St-Hubert

For the borough in the city of Longueuil, see Saint-Hubert, Quebec.
St-Hubert BBQ
Private
Industry Casual dining restaurants
Founded 1951
Headquarters Laval, Quebec, Canada
Products Rotisserie
Chicken, Salads, Ribs
Parent Groupe St-Hubert
Website http://www.st-hubert.com/

St-Hubert BBQ Ltd is a privately held chain of Canadian casual dining restaurants best known for its rotisserie chicken. St-Hubert once had a presence throughout eastern Canada, but it now has few locations outside its home province of Quebec, where it remains a dominant chain. Other locations are found in Ottawa, Cornwall, Rockland and Hawkesbury in Ontario, and Bathurst, Moncton and Fredericton in New Brunswick. St-Hubert is the 16th largest restaurant chain operating in Canada.

History

The first restaurant opened in 1951 on Saint Hubert Street in Montreal, just south of Beaubien street. This branch still operates today, but has been converted as a St-Hubert Express take-out restaurant. The company website claims its free home delivery was a first in Canada.

By the 1970s, St-Hubert had became the major restaurant chain it is today.

The original St-Hubert Chicken mascot was created and designed by Disney animator Jack Dunham.[1][2] Dunham also produced St-Hubert's first television commercials.[2] However the current St-Hubert mascot, which has been in use since the second half of the 1970s, was not created by Dunham.

St. Hubert also opened a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the 1970s serving Canadians who spent their vacations in southern Florida. The restaurant was also known for being able to serve its customers in French, as most of the clients were French-speaking Canadians and motivated the employers to seek French-speaking employees. The location closed down sometime in the 1990s.

A St-Hubert Express restaurant.

A longtime purveyor in Pepsi products, St-Hubert switched to Coca-Cola products in the early 2000s.

St-Hubert's president was quoted in a Postmedia News article in October 2011 as saying that the company was considering adding halal and kosher products.[3] It has since recanted in the aftermath of Quebec's reasonable accommodation reaction.

Operations

Photo of a St-Hubert restaurant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

St-Hubert's service area has little overlap with the similar Swiss Chalet chain, which exited the Quebec market in the early 2000s, although there is no formal agreement between the two. Following the closure or rebranding (as independent restaurants) of the chain's remaining Toronto area locations over the past few years, the chains now only overlap in the Ottawa area, and in Moncton, New Brunswick. Restaurants in the Saint John, New Brunswick, area closed in 2013.[4] A location in St. John's, Newfoundland also existed, but was closed around the late 1980s-early 1990s. However, in a 2007 interview with La Presse, St-Hubert CEO Jean-Pierre Léger suggested that the company was considering re-entering other eastern Canadian markets.[5] In January 2011, St-Hubert announced that its expansion plans included the opening of three Toronto area locations of the St-Hubert Express concept. It is also considering entering markets outside Canada.[6]

St-Hubert operates 80 full-service restaurants, and 17 St-Hubert Express locations, which are closer in style to fast food restaurants. The bright yellow cars delivering food carry the slogan: "Putt-Putt Ding-Ding".

St-Hubert also markets its own brand of gravy which is available in supermarkets in Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in canned or powder form.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Parent, Tim (2009-04-06). "Disney animator, creater of St. Hubert BBQ rooster, has died". CJAD. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Disney, Lantz animator Jack Dunham dies at 98". Cartoon Brew (Big Cartoon Forum). 2009-04-05. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  3. ↑ http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=36050289-42af-4ba1-a91c-1f6e408ce884&sponsor=
  4. ↑ Clements, Alison (October 22, 2013). "St. Hubert’s closes its doors in Saint John". News 889 (Rogers Media). Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  5. ↑ Brousseau-Pouliot, Vincent (2007-05-14). "Le PDG de St-Hubert répond aux questions des lecteurs" [St-Hubert CEO responds to questions from readers] (in French). La Presse. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
  6. ↑ http://argent.canoe.ca/lca/affaires/quebec/archives/2011/01/20110114-171919.html

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St-Hubert Restaurant.