Kelseys Original Roadhouse

History

Once a chain of more than 140 locations from Quebec westerly to British Columbia; the company has closed all but 2 locations in British Columbia; shuttered 9 locations in Alberta; closed all locations in Saskatchewan; all locations in Manitoba have also closed. In Ontario, numerous locations across the company have closed including locations in Kitchener, Simcoe, and Fort Erie. The Owen Sound location was due to close on December 20, 2013. As of November 2013 there are just 88 Kelseys locations left in Canada, primarily in the Province of Ontario.

Kelseys has a licensing agreement through early 2011 with CBS Consumer Products for the rights to the theme song from the 1980s sitcom Cheers, which the chain says could lead to "other opportunities" in the future. Kelseys also uses the show's title in its slogan "Cheers to good friends", although (due to the generic nature of the word "cheers" in regards to pubs and the like) it is not clear whether permission from CBS was required for this.

Revolution era (2013-current)

Kelseys' parent company Cara Operations has been going through an era of rebranding and renovations including its location located at 1011 The Queensway Etobicoke, Ontario where the company is piloting a new restaurant design that features an emphasis on a newer style of Kelseys dining experience. Many under-performing Kelseys restaurants have been closing down over the past couple of years and the new design is going to change the customer's eating experience to become more lively and exciting. The restaurant's old slogan "Neighbourhood Bar and Grill" has been upgraded to "Ambitiously Hardworking and Sociably Unpredictable". Bright neon colours are found throughout the restaurant along with an upgraded menu that features a smaller and more limited selection of the most popular items found at other Kelseys locations. The new bar menu that was first used at this Kelseys is now available throughout all 88 locations in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia. The new bar menu is modeled after its location in Etobicoke featuring bright neon colours along with new items that reflect more of a Pub than a Bar and Grill. The restaurant design is going to be applied to more locations when the franchisees choose to upgrade.

Menu

Despite Kelseys being a subsidiary of Cara Operations headquartered in Vaughan, Ontario, they serve an American style of cuisine including Chicken Wings, Burgers, Steaks and Salads. During Valentines week, they offer a limited menu with specials where 2 people can dine for a set price. Some of Kelseys Signature appetizers include: The four cheese spinach dip, Reuben Spring Rolls, Crispy Calamari and the Won Ton nachos. For 30 years, wings have been a popular menu item of choice and more recently boneless wings have appeared on the menu. Every Kelseys offers a kids menu. As well, many American inspired desserts can be found such as the Caramel Brownie Lava Cake. Aside from food, Kelseys is well known for their margarita mixed drinks as well as their famous Beerita's which are a bottle of Corona tilted upside down into a margarita. Other soft drinks are supplied by PepsiCo and include free refills.

Dining Experience

Every restaurant has two sections for dining. The first is the dining room which features tables and booths. At older Kelseys locations, each of the booths features a celebrity theme and includes memorabilia that are frame up on the wall. These items range from signed movie posters to certain accessories that are worn in a movie. Newer locations feature pictures of Kelsey’s history. The second choice for dining is the bar area also known as the lounge. Some locations also have booths in the lounge but mostly high tabletops are found as the main dining option. The bar is another place that one can choose to eat at. The lounge features the full Kelseys menu along with an enhanced drink menu.

Loyalty program

Kelseys began a partnership with Scene in February 2015.