Webers (also known as Webers Hamburgers) is a

hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...

restaurant on

Ontario Highway 11 King's Highway 11, commonly referred to as Highway 11, is a Ontario Provincial Highway Network, provincially-maintained highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. At , it is the second-longest highway in th ...

, located 15 kilometres north of

Orillia Orillia () is a city in Ontario, Canada, about 30 km (18 mi) north-east of Barrie in Simcoe County. It is located at the confluence of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although it is geographically located within Simcoe County, the city is a Lis ...

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 ...

that opened in July 1963. Webers grills their burgers over charcoal, with a grill man said to be able to flip up to 800 patties an hour. Long line ups are a common sight at the restaurant, which made the restaurant build a

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

over the highway to provide access for guests from the southbound side. The restaurant's hamburger patties are also sold at

Loblaws Loblaws Inc. is a Canadian supermarket chain with stores located in the province of Ontario, and in Alberta and British Columbia under the Loblaws CityMarket banner. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Loblaws is a subsidiary of Loblaw Companie ...

outlets. As of 2009, Webers is reported to sell approximately 8,000 hamburgers on a typically busy Friday. The restaurant is open weekends from Thanksgiving until Christmas, but closed from January to March break.

History

Webers was opened on July 11, 1963, by Paul Weber Sr., to cater to cottage goers. By the 1970s, it became so popular that patrons on the opposite side of the highway would often risk injury running across the street to the restaurant. In 1981, the province built a traffic barrier along the

median The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a Sample (statistics), data sample, a statistical population, population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the “ ...

of the highway in an effort to stop the

jaywalking Jaywalking is the act of pedestrians walking in or crossing a roadway if that act contravenes traffic regulations. The term ''jay-walker'' originated in the United States as a derivation of the phrase ''jay-driver'' (the word ''jay'' meaning a ...

. Even so, travellers heading toward

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

climbed over the waist-high wall to get their food. The following year, the province took further precaution by erecting a fence on top of the barrier. In 1983, Paul Weber Jr., the founder's son, bought a

from a Toronto lawyer that was being used as part of the CN Tower's

SkyWalk The SkyWalk is an approximately 160 metre enclosed walkway connecting Union Station to the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre (SkyDome) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Part of Toronto's PATH network, the SkyWalk passes above the York Street ' s ...

over Front Street to provide safe access to southbound travelers. This bridge has the distinction of being the first and only privately owned bridge spanning a public highway in Ontario. In 1987, Webers installed three CN train cars,

retrofitted Retrofitting is the addition of new technology or features to older systems. Retrofits can happen for a number of reasons, for example with big capital expenditures like naval vessels, military equipment or manufacturing plants, businesses or go ...

to house their own meat processing facility. They have since added five train cars, one of which is used as an eatery. The founder's sons eventually took over the business before their father's death in 1994. Webers opened up additional restaurants in Barrie in the late 1980s; one in Orillia, off the highway, in 1995; and two outlets in

Toronto Pearson International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Pearson is the ...

in the late 1990s. These restaurants have since closed, leaving only the original location on Highway 11. In 2005, Webers began selling frozen hamburgers through

. Paul Weber Jr. sold the company in 2004 to

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

businessman Tom Rennie, to spend more time with his family. This gave Rennie rights to the Webers name, and control of the Highway 11 flagship location as well as the outlets at Pearson. John Weber, the founder's other son, retained control of the locations in Orillia and Barrie. Since the additional restaurants closed their doors, Rennie became the sole owner of Webers. On July 19, 2018,

Canadian Prime Minister The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons; as such, the prime minister typically sits as a ...

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

visited Webers after visiting the

Tim Horton Memorial Camp Tim Horton Memorial Camp (also known as Tim Hortons Memorial Camp and Tim Horton's Memorial Camp) is a campsite operated by Canadian fast food chain Tim Hortons located in McDougall, Ontario, on Lorimer Lake Road. The camp was founded in 1975 and ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Webers remained open with social distancing measures. Webers also started accepting

debit cards A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card, is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The card usually consists of the bank's name, a card number, the cardholder's name, and an expiration date, on either ...

for the first time in its history, having previously been a cash-only establishment.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.webers.com/ Restaurants established in 1963 Roadside attractions in Canada Orillia Fast-food hamburger restaurants Restaurants in Ontario 1963 establishments in Ontario