Earls Kitchen + Bar is a Canadian-based premium casual dining chain that operates a total of 70 restaurants in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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 List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

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 ...

, Canada.

History

Founding

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

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

veteran and an experienced restaurateur with over twenty successful and failed restaurants to his name. His first restaurant was opened in

Sunburst, Montana Sunburst is a town in Toole County, Montana, United States. The population was 333 in the 2020 census. It is roughly 30 miles north of Shelby and is near the Canada–US border. History Sunburst has its origins as a farming community and lat ...

, 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 store, chain in Canada, franchising, franchised by A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. The company was initially a subsidiary of the U.S.-based A&W Restaurants chain, with the subsidiary opening its first franchi ...

locations in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

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 ...

. 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, respectively. CEO 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 at Ambleside Beach in West Vancouver as a replacement. Earls Saskatoon

In early 2024, longtime executive Mark Hladik was named company president, succeeding Mo Jessa.

Sustainability

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

sustainable seafood Sustainable seafood is seafood that is Wild fisheries, caught or Aquaculture, 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. ...

vetted by Ocean Wise and the

Marine Stewardship Council The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a non-profit organisation 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 tea ...

. 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 nonprofit 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 t ...

'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 landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. 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