I decided my column today would be about attracting potential fast food and restaurant franchises to the Battlefords.
This column stems from the popular online poll we put up on our website, asking readers about which new chain they wanted to see in the Battlefords.
The poll was inspired by news that Taco Bell had announced they were building a brand-new franchise on 8th Street in Saskatoon.
That surprised me, because I could have sworn that there were already Taco Bell franchises in Saskatchewan. I guess I had gotten so used to seeing them when I lived in Ontario, or from my trips to Alberta, British Columbia or the United States.
Anyway, the news created excitement in Saskatoon, and it occurred to us, 鈥渨hy not do a poll asking local people what franchises they wanted to see in North Battleford?鈥�
After all, the city is right on Highway 16 on the route from Saskatoon to Edmonton. There鈥檚 no shortage of customers with all that visitor traffic coming through.
Even though the Battlefords has three Tim Hortons and three Subways, two A&Ws to go along with two McDonalds (one of which is in Walmart), as well as Burger King, KFC, Dairy Queen, Boston Pizza, Pizza Hut and others there鈥檚 still plenty of opportunity for more. And more is good. It attracts more people to the Battlefords and means more choices for the people already here.
The most popular response to our poll was in favour of the long-rumored Montana鈥檚, at 44 per cent. Wendy鈥檚 came in second at 23 per cent, followed by Starbucks at 19 per cent, Taco Bell at nine per cent, and Carl鈥檚 Jr. at five per cent.
Carl鈥檚 Jr., of course, is notorious for their TV commercials featuring scantily clad supermodels eating burgers. The reason we included Carl鈥檚 Jr. was because they recently expanded into Saskatchewan with a Regina location, and they also have one in Lloydminster.
As an aside, my family has memories about going to Carl鈥檚 Jr. in Los Angeles around 1988.
It was Christmas or New Year鈥檚, one or the other, and Carl鈥檚 Jr. was the only fast-food place that was even open that day. Because it was a holiday, it was woefully understaffed. The lineup didn鈥檛 seem that long, yet our family had to wait for what seemed like an hour just to get the order in. Then, to top it all off, they messed the order up!
It was so ridiculous, in fact, that I made a concerted, extra effort to remember the name of the place, right down to the 鈥渟tar鈥� logo on the packaging. 鈥淐arl鈥檚 Jr.!鈥�
Of course, after years of watching ads featuring supermodels eating burgers, I finally caved. I went to Carl鈥檚 Jr. in Lloydminster and it was a far superior experience, so much so that I couldn鈥檛 believe it. Still, based on our poll, there aren鈥檛 a lot of people holding their breath for Carl鈥檚 Jr. in North Battleford.
We also got a big response when we posed the question of 鈥渇ast food franchises鈥� on our Facebook page. We saw a lot of support for Booster Juice, Arby鈥檚, Joey鈥檚, and Quiznos, and there were also some suggestions for Original Joe鈥檚, Jungle Jim鈥檚, Chili鈥檚 and Mary Brown鈥檚 Fried Chicken.聽
There was also some support expressed for a new Fuddruckers. Unfortunately, there is only one Fuddruckers in all of Canada, in Saskatoon. And nobody can believe this situation, because they all say the burgers are great. (Update: check, that, Fuddruckers is now up to two franchises. They just opened a new one in Regina.)
This franchise ought to be all over Canada, but it isn鈥檛. Anyway, the bottom line is I don鈥檛 think we鈥檒l see Fuddruckers in North Battleford.
There was also support expressed for a new Bonanza. Now, Bonanza has been in the news lately because of the big, spectacular fire that gutted its restaurant on 8th Street in Saskatoon, a restaurant that was a fixture of the Saskatoon scene for so many years.
In fact, I find it a miracle that Bonanza in Saskatoon lasted as long as it did. It was one of two left in all of Canada, the other one being in Moose Jaw.
The real problem with Bonanza is that everyone has fond memories of going there years ago, but they simply haven鈥檛 kept up with the competition. Other chains have been tweaking their menus and adding new furniture and d茅cor, as well as big-screen TVs so nobody will miss the big Riders game when they take the family out to a restaurant. So I wouldn鈥檛 hold my breath expecting Bonanza to be back in the Battlefords again any time soon.
There are a lot of other chains out there that, for some reason, just haven鈥檛 yet set up in Saskatchewan at all, period. 聽聽
Here are a few of the more notable exceptions that I can think of:
Hooters. Face it, this franchise will never fly in Saskatchewan.
Krispy Kreme. A mystery. When this franchise opened in Canada, the product got rave reviews. People thought the donuts were great! The lineups were down the street! Then everyone went right back to Tim Hortons.
IHOP. Seriously, why don鈥檛 we have an IHOP? Apparently, there鈥檚 even one in Medicine Hat! Maybe there鈥檚 too much competition from all these 鈥減ancake breakfasts鈥� that Saskatchewan is famous for.
Olive Garden. They鈥檙e not here, either, but I鈥檓 guessing more people would opt for Boston Pizza.
The Old Spaghetti Factory: ditto.
Jimmy the Greek鈥檚: This is a personal request from myself; I really liked their souvlaki when I was living in Ontario. Somebody bring them here, darn it!
Nathan鈥檚 Famous. I know it鈥檚 more of a New York thing, but even people in Saskatchewan like hot dogs.聽聽聽
White Castle. If it was good enough for Harold and Kumar to travel miles for their burgers, it should be good enough for us, too!
