Harvey's
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded |  Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Fast food (including hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, onion rings, poutines) |
Number of employees | 7,000 employees |
| Parent | Cara Operations Limited |
| Website | Harveys.ca |
Harvey's is a fast food restaurant chain that operates in Canada, with locations concentrated in southern Ontario, southern Quebec, as well as the Maritimes, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Alberta. It serves hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, onion rings, and other traditional fast food fare. The chain is owned by Cara Operations. Harvey's is the second-largest Canadian-established restaurant chain behind Tim Hortons, and is the fourth-largest burger chain in Canada.[1]
Products
Harvey's is known for its grilled from frozen burgers, allowing customers the choice of 11 different toppings, including lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, onions, hot peppers, and a wide selection of condiments ranging from ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise to Frank's Red Hot sauce. Unique here is that cooked burgers are placed in view of the customer, behind a glass counter, while an employee garnishes the burger as per the customer's choice before wrapping it in paper and serving it to them. In this sense, Harvey's is closer to the model used by submarine sandwich chains like Subway, as opposed to other burger chains which use a set list of toppings for each burger, omitting toppings only at the customer's specific request.
Harvey's offers hot dogs, veggie burgers, and grilled chicken burgers, which can be topped as desired by the customer, as well as chicken strips and garden and chicken salads. Also, Harvey's is one of the few fast food chain restaurants to offer poutine on its menu nationally.
One of Harvey's more popular promotional menu items was Frings, a specially designed french fry box that's half-full of french fries and half-full of onion rings. On July 28, 2008, Frings returned to the menu, and stayed there for good.
In August and September 2006, menu selections were cut significantly, resulting in the withdrawal of such items as Angus burger and other specialty burgers, a short-lived line of deli sandwiches, milkshakes, Caesar salad, and the chain's "value" burgers.
Over time, Harvey's has changed its burger lineup citing changing customer interests and a focus towards women and children. These decisions have resulted in the discontinuation of their flagship burgers which included: the very popular Superburger (1/3 lb. 1989–1996) and the more lamented and arguably less successful Ultra burger (4 oz. "steak like" burger 1996–2001). The lack of success of the Ultra burger was a disappointment for Harvey's considering its reported $1 million development cost and very competitive promotional price of $1.88 and regular selling price of $2.59.
The hamburger menu at the time included six basic varieties: hamburger, cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, and double-patty versions of each. In March 2007, the popular Angus burger was brought back, while an improved milkshake recipe was rolled out beginning in late April. Basic grilled chicken and veggie burgers also remain. In all cases, the choice of toppings is unchanged; with the addition of Frank's Red Hot sauce as of June 2008, replacing Spicy Buffalo Sauce.
In 2010, they introduced the new premium burger which comes on a warm bistro bun, replacing the angus burger.
At a small number of locations, breakfast is also served, only for the traditional morning period. The breakfast menu includes real fried eggs with bacon/sausage and toast, and other familiar fast-food breakfast items. Harvey's is unusual in offering fried eggs with yolks, as other chains, like McDonald's, only offer poached eggs (in sandwiches) or scrambled eggs, eliminating the ability for the customer to puncture the egg yolk for dunking.
Some Harvey's locations are located adjacent to fellow Cara chain Swiss Chalet, or serve selected Swiss Chalet products, although the number of locations in the latter category is now small. In the early 1990s, Harvey's also featured items from Church's Chicken, an American chain, on its menu at selected locations, although that co-venture has since been disbanded. There are also a few Home Depot Harvey's stores that are co-located with the affiliated Second Cup coffee chain.
A long-time purveyor of Coca-Cola products, as are most hamburger chains in Canada, Harvey's switched to Pepsi products in summer 2005.[1][unreliable source?] In early spring 2006, Harvey's eliminated Diet 7 Up and Mountain Dew products from some of its locations as part of its simplified menu.
Organization
Harvey's has sales of $269 million, 286 restaurants, almost 7,000 employees, and 50 million guests annually. Many, but not all, Canadian Home Depot locations feature Harvey's restaurants. In fact, the chain's only locations in British Columbia and Manitoba are inside Home Depot stores or local airports, specifically those in Vancouver and Winnipeg.
The chain's remaining locations in Saskatchewan, all in Home Depots, closed in 2006. Before the opening of the Home Depot locations, Harvey's was operated as a free-standing restaurant in Saskatoon and Regina before closing in 1990. However, construction is underway on a Harvey's in the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Harvey's also currently lacks a presence in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the only two locations closed no later than late 1990s. One location was free-standing at 985 Topsail Road, Mount Pearl, Newfoundland (now home to Vogue Optical),which closed in the late 80s – early 90s, and a Harvey's/Swiss Chalet in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Both restaurant locations (including Swiss Chalet) have now closed. Harvey's closed several Montreal-area locations throughout the 2000s, including two Dollard-des-Ormeaux locations in 2007 and a newly-renovated one in 2008 (however, it moved to Montreal's nearby Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough, respectively. Most Harvey's locations in Montreal (particularly standalone locations) remain open. Three Harvey's locations in Halifax, Nova Scotia have closed between 2004 and 2008.
History
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Harvey's was co-founded by George B. Sukornyk and Rick Mauran in early 1959 as equal shareholders. The first Harvey's location was opened on April 1, 1959 at the southeast corner of Yonge Street and Observatory Lane in Richmond Hill, Ontario, on a 10-acre (40,000 m2) parcel of land purchased from the owner of a bankrupt Dairy Queen. The first franchised location was on company owned property on Avenue Road. Subsequently, land was purchased on The Queensway West, Toronto, Barton Street in Hamilton and Eglinton Ave East in Toronto, just before Warden, where locations were developed and then franchised. The 238 Bloor Street West location, opposite Varsity Arena, was opened as a company owned and operated location, and was eventually sold by Cara in early 2006 to One Bedford, a condo project. Beginning in 1963, Harvey's purchased approximately 39 parcels of land in Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Montreal, Buffalo & Winnipeg with the exception of one leased property. Sukornyk insisted, where possible, that all property be company owned in order to provide equity & stability to the company’s balance sheet.
In 1959, Sukornyk initially chose the name Humphrey's instead of Harvey’s. In the process of ordering the first vertical sign from E.L. Rudy, however, he discovered that the cost was too much, and so decided to shorten the name. He chose the name Harvey's, after Doug Harvey, the Montreal Canadiens’ defenceman. He thought that when locations were eventually opened and franchised in Quebec, the name would be well accepted.
When the Eglinton Avenue East location commenced construction, rather than order a sign from E.L. Rudy, Sukornyk learned that Harvey's (Motors) on Danforth & Woodbine was in bankruptcy, and negotiated the purchase, removal and reconstruction of the Harvey's neon sign at the Eglinton East location.
In 1959, Harvey's introduced three interesting and original concepts in the drive-in take-out business. The first concept was for a customer to order, purchase and obtain a receipt, which was placed on the topping counter. The cash was immediately placed in the cash register, thereby controlling and monitoring cash, and keeping theft to a minimum. The second concept was to have the customer move along the counter, following his receipt, and then, at his request, have an employee “customize” his hamburger with a variety of toppings. The third concept, initially developed for its full-line Swiss Chalet restaurants in Montreal, was to purchase potatoes from Prince Edward Island, have the franchisee wash, then cut the fresh potatoes into oversized chips, with skin on, that were then deep-fried and served. This approach was a distinction from thin pre-frozen French Fries of unknown origin that were being sold at the time. Ten years later, under different management, the number of toppings was substantially increased and pre-frozen string French Fries were introduced, replacing the freshly cut PEI potato.
Free Burger Day
On the last Sunday of May each year (since 2007), Harvey's holds a Free Original Hamburger Day at all locations across Ontario and Quebec. The purpose of this event is to "celebrate Canada's best tasting burger" and to bring in new customers who might not otherwise go into Harvey's.[3]
The event was extended across Canada in 2009 to celebrate the chain's 50th anniversary. This event was discontinued in 2010, and replaced with a "Free Burger Week in Canada" campaign where during the week of June 14–20, 2010, you could purchase one burger and receive one for free.
Harvey's vs. Hardee's
There is no affiliation between Harvey's and the American hamburger chain Hardee's. The latter's parent company CKE Restaurants has in fact been prevented from opening stores in Canada under the Hardee's name due to a trademark dispute. CKE is instead attempting to launch the Carl's Jr. brand in Canada.[4]
Marketing
Advertising slogans
English
- 1970s: "Harvey's makes a hamburger a beautiful thing"
- 1980s: "Harvey's makes your hamburger a beautiful thing"
- early 1990s: "Harvey's: beautiful choice"
- 1992? to 1993 "We make you spoiled with charbroiled"
- 1994 to 1995 "When you want what you want, you want Harvey's"
- early 2000s: "Harvey's makes your hamburger a beautiful thing" and "Real, big, taste."
- 2003 to 2006: "Long live the grill", "Noooo problem" and "Meat. Fire. Good."
- 2006 to present: "Harvey's makes your hamburger a beautiful thing" (or simply "It's a beautiful thing") and "At Harvey's, there's a burger with your name on it."
References
- ^ Canadian Business. CB Media. 1977. p. 30. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
- ^ Filey, Mike (2003). Toronto Sketches 7: The Way We Were. Dundurn Press. pp. 53–54. ISBN 9781550024487. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
- ^ Harvey's expanding
- ^ http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=219620&page=7
External links
