The Keg facts for kids
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The Keg at Yonge and Eglinton in Toronto.
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Predecessor | The Keg and Cleaver |
| Successor | The Keg |
| Founded | 1971, in North Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Founder | George Tidball |
| Headquarters |
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Canada
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Number of locations
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160 (February 2018) |
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Areas served
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Canada United States |
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Key people
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David Aisenstat (former owner, now senior Recipe Unlimited executive and Director) |
| Products | Steak, ribs, chicken, and seafood |
| Parent | Recipe Unlimited |
The Keg is a popular chain of steakhouse restaurants. It started in Canada but also has locations in the United States. The first restaurant opened in 1971 in North Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded by a person named George Tidball.
By February 2018, The Keg had grown a lot. It had 160 restaurants across Canada and the United States. At that time, a big Canadian food company called Cara Operations bought The Keg. This company is now known as Recipe Unlimited. The Keg is also known as The Keg Steakhouse + Bar.
Contents
The Keg's Story: How It Grew
The very first Keg restaurant opened in 1971. It was in North Vancouver, British Columbia. George Tidball started it in a small, downstairs spot. It was once an old industrial building.
Today, The Keg has restaurants in almost all of Canada's provinces. It is also in five different American states.
Turning Old Buildings into New Restaurants
The Keg has a cool way of choosing some of its locations. They buy old, historic buildings. Then, they fix them up and turn them into restaurants.
For example, the Keg Mansion in Toronto is a historic building. The Keg Manor in Ottawa is also in an old estate called Maplelawn. The restaurant in Downtown Winnipeg opened in 1975. It was once a garage for the Hudson's Bay Company. It is still open there today.
Other interesting locations include the Keg in Kamloops, British Columbia. This building used to be a CN train station. The one in New Westminster, British Columbia, was once a CPR train station. An old location in Edmonton, Alberta, was built in 1912. It was originally apartments and a garage. This Edmonton location has since closed.
How The Keg Operates
For many years, David Aisenstat helped manage The Keg's business. In 1987, he sold the company to a British firm. But then, in 1997, David Aisenstat bought The Keg back. He owned 100% of the company again.
In 2002, The Keg created something called the Keg Royalties Income Fund. This allowed people to invest in a part of The Keg's business. The Fund owned the rights to "The Keg" name. It received a small percentage of sales from the restaurants.
On February 4, 2014, David Aisenstat sold a part of his ownership in The Keg. He sold 51% to a Canadian company called Fairfax Financial.
Then, on January 23, 2018, a big announcement was made. Cara Operations, a large Canadian food company, bought The Keg. The deal was completed in February 2018. David Aisenstat joined Cara's board of directors. He also started overseeing other high-end restaurants owned by Cara. After buying The Keg, Cara Operations changed its name. On May 10, 2018, it became Recipe Unlimited Corporation.
More recently, on May 5, 2025, Fairfax Financial agreed to buy all the remaining parts of the Keg Royalties Income Fund.
More to Explore
- List of Canadian restaurant chains
