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Harvey's (The decline of?)

SeanTrans said:
A&W came back from nowhere in the past 10 years. Except out west, they seemed to disappear, hibernating in a few shopping mall food courts. A&W isn't bad, and their onion rings are really good.
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And funny, back in the 70s or so it was practically the reverse: A&W seemed to disappear in Ontario (thanks to the eclipse of carhop drive-ins), but was still going strong out west. And its 80s Ontario comeback was via shopping-mall food courts...
 
"These days, might as well head straight to Home Depot for a Harveys burger."

I've been frequenting home improvement stores over the last few years and I would have to say that I've had more Harvey's than ever before in my life. There's one in every Home Depot. At stockyards at Keel and Dufferin there are two Harveys within a 5 minute walk form each other.

With respect to A&W out West there is practically an A&W in every town. There format however seems to be to stick with mall kiosks in urban centres and leave the stand alone formats for the smaller towns. This seems to be Harveys strategy as well.

Wendy's really seems to be surging in Canada, largely in my opinion due to their synergy with Tim Hortons.

On that note Tim Hortons is flooding the land with new stores like a tsunami...and yet no matter where you go even if it's a town of 500 people there is always a lineup.
 
That's an interesting point. It is true that standalone urban stores seem to be the most difficult to manage. While rural/deep suburban and mall fast food outlets tend to be relatively decent, standalone urban stores seem to be the most likely to fail to meet franchise standards.
 
Junction dwellers and all lovers of cheap'n tasty burgers, steaks etc read:

http://www.eyeweekly.com/food/review/article/594
But breakfast is a time where a walk over to the even-newer Black Jack Grille, one set of lights east and just south on Keele, will please the tightwads.

There, in the card shark-themed, renovated interior, you get your standard greasy-spoon sausages alongside eggs and thinly sliced, crispy home fries for $1.99 (!) – even on weekends, when they up the price a buck, it's still a steal. Meanwhile a four-ounce, bacon-wrapped filet mignon looks tiny beside eggs ($6.99), but is nicely grilled and worth far more. Eggs are better fried than scrambled here, as the cook seems unsure of how to blend the whites and yolks – a similar problem should warn you off the unremarkable omelettes. Seriously, though, one feels somehow guilty settling a Thursday breakfast bill for under $5 a head, tax, tip and coffee included.

The bargains continue at lunch, where a decent burger with thin-cut fries is barely a cool breeze blowing through your pocketbook at $2.99 (though the very good patty needs a smaller, less toasted bun). At dinner, a very serviceable chopped steak with potatoes and veg is among the many $4.99 options, while tender, sweet ribs that fall off the bone served with a not-bad six-ounce sirloin (and the standard sides) goes for just $5.99.



As a cheap person I always go for the $2.99 deal...now I'm hungry again but too lazy to walk 10 minutes up Keele St today....
 
SeanTrans said:
I recently found a rarity - a brand new Harvey's - at Hurontario and Wanless in north Brampton. Though it was attached to a Swiss Chalet.
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I spotted an unattached one in Burlington today. Methinks the absolute eclipse of Harvey's is an illusion created by urbanites allergic to post-Y2K power centres...
 
Admiral Beez said:
They're separate companies now, with nothing in common, but for competing for the same lunch-time customers.
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The joint Wendy's/Tim Horton's locations were established well before Wendy's took over Tim's. It's really smart - Wendy's is busy at lunch/dinner, while Tim Horton's is busiest in mornings and later evenings (in some cases). It also gives some variety to groups or families, and they share seating and washrooms.
 
SeanTrans said:
The joint Wendy's/Tim Horton's locations were established well before Wendy's took over Tim's. It's really smart - Wendy's is busy at lunch/dinner, while Tim Horton's is busiest in mornings and later evenings (in some cases). It also gives some variety to groups or families, and they share seating and washrooms.
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You're right. Many of the joint-locations continue to exist, notwithstanding Wendy's sale of Time Hortons. I'm not sure how long all of them will last, though. The few that I frequent tend to consist of a super-busy Tim Hortons (at all times of day), with a relatively deserted Wendy's counter (even at lunch). At Danforth and Logan, the franchisee eliminated the Wendy's. sarberiankhatru is correct -- Tim Hortons is busy at all times of day, and given Wendy's waning corporate fortunes, a number of franchisees may in the future want to expand their Tim Hortons counter at the expense of Wendy's.

Now, a joint Tim Hortons and Harveys! That would be a combination!
 
There's a new Wendy's/Tim Horton's combo going in at the old Colour Your World building on Bloor between Dufferin and Dovercourt, so they have clearly not abandoned this concept.
 
The downtown Kitchener Harvey's closed too. It does fit with AP's theory, though: a lot of the ones closing are older franchises which maybe didn't live up to the chain's standards.
 
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