Company type | Wholly owned subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Restaurants |
Founded | 1979Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada | in
Founder | Jean-Pierre Robin |
Headquarters | Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada |
Number of locations | 95 |
Area served | Quebec |
Key people | Jean-Pierre Robin, President |
Products | Fast food |
Revenue | $29 million [1] |
Parent | MTY Food Group (2010–present) |
Website | valentine |
Valentine is a Canadian chain of over 100 privately owned restaurant franchises operating in the province of Quebec, Canada. In September 2010 it became a subsidiary of MTY Food Group which purchased the brand rights for $9.3 million. [2]
The first restaurant opened in 1979 in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. A few years later, its founder, Jean-Pierre Robin, opened a second restaurant in Saint-Hyacinthe in order to meet the demand for its "famous hot-dogs". The chain's success increased and reached a turning point: the brothers opted for franchising as the company's mode of functioning for its future restaurants. As time passed, more franchises were sold and restaurants open throughout Quebec. [3] During the 1990s, the chain underwent a major renewal plan in which the restaurants' design changed along with the company's colours.
The company's fare is typical Canadian fast food, such as burgers, fries, sandwiches and poutine. [4] [5] The company employs humour in its advertising. [6] It offers an app that records footsteps. After 10,000 steps, the user is eligible for a poutine. [7]
Poutine is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec, in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are uncertain and there are several competing claims regarding its invention. For many years, it was used by some to mock Quebec society. Poutine later became celebrated as a symbol of Québécois culture and the province of Quebec. It has long been associated with Quebec cuisine, and its rise in prominence has led to its growing popularity throughout the rest of Canada.
Tim Hortons Inc., commonly nicknamed Tim's, Timmies, or Timmy's, is a multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain based in Canada with headquarters in Toronto; it serves coffee, donuts, sandwiches, and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service restaurant chain, with 5,701 restaurants in 13 countries, as of September 2023.
Pizza Delight is a Canadian pizza restaurant franchise. It was founded in 1968 in Shediac, New Brunswick by Léandre Bourque and Allard Robichaud and then later purchased by Bernard Imbeault and two of his friends. The chain's head offices are now located in Moncton. The restaurant primarily serves pizza, pasta and salad dishes. Today, it has over 70 restaurants, and operates in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces, with almost half of its locations in New Brunswick.
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St-Hubert BBQ Ltd is a chain of Canadian casual dining restaurants best known for its rotisserie chicken. St-Hubert is most popular in Quebec, and in other French-Canadian areas such as Eastern Ontario and New Brunswick. St-Hubert is the 16th largest restaurant chain operating in Canada. The chain enjoys the highest customer loyalty of any restaurant in Canada, aside from Tim Hortons, according to industry analysis.
Harvey's is a fast food restaurant chain operating in Canada, with locations in every province except British Columbia. It serves hamburgers, poutine, hot dogs, french fries, onion rings, and other traditional Canadian fast-food fare. The chain is owned by Recipe Unlimited.
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Marvellous Mmmuffins, also known as mmmuffins, was a Canadian restaurant chain that sold coffee and muffins. It was established in 1979 and granted its first franchise in 1980.
Kahala Brands is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada-based MTY Food Group Inc. of Montreal, Quebec. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Kahala is one of North America's largest holding company of franchise fast food restaurant companies. In May 2016, the publicly traded Canadian MTY Food Group announced a friendly takeover deal with the Kahala Brands. MTY agreed to pay about US$300 million to acquire Kahala. The two companies generated nearly $2 billion in revenues in the previous year. Jeff Smit was chosen to lead the US operations of MTY.
Thaï Express is a franchise chain of quick service restaurants serving Thai cuisine across Canada. The Thaï Express brand is owned by the MTY Food Group. In 2009, Thaï Express won the Golden Chain award franchisor of the year award from the Conseil québécois de la franchise.
MTY Food Group is a Canadian franchisor and operator of numerous casual dining, fast casual, and quick service restaurants operating under more than 70 brand names, some of them through wholly owned subsidiaries. Headquartered in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, Quebec, the number of outlets carrying MTY brands reached 5,500 in 2017. Stanley Ma is the group founder, President and CEO. MTY Food Group's brands include Thaï Express, Country Style, Groupe Valentine, Vanelli's, Extreme Pita, Cultures, La Crémière, Sushi Shop, Veggirama, Caferama, O'burger, Tiki Ming, Vie & Nam, Au Vieux Duluth Express, FranxSupreme, ChicknChick, Croissant Plus, Koya Japan, Kim Chi, Panini, Tandori, Tutti Frutti, Villa Madina Mediterranean Cuisine, Sukiyaki, Taco Time, Yogen Früz, and the Canadian branch of TCBY.
Smoke's Poutinerie is a Canadian poutine restaurant franchise founded by Ryan Smolkin.
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Décarie Hot Dogs, founded in 1969, is a diner counter restaurant located on Décarie Boulevard in the Saint-Laurent district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It specializes in hot dogs and french fries.
Stanley Ma is a Canadian businessman and founder and President of MTY Food Group that owns a wide variety of food brands and sells fast food chain outlets. In 2023, the company is behind more than 80 brands, with over 7000 locations worldwide.