Burger King (Alberta)
Burger King Drive Inn | |
Formerly | Burger King/Kentucky Fried Chicken |
Industry | Restaurants |
Founded | 1956Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | in
Founder | William R. Jarvis, James Duncan Rae |
Defunct | 1995 |
Fate | Defunct |
Successor | Burger Baron, KFC |
Number of locations | 12 (1975) |
Products | Fast food (hamburgers, chicken) |
Burger King was a fast food restaurant chain in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Also known as Burger King Drive-Inn, it was founded by former Imperial Oil executives William R. Jarvis (1926-21 July 2014) [1] and James Duncan Rae (3 September 1923 - 17 December 2014)[2] in 1956. Among the first American-style fast food restaurants in Edmonton, it was not related to the worldwide Burger King chain. Company headquarters were in offices above one of the restaurants, at 9501 111 Avenue. Its signature items included a mushroom burger and a "Canadian Burger".
The restaurant was inspired by a visit Jarvis paid to Great Falls, Montana in 1953,[1] when he stayed next to a Dairy Queen drive-in. After the chain turned down his request for a franchise, he and Rae formed their own Dairy Drive-In at 8705 118 Avenue. Two years later, when their lease expired, they hauled the building to a site at 112 Avenue, where it would become the first Burger King.[3] It opened one year before the first outlet of what would become its main rival, A&W.
The US chain entered the Canadian market in 1969 with a store in Windsor, Ontario.[4] In 1973, Jarvis and Rae reached an agreement that granted their rival the rights to the "Burger King" name for all of Canada except Alberta north of the 52nd parallel, passing through Innisfail, which was reserved in perpetuity for the local chain.[5]
By 1975, when McDonald's opened its first Edmonton restaurant near Capilano Mall, Burger King had 12 outlets. At the time, the company held a franchise for Kentucky Fried Chicken in Edmonton, with its outlets using dual branding. However, as the market became more competitive, the relationship between the two companies deteriorated, with KFC attempting legal action to end the partnership.[6] The matter was ultimately resolved in 1990, when KFC, now under the ownership of PepsiCo, refused to extend the franchise, and Jarvis and Rae instead sold their remaining dual-branded restaurants to them.
In August 1995, when two non-KFC Burger King restaurants were still in operation, they sold the naming rights for northern Alberta for $1 million to the US company.[7] It immediately announced its intention to enter the market, the last region of North America where it had been unable to operate,[8] other than Mattoon, Illinois, where another restaurant uses the name.
Several Burger King restaurants became Burger Barons.
See also
References
- ^ a b "William R. Jarvis obituary". Legacy.com. Edmonton Journal. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ "James Duncan Rae obituary". Legacy.com. Edmonton Journal. 24 December 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ Lawrence Herzog (1 March 2012). "'Hop' to It". edmontonhistory.ca. University of Alberta Archive. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
{{cite web}}
: Check|archive-url=
value (help) - ^ "Burger King Canada Franchise" (Press release). Burger King Corporation. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- ^ Noel McNaughton [@CBCEdmonton] (2018-08-16). "From the Archives: Help Yourself, August 12, 1987" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Col. Sanders Kentucky Fried Chicken Ltd. v. Burger King Drive In, 1976 ALTASCAD 94". caselaw.canada.globe24h.com. Supreme Court of Alberta Appellate Division. 6 May 1976. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ Pike, Leigh Anne (18 September 1995). "Whopper-less no more". connection.EBSCOhost.com. Alberta Report. ISSN 0225-0519. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ "Burger King Corp. announces plans to expand in Edmonton, Alberta". thefreelibrary.com. Business Wire. 28 August 1995. Retrieved 17 January 2017.