the things about B Corp that has been great for me is that it’s not just a certification, but it provides me with a road map to the operation of the business,” Klugman said. “I’m using the B Corp survey to identify areas that could do with improvement. I’m almost customizing the business to become a better B Corp as much as I am going in my own direction.” Bob Desautels opened the Woolwich Arrow Pub in Guelph, Ont. — the Neighbourhood Group’s flagship — in 1990. “That restaurant, when it opened, focused on serving craft beers and local food — nobody knew what a craft beer was, nobody knew what local food really meant,” his son, Court Desautels said. “It was this new way of thinking about how to run a restaurant, supporting local farmers and brewers. There weren’t a lot of craft brewers at that time, but there were enough to fill 12 taps.” They expanded the concept and almost lost everything. In 2008, the father and son opened Borealis Grillhouse & Bar. This time they looked at where they were sourc-

ing everything: uniforms, paper products and straws, for example. It took three years to break even, Desautels said. “We kept sticking to what we believed in and we didn’t waver from those things,” Desautels said, adding when Borealis opened in Kitchener, Ont., in 2011, they turned a profit in the first year. The group opened a fourth restaurant, Miijidaa — Ojibway for “let’s eat”— last September. “How did we do this? We were authentic,” said Desautels. “We’re doing well by doing better.” Inspired by the book Let My People Go Surfing, written by the founder of Patagonia, Desautels and the restaurant group decided to tackle the B Corp certification process. “I realized that using business as a force for good, is good for business. It’s true, I’ve just proved that. We’ll almost do $9 million in sales this year from a little wee company that almost went bankrupt, twice,” he said. They started the assessment more than three years ago and got a score of 72, eight points below what is needed. “[B Corp holds] you accountable for every single thing that you say that you do; you have to back it up, you have to provide them with documentation,” Desautels said. Seeing this as the perfect way to lend legitimacy to its projects and practices, the restaurant group team starting working to improve the business for its employees — it provides medical benefits to anyone who works more than 20 hours and full coverage after three years. It also placed a focus on reducing waste. “We spent three months hand weighing our garbage,” Desautels said. Serving more than 7,000 guests per week, average waste across the restaurants came out to 1.3 pounds per guest, a number that only decreased to 1.1 pounds once recyclables were removed. They started re-engineering menus (mashed potatoes are now served with skin on, for example) and found a pig farmer who could use the vegetable scraps (which have to be stored in the freezer between pick ups). They were able to reduce the number to 0.7 pounds per guest. “That’s still a disgusting number,” said Desautels, adding they are trying to find ways to reduce it further without making large capital expenditures. In an industry with already tight margins, the local, responsible business model takes time to develop and get right. “It’s not just all about passion, there is a science behind it too,” he said. “There’s money to be had, and as we become smarter at running our businesses this way our margins are continually increasing. We’re not the most profitable company out there, but we’re profitable and more profitable than most other restaurants.”

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Hooked on Slow Fish

Dennis Johnston HALIFAX — For chef Dennis Johnston, sustainable fish and seafood is more than how a particular species is farmed or harvested. It also means fair value has been paid. The pioneering locavore chef and his wife Monica Bauche operated Fid Resto for 13 years, closing in 2013, and now run Fid Kitchen, which does catering, consulting and a variety of events. He also partners with East Coast Outfitters — run by Slow Fish advocate Dave Adler — for Dock & Dine feasts. “Maybe I’ll take apart a whole swordfish or maybe I’ll bake a whole halibut in salt crust,” said Johnston, adding “there is a little bit of show involved.” Johnston had to develop relationships with farmers and fishermen over the years. “Every single person,” said Johnston. “When you get to know these people, they’re quite the characters.” You also learn more about the products you’re putting on the plate, whether

they’re grown, caught or farmed responsibly. “The word ‘sustainability’ is kind of confusing. A lot of people throw it around, but if you look at it relative to the fishing industry, there are two types of chains,” said Johnston, pointing to the supply chain and the value chain, the latter being “where the chefs come into play.” He illustrated this with an example of determining cost, where the supplier suggested $3 a pound. “I said, ‘well wait, let me use this and see what the client will pay and what it will actually turn out to be worth.’ In the end, I suggested $4 a pound,” Johnston explained. “That is the value chain: the chef is working with the fishermen to determine price.” He questions why cod, haddock and halibut all have different prices. They are all being caught by the same hook and pulled from the same water. “It’s a white, pescatarian protein; there should be no differ-

ence in the price,” said Johnston. A value-added supply chain would see the fisherman calculate price with respect to his time, repairs, and gas for the boat, he said, working it backwards from what was invested in catching the fish. Active in bringing Slow Fish Canada to fruition, Kristin and Dan Donovan — chefs by trade and owners of Toronto fish shop Hooked — are dedicated to advancing the movement. “At this stage, what we’re doing is trying to establish common ground, within the Americas, of what the key concerns are,” said Kristin Donovan. Some of these include catch shares in Canada — which differ on the East and West coasts — and educating people about what the key issues are in fisheries and fishery management. “That it’s not all to do with the fisher,” she said, noting global warming and human intervention is a bigger threat than over-fishing. “Certainly

over-fishing doesn’t help, but it also doesn’t help to put everything on the backs of the fishers.” Five years after opening Hooked, the Donovans have a second location, a seasonal outpost in Muskoka, and sell wholesale to more than 100 restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area. Instead of using the word “sustainable,” Kristin and Dan think in terms of what’s responsible and respectful, from their staff and customers to the fishers. Instead of telling them how much they will pay, they ask how much the fishers need for their catch. “That has been the most powerful thing in the world for them. Fishers are often dealing in a commodity market and it’s really difficult for these people to make a living and there are fewer and fewer of them out there because of this,” said Donovan. “So when they hear somebody say, ‘what do you need to make out of this?’ It’s a huge difference. It changes the entire relationship.”

Fresh Atlantic salmon, ocean not required CENTRE BURLINGTON, N.S. — Harvesting Atlantic salmon in landlocked markets will soon be a reality. Sustainable Fish Farming has developed a closed-containment, land-based, fish farm system capable of producing Atlantic salmon of similar quality to those caught in the wild. “We can build these units away from the ocean and bring it to the market,” said Kirk Havercroft, chief executive officer of Sustainable Fish Farming. “We want to be as fresh and local as possible.” After eight years of aquaculture development, Sustainable Fish Farming harvested its first full production run on May 2. The product went to market under the brand name Sustain-

1 2 | Atlantic Restaurant News

able Blue on May 5. Havercroft noted the majority of the harvest was sold to restaurants in Nova Scotia. “We have a legacy of restaurants working with us. We want to offer the product to those clients first,” he said. Restaurants were introduced to the fish in September following a trial run of the product. “We always put one batch of fish way ahead of the main group. Sometimes that first batch gets a bit of a rough ride,” Havercroft said. “We sold those out really quickly.” Sustainable Fish Farming’s system uses nine tanks that each hold 50 tonnes of water. “We have salmon in there at all sizes,” Havercroft said. “We want a constant product.”

Piping is used to connect each tank creating a path for recirculation. The water filtration system is capable of cleaning 1,000 tonnes of water in 45 minutes. “It’s cleaned, re-oxygenated and pushed back into the tank,” Havercroft said. The water movement created by recirculation means fish must swim against the current, helping to raise a salmon that is leaner than other farmed salmon. “It has the flesh and texture and quality of a wild salmon,” Havercroft said. The waste removed from the tanks may also serve a purpose. Havercroft explained some of the waste was provided to a nearby farm as a fertilizer, which yielded positive results.

“It’s not as valuable as the revenue from the fish, but it could contribute to the cost of growing salmon,” he said. By the end of the year, Sustainable Fish Farming expects to produce 100 tonnes of salmon. In 2017, the farm is scheduled to product 185 tonnes of fish. Sustainable Blue fillets sell for $14 to $15 per pound. With production underway, Sustainable Fish Farming is now raising funds to expand its farm. The expansion would see the farm grow to five times the size of the current operation. Land-based systems for Atlantic salmon aquaculture are also being used on Vancouver Island (Kuterra) and by Canaqua Seafood in Advocate Harbour, N.S.

A&W tackles waste reduction VANCOUVER — A&W Food Services of Canada has made multiple headlines for its sourcing commitments. The company started with a switch to serving beef raised without the use of hormones or antibiotics and its recent pledge of $100,000 to Farm & Food Care Canada in an effort to be able to offer cage-free eggs (without antibiotics) within two years. More quietly, the company has been making moves to reduce waste. “We officially created an environmental strategy in 2009. The first part of that strategy was creating baselines: what is our impact, what are the areas that we could impact, what could we change in terms of improving said impact. It was from there that we knew that we had to focus on waste,” said Tyler Pronyk, director of distribution, equipment and packaging. The company stared implementing a zero waste initiative. “Products that couldn’t be recycled or composted would get converted into energy,” said Pronyk. With a handful of different waste streams,

the onus was placed on the guest in terms of sorting. “Really what happened was they just didn’t put their garbage away. The by-product was really messy dining rooms and confused, irritated guests,” said Pronyk. “We had to make this easy for them.” This set A&W on the path of looking at its packaging, and building on the frosty glass mug, determining where else it could implement reusable items. Offering glass and ceramic mugs for dine-in pop and coffee eliminates to use of 35.2 million paper cups. Switching to wire baskets for fries and onion rings saved 23 million paper bags. This cut down on the amount of waste created in the first place, but the company didn’t stop there. In cases where reusable packaging was not possible, it was important to ensure it all went to the same waste stream. “Let’s not have one bag be recyclable and another compostable, let’s make everything compostable so your food waste and paper waste can go in the same bin,” Pronyk explained.

A&W tested these developments in its new urban concept stores. “It was so well received, that in 2013, we rolled it out across the country,” he said, adding ceramic plates and reusable cutlery were rolled out the following year for breakfast. Using real plates and utensils for breakfast, eliminated the use of 4.5 million paper plates and nine million plastic knives and forks. He said this was rather simple to do because there were already dishwashers in the restaurants and staff was used to managing reusable dishes. With waste reduction under its belt, A&W then looked to the steps it would take get the restaurants in its system to compost. There are about 855 A&W restaurants across the country, and growing. Of those, about 220 are in malls; they don’t have their own dining rooms and hence can’t control their own waste. After partnering with an environmental consultant, A&W determined about 250 had the infrastructure already in place, a composting processor in their marketplace. “In urban centres it’s easy to adopt it, but if

you’re in North Bay, Ont.,, there is nobody from a commercial level that could take your waste,” he said. Today, about 90 A&W restaurants are composting. “Our challenge now is engaging with our franchisees and helping set them up across the country, with the processors,” said Pronyk, adding the goal is to have all the locations that can compost doing so by the end of 2017. This means there is some onus back on the customer to sort waste, but five years have passed and there is less to sort. “As a consumer, the majority of what’s on your tray goes into one bin — we’ve made it a lot easier,” said Pronyk, adding millennials, in particular, want to compost and are used to doing so. “It is a journey, it never ends, there is no destination and we learn more and more as we go along. It’s just looking for those small and big opportunities where we can make a difference,” he said. “A small change when you’re a big chain can make a profound impact.”

A business case for green restaurants BOSTON — Michael Oshman founded the Green Restaurant Association in 1990 at the age of 19. As is the case for many young adults, he wanted to make an impact, as big of one as possible. Realizing that environmental issues transcend borders and socio-economic status, Oshman decided this should be his focus. “This was the one issue, didn’t matter who you were, rich or poor, which country you lived in, these issues were going to affect all of us,” he said. When he started the business in California, Oshman said there wasn’t much context for green business, so there was more of an education process for restaurateurs. “As of five or six years ago, it’s clear to most businesses that consumers want this,” he said. “The pain point for restaurants became: I know I should do this, but what should I do?” So the Green Restaurant Association became a source for unbiased information to make decisions around energy and water conservation, packaging and sourcing.

“When we work with a restaurant, we don’t care how they save their energy, a kilowatt-hour saved is a kilowatt-hour saved,” Oshman said. Whether a restaurant wants to replace equipment or can only afford a retrofit, Oshman said there are options to reduce a restaurant’s environmental footprint. “Our approach is about the end result of saving that energy or saving that water,” he said. The Green Restaurant Association recently partnered with Restaurants Canada, the details of which are still being worked out. The Boston-based company started in California and has about 1,000 restaurants certified in 47 states, with about 30,000 restaurants in its network. In Canada, certified establishments include Durham College Centre for Food, The Standard in Ottawa and InterContinental’s on-site restaurants in Toronto and Montreal. The association’s four-star certification allows customers to know what the foodservice establishment is doing for the environment, and Oshman noted that

customers care. It also allows operators who are already doing well, to make improvements. It isn’t the association’s role to preach to restaurants about climate change or how pollution is affecting the lives of children — although Oshman is happy to talk about it if asked. “We’re going to speak the language that everybody understands, which is this is good for your business,” he said, adding operating more efficiently saves money. “From a financial perspective, you can’t ignore this anymore — it’s fiscally irresponsible.” Not only do consumers prefer an environmentally responsible restaurant, Oshman noted this is also important to an establishment’s employees and could help quell turnover. While what to do to get started depends on the situation and budget, Oshman provided some measures a restaurateur should implement if they haven’t already: spray valves over 1.4 gallons should be switched to those under a gallon; change to LED lighting; and install aerators on hand-washing sinks.

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Meet the new Restaurants Canada CEO

TORONTO — In her new role, Shanna Munro plans to meet with foodservice and hospitality stakeholders across Canada. The industry veteran officially takes on the role of Restaurants Canada president and chief executive officer on June 1. “One of my missions and priorities is to get out across Canada and get into the communities. I’m truly an operator and it’s about getting

out there, meeting people, shaking hands, talking about the business, understanding their needs and wants, creating the strategies that support it, then delivering,” she said. “I’m pretty excited about that.” She also hopes to bring the provincial and national associations together. “With the collaboration of all the associations together, I think we’re more powerful and we could influence more change — I know that,” Munro said. She joined the association in September as chief operating officer, replacing Carmine Aquino after his departure in late July of last year. “When I joined Restaurants Canada I kind of stayed in the background and that was deliberate in many ways, as I was learning the association,” said Munro. “When I think about an association, I really believe that it’s very similar to a business, it’s a business entity, and it needs to be considered as that and run as that. It has the potential of everything a business has, and I think that framework and those elements will bring great opportunity for the organization.” Munro’s career in the foodservice industry spans more than 25 years, starting with Priszm Brandz, previously Scott’s Restaurants, where the Ottawa native progressed from an hourly employee into a senior vice-president role overseeing multiple YUM! Brands concepts across

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Canada, including KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silver. “I started in the foodservice industry back in the ’80s,” said Munro, who was born and raised in Ottawa. Putting herself through school, she took a job at a KFC. “I never planned on staying,” said Munro, who had aspirations in interior design. But opportunity knocked and she worked her way up to management, district manager, and then director of operations. Munro credits much of her success in business to having the opportunity to tap into the expertise of great leaders. You understand the complexities of running one brand, but I had the opportunity to run four brands and learned so much from the Yum! Brands family,” she said. Prior to joining Restaurants Canada, Munro served as president of Cash Converters and president and COO of Putting Edge Corp. When a recruiter reached out to her about taking on a role with the association, Munro thought it was a perfect fit. “The foodservice industry always held a deep spot in my heart,” she said. “It took me back to my foundations … and I felt it was an opportunity to give back to a community that I could contribute a great deal to.” Munro aims to help operators of all sizes. “Let’s face it, it’s a tough industry. The complexities within the foodservice industry are far different and more complex than those in any other industry, and I know that from what I’ve gone through,” she said. Munro is looking forward to working with

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Restaurants Canada’s diverse board of directors, made up of CEOs and independent operators. She hopes she brings a unique approach to discussions, with the ability to think strategically, but also like an operator: “strategy is execution.” There are some changes on the horizon for Restaurants Canada. British Columbia’s Connect Show is on “pause” for the time being. Munro said the association has plans to have a presence in that province, but it might not necessarily be in the form of a typical tradeshow. “I really think, as a national organization, we need to get involved in the local community and invite those from the community to participate,” she said. By getting industry stakeholders together — including suppliers, distributors and farmers — she thinks the association will “be a stronger force.” She hopes this will help influence change for foodservice. “It deserves it; it’s a noble profession,” Munro said. In a time when margins are being squeezed and operators might be considering saving their membership fees, Munro thinks the membership model has great potential for growth — think Netflix or DropBox — but the value proposition must be clear and targeted to both chains and independents. “I think there are things that we do today that we could articulate better,” she said, pointing to Groupex as an example. There are also new things coming down the pipeline to add to the restaurant association’s value proposition, but Munro said she would save those details for later.

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