Earls Kitchen + Bar is a Canadian-based premium casual dining chain that operates a total of 68 restaurants in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Their head office is in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

, Canada.

History

Founding

Leroy Earl "Bus" Fuller (1928–2019), the founder of Earls, was a

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

veteran and an experienced restaurateur with over twenty successful and failed restaurants to his name. His first restaurant was opened in Sunburst, Montana, United States, in 1954 under the name "Green & White". In the late 1950s, Fuller moved his young family to

and operated a series of

A&W (Canada) A&W is a fast food restaurant chain in Canada, franchised by A&W Food Services of Canada, Inc. The chain was originally part of the U.S.-based A&W Restaurants chain; locations in Canada were sold to Unilever in 1972, and then bought by its man ...

locations in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. Soon, the Fullers were operating thirty locations and a series of Fuller’s, a Denny’s type of chain. In the 1970s, the Fullers moved west to

. It was during this time that Fuller went into business with his son Stan Fuller, founding the first Earls restaurant in 1982 in Edmonton. The chain quickly grew when the Fullers set up an Earls restaurant in their new home town of Vancouver in 1983. Although its menu originally consisted mostly of burgers and beer, Earls has changed the menu to offer "dishes inspired by trips around the world." Over the years, Earls restaurants have spread across Western Canada, the United States, and Ontario.

Recent

While the chain was originally a family business, in 2013, Mo Jessa became the first non-Fuller to be named as company president. The Fullers are involved in a number of other Western Canadian restaurant chains. Jeff Fuller and Stewart Fuller, two other sons of Leroy, are involved in

JOEY Joey may refer to: People *Joey (name) Animals * Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial * Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets Film and television * ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...

(a western Canadian restaurant chain) and

Cactus Club Cafe Cactus Club Cafe is a Canadian-owned chain of premium casual restaurants that originated in North Vancouver, British Columbia. The chain has since expanded to 31 locations throughout Canada, with other locations throughout British Columbia, Alb ...

, respectively. Ole Stan Fuller owns a 20% share of the latter establishment after the other brothers dropped out. In December 2017, Earls announced that they would be closing one of their first locations, on Marine Drive in North Vancouver. In early 2018, the chain opened a concept restaurant in West Vancouver as a replacement. Earls Saskatoon

Sustainability

The Earls chain has utilized chicken raised cage-free, and

sustainable seafood Sustainable seafood is seafood that is caught or farmed in ways that consider the long-term vitality of harvested species and the well-being of the oceans, as well as the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent communities. It was first promoted through ...

vetted by Ocean Wise and the

Marine Stewardship Council The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a non-profit organization which aims to set standards for sustainable fishing. Fisheries that wish to demonstrate they are well-managed and sustainable compared to the MSC's standards are assessed by a t ...

. In April 2016, following a trial at its flagship locations, Earls announced that all of its locations would only serve beef sourced from farms accredited under

Humane Farm Animal Care Humane Farm Animal Care is a non-profit organization established to promote and administer its certification and labeling program, ''Certified Humane Raised & Handled'', for meat, dairy, eggs and poultry raised under its animal care standards in ...

's "Certified Humane" standards. While Canadian suppliers were used for the trial, Earls stated that there were not enough suitable farms to meet the required demand across their entire chain. As such, the chain chose to source its meat from an accredited farm in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

. Following the announcement, Earls faced criticism from government officials for its decision to stop using domestic beef; Rob McNabb, head of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, criticized the implication that Canadian cattle producers were not working towards humane cattle raising practices, and stated that they were "second to none in ensuring the welfare of their animals". The Earls company stated that it would use a Canadian supplier if it met these standards while meeting its supply demands, but on May 5, 2016, the chain decided to reverse its decision entirely. Company president Mohammad Jessa explained that the decision was a "mistake", and stated that the company planned to work with ranchers in Alberta to encourage humane practices.

References

External links