Formerly | Mother Tucker's Food Experience |
---|---|
Type | Private |
Industry | Buffet restaurant |
Headquarters | Canada |
Number of locations | 1 (2023) |
Tucker's Marketplace is an buffet restaurant in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 2023. [1]
Previously it was a chain of restaurants, with locations in Burlington, Mississauga, , Pickering, and Toronto. It was founded decades earlier as Mother Tucker's Food Experience, an à la carte restaurant. The company ceased operations in June 2020, a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the buffet format. On January 24, 2023, the company announced the Ottawa location would re-open on January 25, 2023. [1] The restaurant's name is a reference to a colloquial expression in British English; "tuck in" meaning to commence the consumption of a large meal.
Winnipeg entrepreneur Oscar Grubert opened the first location in February 1976, [2] in downtown Edmonton, at 10184 104 Street. [3] Its location was a brick warehouse built in 1927. According to The Globe and Mail, "The interior is a dimly lit rabbit warren (lined with barn siding, criss-crossed with huge wooden beams) of alcoves holding two, three or four tables. A cosy friendly atmosphere prevails amid an extraordinary clutter of such things as old cream separators, barrels, haymow hoists, washing machines, crocks, pots, teakettles, copper boilers and suchlike." [4] The location was à la carte. [4] The Globe and Mail described the chain as a "traditional roadhouse" in 1984, comparing it to Kelsey's and The Keg. [5] Winnipeg and Calgary locations were opened within the first year, [6] [7] the latter replacing a location of Grubert's Butcher Block restaurant. [8] [9]
As of 1980, the company was headquartered in Winnipeg, [10] likely a result of being owned by Champs Food Systems. [11] It looked to expand into the United States. [10] By 1981, the company intended to move its headquarters to the US within three years. [12] In 1989, the Scarborough, Ontario chain solicited for franchisees. [13]
As of 1984, the chain had 21 locations. [14]
In 1994, the chain rebooted as Tucker's Marketplace. Largely a buffet split into themed stations, it continued to offer some table service items, including prime rib. [15] Stations were dubbed "shops", including The Corner Baker, The Green Grocer, The CookStove, Carvery & Co, and The Ice Cream Stand. [16] [17]
The new brand was created by Mother Tucker's Food Experience (Canada) Ltd. [18] and Working Ventures Canadian Fund Inc., as Newgen Restaurant Services. [16] [19] Nolan Grubert was named its president. [16] The goal was to expand to 25 locations in Ontario and Quebec. [16] As of 2018, the Tucker's Marketplace chain was still owned by Newgen. [20]
As of the early 2000s, its tagline was "Here's Your Plate, Go Crazy." [21]
Beginning in March 2020, [update] the chain posted an open letter on its website, suggesting it would stay closed "until concern about the coronavirus, Covid-19 begins to ease." [22] [23] On June 25, 2020, an open letter was posted stating that due to Covid-19 "we will not be reopening our restaurants." [24] The closure was announced chain-wide in late June, with the restaurant stating "that there is not a profitable path forward for our business." [25] [26]
The Ottawa location was confirmed to close on June 11, 2020 by CTV News Ottawa, [27] [28] but later was announced to re-open on January 25, 2023. [29]
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And with his other corporate pillar, Mother Tucker's Food Experience, he would expand across Canada and the United States.