BeaverTails is a Canadian
restaurant chain
A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...
, specializing in pastries known as BeaverTails, that is operated by BeaverTails Canada Inc. Its namesake products are
fried dough pastries, individually hand-stretched to resemble
beaver
Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
's tails, with various toppings added on the pastry.
The chain originated in
Killaloe, Ontario in 1978 and opened its first permanent store in
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
two years later. By 2018, it had 140 franchise and licence locations in six countries: Canada (
the Maritimes
The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...
,
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
,
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
,
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
and
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, where the franchise is called Queues de Castor), the United States (
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
,
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
and
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
), the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, and
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
Company history
BeaverTails began when Grant and Pam Hooker turned their family recipe for fried dough into a corporate business. They sold their first pastries at the
Killaloe Craft and Community Fair in 1978. Two years later, they opened the first BeaverTails stand in the
Byward Market in Ottawa.
In 1987, Pino Di Ioia accepted a summer position as the manager of the BeaverTails location at La Ronde. In 2002, along with his wife and twin brother, they took over the management of BeaverTails.
Products
BeaverTail

The BeaverTail is a
fried dough pastry that is sold in a variety of flavours. Most flavours of BeaverTails are topped with sweet condiments and confections, such as whipped cream, banana slices, crumbled
Oreo
Oreo (; stylized in all caps) is an American brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two cocoa biscuits with a sweet fondant filling. Oreos were introduced in 1912 by Nabisco, and the brand has been owned by Mondelez International since its me ...
s, cinnamon sugar, and chocolate hazelnut. BeaverTails are also made in savoury variations, such as with
poutine
Poutine () is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a hot 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 regar ...
or
hotdog
A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiling, boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced Hot dog bun, bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter (F ...
s.
"BeaverTails" and "Queues de Castor" have been registered as
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
s since 1988 by BeaverTails Canada Inc and its affiliated companies.
In the media

BeaverTails received media attention in the US and Canada when it was served at the Canadian
embassy
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...
during
the first inauguration of
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. The product was also mentioned in newscasts during the lead-up to his visit to
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
on February 19, 2009, as an example of how Canadian businesses were participating. While in town, he stopped at the
ByWard Market on his way to the
Ottawa International Airport
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
to buy a BeaverTails pastry. One variation of the product, a classic cinnamon and sugar pastry with maple flavoured eyes and a
Nutella
Nutella ( , , ; stylized in all lowercase) is a brand of brown, sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread. Nutella is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero and was introduced in 1964, although its first iteration dates to 1963.
History
Pietro ...
O for Obama, was called the "Obamas Tail", in honour of the visit.
See also
*
List of Canadian restaurant chains
Although many of the largest restaurant chains in Canada are United States, US-based (McDonald's and Yum! Brands among others), some Canadian-based (owned and operated from Canada) restaurant chains are growing and have expanded into other marke ...
*
List of coffeehouse chains
*
List of doughnut shops
*
List of doughnut varieties
Doughnuts are a type of List of fried dough foods, fried dough food. The following is a list of doughnut and fried dough pastry varieties.
Variations and specialties by region
The terms below constitute either names for different doughnut type ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beavertails
Canadian desserts
Food and drink companies of Canada
Culture of Ottawa
Cuisine of Ontario
Companies based in Montreal
Restaurants established in 1978
1978 establishments in Ontario
Doughnut shops