White Spot facts for kids
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A White Spot Triple O's inside a Chevron gas station in Chilliwack, British Columbia
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| Founded | June 16, 1928 |
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| Headquarters | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
White Spot is a popular Canadian restaurant chain. It started in Vancouver, British Columbia. The restaurant is famous for its tasty hamburgers, the special "Triple O" sauce, and delicious milkshakes. Kids especially love the "Pirate Pak" meal.
White Spot also has a faster restaurant brand called Triple O's. Together, White Spot and Triple O's have over 100 locations. You can find them in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and even in some parts of Asia!
The Story of White Spot
White Spot was started by a man named Nat Bailey. In the 1920s, before White Spot, Nat sold hotdogs and ice cream from a special truck. It was a 1918 Model T car that he turned into a moving lunch counter!
In 1928, Nat opened his first restaurant. He first thought about calling it "Granville Barbecue." But a friend suggested the name "White Spot," like a restaurant in Los Angeles, California. So, the name White Spot stuck!
The first White Spot restaurant was in the Marpole area of Vancouver. It was at 67th Avenue and Granville Street. This restaurant was called White Spot Barbecue Sandwiches. It grew into a "drive-in" place where people could eat in their cars. It also had a dining room inside. By 1955, White Spot was very popular. About 10,000 cars visited each day, and 110,000 customers ate there every week!
Over time, drive-ins became less popular. So, some White Spot drive-ins were changed or closed. The original Granville House restaurant was a favorite spot until 1986. A fire in the kitchen damaged the building, and the restaurant closed permanently.
Growing the Business
In 1968, Nat Bailey retired and sold White Spot to a company called General Foods. But in 1982, a local businessman from British Columbia, Peter Toigo, bought the company back. This meant White Spot was owned locally again! After Peter Toigo passed away in 1993, his sons, Peter and Ron Toigo, took over the business.
In 1993, White Spot started allowing other people to open their own White Spot restaurants. This is called "franchising." In 1997, they launched the Triple O's brand. This quick-service restaurant is named after White Spot's famous "Triple O" hamburger sauce. Since 1999, you can even find Triple O's on some BC Ferries ships!
By the 2000s, Triple O's locations started to focus on quick burger takeouts. In 2012, White Spot and Triple O's together served 17 million customers. They made over $200 million in sales that year!
Famous chefs from Vancouver, like John Bishop and Rob Feenie, have even worked with White Spot's Chef Chuck Currie in their ads.
In 2020, White Spot made a bigger deal with Parkland Corporation. Parkland runs many gas stations, including Chevron stations. They already had some Triple O's at their gas stations in British Columbia. With the new agreement, Triple O's started opening in Alberta and Ontario too, inside more Parkland-owned stations.
White Spot Around the World
White Spot tried to open a restaurant in the United States in 1993. It was in Bellingham, Washington, which is close to the Canadian border. They hoped to open more restaurants in the U.S. But this location closed after three years. It had money problems and not enough customers, partly because the Canadian dollar was weak.
However, White Spot's Triple O's chain has been very successful in Asia! In the early 2000s, they opened in Hong Kong. More recently, they have opened in Bangkok, Singapore, Manila, and Mainland China.
In Hong Kong, there are four Triple O's restaurants. You can find them in big shopping areas like Pacific Place and Harbour City. These Hong Kong restaurants often make more than twice as many sales as the average Triple O's in British Columbia!
A Triple O's also opened in Seoul, South Korea, in 2008. It is in the Apgujeong neighborhood, near Dosan Park.
See also
- List of Canadian restaurant chains
- List of hamburger restaurants
- List of restaurants in Vancouver
