Neha Patil (Editor)

Swiss Chalet

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SWISS CHALET CHICKEN & RIBS, Woodstock - Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Phone  Number - Tripadvisor
Type
  
Products
  
Canadian cuisine

Headquarters
  
Vaughan, Canada

Founded
  
1954, Toronto, Canada

Industry
  
Food service

Website
  
swisschalet.com

Motto
  
Nothing else is Swiss

Parent organization
  
Cara Operations

Key people
  
Todd Barclay, Edgar Alvarez, Steven Greene, Michael Farley, Abhik Banerji

CEO
  
B. Chester Hryniewicz (1982–)


Similar
  
Harvey's, Kelseys Original Roadhouse, East Side Mario's

Profiles

1984 swiss chalet restaurants commercial


Swiss Chalet is a Canadian chain of casual dining restaurants founded in 1954 in Toronto. As of 2008, there are over 200 Swiss Chalet restaurants in Canada. Swiss Chalet is among the holdings of Cara Operations, which also owns the fast food chain Harvey's. Swiss Chalet and Harvey's franchises share many locations.

Contents

Swiss Chalet franchises include a variety of points of sale. Swiss Chalet locations generally include a dining room, a take-out counter, and delivery. Some feature drive-thru windows while other locations in certain urban areas are only take-out counters and are more akin to fast food restaurants. The brand also has an online food ordering system. Cara Operations retails Signature Swiss Chalet sauce, gravy, and marinades (as powdered mixes) in Canadian supermarkets.

There was only one Swiss Chalet in Puerto Rico, until it later closed in 2011.

Brand new swiss chalet restaurant


History

The first Swiss Chalet restaurant, at 234 Bloor Street West in Toronto, operated for 52 years. The building featured exposed-beam ceilings in the Swiss chalet style. This store closed in 2006 and was demolished in 2009 as part of a condominium development.

In the early 2000s, Cara Operations closed all of its Quebec based restaurants and permanently withdrew from the province.

Swiss Chalet returned to Saskatchewan with a location in south Regina, although this location no longer shows on their website. In 2008, Air Canada added Swiss Chalet food products to its buy-on-board menu.

In 2010, the last two Swiss Chalet restaurants in the United States closed. They were located in the suburbs of Buffalo, New York. On June 1, 2011, the only Swiss Chalet restaurant operating in Puerto Rico closed its doors.

On March 31, 2016, Swiss Chalet's Parent, Cara Operations, announced that it will acquire St-Hubert, a Quebec-based chain of rotisserie chicken restaurants, in the summer of 2016 for CAD$537 million.

The restaurant features a menu that is centered on its signature item, Rotisserie chicken. The Quarter Chicken Dinner, the restaurant's signature dish, includes a roasted chicken leg or breast with "Chalet Sauce", a bread roll, and a side dish of choice. Other combinations up to and including a whole chicken are also available.

Although chicken dishes make up the majority of the chain's menu (including other dishes like chicken soups, salads, pastas, and sandwiches), the menu also features a handful of non-chicken items including pork ribs, rotisserie beef, burgers, desserts, and vegetarian options.

During the Christmas season, Swiss Chalet features a second version of its quarter and full-chicken dinners: the "Festive Special". In addition to the normal meal, the Festive Special adds stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a five-pack of Lindt chocolate truffles. The truffles debuted in 2000, replacing a 100g Toblerone bar.

Swiss Chalet restaurants in Toronto are about to get a big makeover

Loyalty program

Swiss Chalet began a partnership with Scene in February 2015.

Advertising slogans

  • 1980–1987: "Swiss Chalet, Swiss Chalet, OK."
  • 1987-2000: "Always so good for so little."
  • 2001–2003: "Life should taste as good as Swiss Chalet."
  • 2004: "Food you can feel good about."
  • 2005–2008: "Family happens at Swiss Chalet."
  • 2009–2015: "Always so good for so little."
  • 2015-present: "Nothing else is Swiss."
  • References

    Swiss Chalet Wikipedia