Cara Operations purchasing Keg Restaurants
By Canadian Packaging staff
General Cara Operations Ltd. Keg Restaurants Ltd. Restaurant chain acquisitionCanadian restaurant brands owner Cara Foods acquiring Keg Restaurants Lt in US$200-million deal.
Cara Operations Ltd.—owners of such Canadian restaurant brands as Harvey’s, Swiss Chalet, Kelseys, East Side Marios, Montana’s and St-Hubert, and more—has agreed to acquire US$200 million to acquire the upscale steakhouse chain Keg Restaurants Ltd.
Cara chief executive officer Bill Gregson acknowledges that with its own upscale eateries performing as well as The Keg brand, they will use the Keg and its more than 100 steakhouses in Canada and the U.S. as a model.
The Keg only has 10 restaurants in its U.S. expansion, but they have been quite successful, and Gregson hopes that expansion model can be utilized by Cara Operations.
Only it won’t be Cara Operations for much longer.
While the Vaughan, Ont.-based Cara is Canada’s largest full-scale restaurant company, Gregson says the business will be changing its name to an as yet undisclosed name once the Keg deal closes.
Cara was founded in 1883 as Canada Railway News Company, originally selling newspapers and fruit to train passengers before moving solely into the food catering business. The current company taking its moniker from “CAnada RAilway”, and with the soon-to-be-revealed name change, the restaurant company will try to distance itself from connotations with its catering past.
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