Recipe Unlimited

Recipe Unlimited Corporation
Formerly
 Cara Operations Limited
Public
Traded as TSX: RECP
Industry Branded restaurants
Founded 1883
Founder Thomas Patrick Phelan and family
Headquarters Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Key people
 Bill Gregson (Executive Chairman)[1]
Frank Hennessey (CEO)
Revenue C$775.2 million (2017)
Owners Cara Holdings Limited
Fairfax Financial[2]
Number of employees
 40,000
Divisions East Side Mario's
Harvey's
Kelseys Original Roadhouse
Milestones Grill and Bar
Montana's BBQ & Bar
New York Fries
St-Hubert
Swiss Chalet
The Keg
Subsidiaries Prime Restaurants
Website cara.com

Recipe Unlimited Corporation (formerly Cara Operations Limited) is a Canadian company that operates several restaurant chains, as well as major food distribution for correctional facilities, educational facilities and other large operations. The company's headquarters are in Vaughan, Ontario, in the Greater Toronto Area.[3] In May 2018, CEO Bill Gregson announced that Cara Operations Limited would be changing its name to Recipe Unlimited Corporation.[4]

History

The company was originally chartered in 1883 as Canada Railway News Company, selling newspapers, magazines and confectionaries at railway stations. The company's roots go back to the mid-1850s, when Thomas Patrick Phelan was selling fruit and newspapers to train passengers between Hamilton and Buffalo.[5] Canada Railway News soon moved into the food business, catering to a boom in passenger rail traffic in Canada.

In the 1930s, the company began offering catering services to the airlines. By 1951, it was serving about 1,500 meals a day. In 1961, the company changed its name to Cara Operations Limited. The name Cara was derived from the first two letters of each of the words "Canada Railway".

Cara was owned solely by the Phelan family from its inception in 1883 until it went public in 1968. At that time, its primary business was catering to the transportation sector (airline and rail meals), but it did operate a few 'no-name' restaurants and coffee shops in various office towers and airport terminals in Canada. Total sales of all the various operations was C$30 million in 1968. In 1986, Cara provided services for Vancouver's Expo 86.

In 2002, sales for the whole company were C$1.9 billion. 88% of the business comes from the restaurant services, with the remaining 12% deriving from airline catering. On February 26, 2004, Cara went private.

In 2008, the company moved its headquarters from Mississauga, Ontario, to Vaughan, Ontario, near the Vaughan Mills shopping centre. [6] At that time, Cara was in the middle of a controversy, when three employees were arrested at the Montreal-Trudeau airport in relation to a drug distribution network that used the planes for which Cara provided the catering.

In May 2018, then Chief Executive Officer Bill Gregson announced that Cara Operations Limited would be changing its name to Recipe Unlimited Corporation and would be traded under the new stock symbol "RECP".[4] On October 1, 2018, the company was hit by a malware attack, requiring closure of all of its restaurants in Canada. The attack required some restaurants to continue as cash-only operations until at least the following day.[7]

Acquisitions

In 1999, Cara purchased Kelseys Inc. from owner Paul Jeffery, acquiring Montanas, Kelseys and the Outback (Canada). The rights to Outback steakhouse were owned in Canada by Cara, but it was sold back to Outback in the USA because of high food costs.[8]

In 2013, Cara came to an agreement with Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. to make Prime Restaurants a wholly owned subsidiary of Cara.[9] This added restaurants such as Casey's, East Side Mario's, Bier Markt and Prime Pubs to its operations.

On August 31, 2015, Cara announced that it would be acquiring New York Fries. South St. Burger would not be part of the acquisition.[10]

On March 31, 2016, Cara Operations announced that it would acquire St-Hubert in the summer of 2016 for CAD$537 million.[11][12]

In January 2018, Cara Operations announced their intention to acquire the 108-location steakhouse chain, The Keg.[13] The $200M deal closed on February 22, 2018.[14]

Labour Issues

Beginning October 5, 2015, female employees at all Bier Markt locations were required to wear tight blue mini-dresses, and heels or boots as footwear on the job. The work outfit practice applied to employees at locations in Ontario and Quebec who had previously worn black pants and golf shirt as a uniform. After the CBC investigated complaints of gender discrimination, Cara modified its outfit practice to allow employees to wear the original gender-neutral uniform.[15]

In early 2018, Cara's CEO and President Bill Gregson announced that the recent Ontario minimum wage hike to $14 an hour had not adversely affected revenues, with sales going up throughout most of Ontario.[16]

Operations

Restaurants

As of December 2017, Recipe Unlimited had 1,221 restaurants within Canada and 51 additional restaurants that were situated internationally.[17] Recipe Unlimited employs more than 38,000 people.

Restaurant operations

Correctional Facilities and Prisons

Under their subsidiary Summit Food Services, Cara provides commissary and kitchen services to correctional facilities internationally.[21] Summit Food Service Distributors Inc. now a division of Colabor LP, is Canada's largest Canadian-owned broadline distributor to the foodservice industry.

Airline Catering

Cara servicing a Czech Airlines flight in Montreal in February 2008.

The majority of Cara Airline Solutions business assets were sold on November 8, 2010 to Gate Gourmet (GateGroup).[22] Before November 8, 2010 Cara controlled 85% of the Canadian airline market, providing meals for more than 60 of the world's major airlines including KLM, American Airlines, British Airways and Air Canada. Meals were prepared at Cara's nine flight kitchens located across Canada.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Cara Operations Ltd. announces Frank Hennessey will be new CEO". National Post. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  2. ↑ "Cara Announces Appointment of Frank Hennessey as Chief Executive Officer". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  3. ↑ "footer_cara_contact_01.gif Archived 2011-10-01 at the Wayback Machine.." Cara Operations. Retrieved on September 13, 2011. "Address: 199 Four Valley Drive, Vaughan, ON L4K 0B8"
  4. 1 2 3 "Cara Reports Q1 2018 Results Led by Solid Same Store Sales Growth". CNW. 10 May 2018. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018.
  5. ↑ Pitts, Gordon (11 October 2003). "The fight for Cara's soul". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Contact Information." Cara Operations. April 5, 2004. Retrieved on September 13, 2011. "Head Office 6303 Airport Road Mississauga, Ontario Canada L4V 1R8"
  7. ↑ Harris, Sophia. "Swiss Chalet, Harvey's, other big chains hit by 'malware outbreak' | CBC News". CBC. CBC. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  8. ↑ :Cara Operations Limited: Archived 2004-07-16 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ Shaw, Hollie (31 October 2013). "Cara, Fairfax's Prime Restaurants to merge". Archived from the original on 5 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Cara Operations Limited announces purchase of New York Fries" (Press release). 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016.
  11. ↑ Paddon, David (31 March 2016). "In rotisserie chicken marriage, owner of Swiss Chalet buys St-Hubert for $537M". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  12. ↑ "Cara announces purchase of St-Hubert" (Press release). 31 March 2016. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016.
  13. ↑ Crawford Hampel, Emma (23 January 2018). "Swiss Chalet, Montana's owner Cara to buy the Keg in $200m deal". Business in Vancouver. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  14. ↑ Deschamps, Tara (23 January 2018). "The Keg steakhouse chain to be sold to Swiss Chalet owner Cara Operations in $200M deal". Global News. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  15. ↑ Marchitelli, Rosa (2 November 2015). "Bier Markt's skimpy dress code called 'sexist and discriminatory'". CBC News. Archived from the original on 6 November 2015.
  16. ↑ Paddon, David (12 March 2018). "Restaurant operator Cara says Ontario's minimum wage hike has been manageable". Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  17. ↑ "Cara Operations Limited Declares Dividend and Increases Fourth Quarter Dividend by 5%". CNW. 9 March 2018. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018.
  18. ↑ "New York Fries". New York Fries. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cara Operations Limited announces purchase of Pickle Barrel". CNW. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  20. ↑ "Cara Operations to merge with Keg Restaurants Ltd". CNW. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  21. ↑ "About Summit". Summit Food That Drives Positive Behavior. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  22. ↑ "gategroup completes acquisition of Cara Airline Solutions" (Press release). 8 November 2010. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018.

Coordinates: 43°41′27″N 79°37′26″W / 43.690824°N 79.623928°W / 43.690824; -79.623928

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