Full-service dining delivers the experience consumers love
By Georgie Binks
Canadians have always loved dining out. But as prices rise, it becomes even more important to consumers to make every restaurant occasion count—to treat themselves to a great meal and get value for their dollar. That’s where these full-service dining franchises come in. Franchise Canada spoke to three full-service restaurant brands that have captured Canadian hearts and tastebuds—and offer a buffet of opportunity for prospective franchisees.
Milestones
Milestones describes itself as a casual fine-dining, or “polished casual,” brand. The franchise opened in Vancouver in 1989, grew across western Canada through the 1990s, and now boasts 46 locations in six provinces.
Peter Mammas, CEO of Foodtastic, the company that owns Milestones, says, “The franchise offers familiar, craveable food served with a twist, paired with craft cocktails and genuine hospitality, in a room that works equally well for a birthday, Sunday brunch, or a drink with friends at happy hour.”
In a time when the economy is contracting, Mammas says overall demand remains resilient. In fact, he explains, the Canadian food service market continues to grow, but is being reshaped rather than simply expanding.
“Value sensitivity is the dominant theme. Guests are dining out a bit less and expecting more for their money, which rewards brands that deliver a genuine experience for the price,” says Mammas.
For restaurant brands today, the challenges are thin margins, labour availability and cost, food-cost inflation, real-estate and build-out expense, and the operational intensity of a business open seven days a week.
But a brand like Milestones has the system backing to meet those challenges head-on. Mammas says, “Milestones has been a recognized leader in Canadian casual fine dining for over 30 years, so a franchisee is not building awareness from zero. The backing of Foodtastic—with its portfolio of 30 brands, which translates into real purchasing power, supply-chain leverage, marketing, financing programs, and operational support—[is something] an independent operator simply cannot replicate.”
Ever looking toward the future, the franchise has set up the Milestones Test Kitchen and Fraser Bar in Coquitlam, B.C. The Test Kitchen runs a menu split evenly between beloved classics and dishes still in development, so the brand can gather feedback from real guests and refine menu items before rolling them out nationally. “Think Samosa Poutine, Lobster Frites, and wood-fired pizzas, alongside longstanding favorites,” Mammas says.
That location also features Fraser Bar, a 1920s prohibition-inspired cocktail concept that may evolve into a standalone in other cities.
Mammas says the strongest franchise candidates for Milestones are hands-on, hospitality-driven operators. “Prospective candidates need the financial capacity, strong people-leadership skills, the discipline to follow a proven system, and the resilience to run a demanding seven-day-a-week business.”
Milestones plans to expand into new Canadian markets under the Foodtastic umbrella. Peter Mammas says, “We’re proud of our Canadian roots and DNA, just as proud of our people and our partners who work tirelessly to serve our customers and live up to our values.”
Pacini
There’s nothing like an unlimited bread bar to pull customers into a restaurant, and fabulous food to keep them there. Geneviève Nadeau, director of caring and brand visibility for Italian restaurant concept Pacini says, “Our signature Bread Bar®, where guests grill unlimited bread and create their own combinations, remains one of the most recognizable dining experiences in Canada.”
Pacini is a full-service restaurant brand that’s been bringing people together over authentic Italian cuisine for more than 40 years. It was founded in Quebec in 1984 with the vision of bringing authentic Italian dining into a warm, family-friendly atmosphere. The brand has grown to more than 25 locations across Canada.
Nadeau says what truly sets Pacini apart is the experience. “In today’s fast-paced world, we believe restaurants should offer more than a meal. They should provide a moment to slow down,” she says. “We are intentionally creating spaces where families, friends, business travelers and colleagues can disconnect from everyday stress, reconnect with each other, and enjoy genuine hospitality in a warm, welcoming environment.”
Franchisees benefit from joining Pacini because it is an established Canadian brand with strong consumer recognition, proven operational systems, and decades of experience, Nadeau says.
“Beyond our operational expertise, we offer comprehensive support in site selection, restaurant design, training, marketing, digital strategy, and ongoing business development.”
At the same time, the industry faces challenges including labour shortages, rising operating costs, and changing consumer expectations.
The brand is proving its agility in meeting these challenges through its expansion plan. Pacini is now offering a more compact restaurant model of approximately 4,000 square feet, specifically designed for hotel developments. The hotel-focused concept allows investors and hotel developers to integrate a premium full-service restaurant with a significantly lower investment than a traditional standalone location.
Nadeau says the ideal Pacini franchisee is someone who is passionate about hospitality and understands that restaurants are ultimately about people. Restaurant experience is certainly valuable, but equally important are leadership skills, financial discipline, a customer-first mindset, and the ability to build strong teams.
Nadeau says, “We believe our success is directly tied to the success of our franchisees. Restaurants that make people feel welcome, comfortable, and connected will continue to thrive. At Pacini, we believe that reducing the stress of everyday life through genuine hospitality is just as important as serving a great meal.”
The goal for the future? “Our long-term vision is to position Pacini as Canada’s leading Italian casual dining brand.”
Smitty’s
It’s difficult to think of Smitty’s and not start dreaming of pancakes. However, over the years the popular Canadian franchise has evolved from tasty breakfasts to offering full-service casual breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals. Jason Kaytor, president of Smitty’s Canada Inc. says, “The fact we have a strong offering for breakfast, lunch, and dinner makes us unique.” While the brand originally started as a breakfast concept, “and remains a dominant player at breakfast,” over the last five years Kaytor says Smitty’s has shifted some focus to its lunch and dinner offering. “This has been our largest area of year-over-year growth.”
Part of this shift was driven by changing consumer patterns, Kaytor notes. “Since the pandemic, breakfast for full-service casual restaurants is one of the day parts that has seen the highest decline in guest count, because a good part of the population is still working from home. They’re not on the roads, they’re not commuting to and from work. Instead they’re starting the day in their own kitchen at home.”
There has also been increased competition in the breakfast space from QSR (quick-service restaurant) brands that have expanded their menus to include breakfast. But, Kaytor says, “By focussing on lunch and dinner, we’ve really seen growth there.”
For Smitty’s franchisees, Kaytor says, there’s an advantage to expanding to a full day menu. “You pay the same overhead costs as other restaurants that offer breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner only—it’s a real advantage that we have three very strong day-parts.” He adds, “That’s a benefit to our franchisees in particular because there are so many competitors out there.”
The franchise plans to expand heavily in Canada. While they still see opportunities in the west, Kaytor says, the largest focus is on Ontario and Eastern Canadian markets. Kaytor says traditionally Smitty’s does well in markets with populations of at least 10,000 people, but they certainly also like larger major centres. ”Larger centres like the greater Toronto area and the greater Vancouver area often have unique challenges such as higher occupancy costs and a larger number of competitors, but also offer a dense and diverse population to attract guests from,” he says. “In the right location, these Smitty’s franchises thrive.”
Kaytor says ideally, the franchise wants people with experience in restaurants or past experience as business owners or managers. ”Genuine hospitality is something that you need to feel to understand,” he says, “and as one of our brand pillars, it’s important that our franchise owners know the feeling.”
