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Lots of potential for more fast food joints in Battlefords

I decided my column today would be about attracting potential fast food and restaurant franchises to the Battlefords.
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I decided my column today would be about attracting potential fast food and restaurant franchises to the Battlefords.

This column stems from the popular online poll we put up on our website, asking readers about which new chain they wanted to see in the Battlefords.

The poll was inspired by news that Taco Bell had announced they were building a brand-new franchise on 8th Street in Saskatoon.

That surprised me, because I could have sworn that there were already Taco Bell franchises in Saskatchewan. I guess I had gotten so used to seeing them when I lived in Ontario, or from my trips to Alberta, British Columbia or the United States.

Anyway, the news created excitement in Saskatoon, and it occurred to us, “why not do a poll asking local people what franchises they wanted to see in North Battleford?”

After all, the city is right on Highway 16 on the route from Saskatoon to Edmonton. There’s no shortage of customers with all that visitor traffic coming through.

Even though the Battlefords has three Tim Hortons and three Subways, two A&Ws to go along with two McDonalds (one of which is in Walmart), as well as Burger King, KFC, Dairy Queen, Boston Pizza, Pizza Hut and others there’s still plenty of opportunity for more. And more is good. It attracts more people to the Battlefords and means more choices for the people already here.

The most popular response to our poll was in favour of the long-rumored Montana’s, at 44 per cent. Wendy’s came in second at 23 per cent, followed by Starbucks at 19 per cent, Taco Bell at nine per cent, and Carl’s Jr. at five per cent.

Carl’s Jr., of course, is notorious for their TV commercials featuring scantily clad supermodels eating burgers. The reason we included Carl’s Jr. was because they recently expanded into Saskatchewan with a Regina location, and they also have one in Lloydminster.

As an aside, my family has memories about going to Carl’s Jr. in Los Angeles around 1988.

It was Christmas or New Year’s, one or the other, and Carl’s Jr. was the only fast-food place that was even open that day. Because it was a holiday, it was woefully understaffed. The lineup didn’t seem that long, yet our family had to wait for what seemed like an hour just to get the order in. Then, to top it all off, they messed the order up!

It was so ridiculous, in fact, that I made a concerted, extra effort to remember the name of the place, right down to the “star” logo on the packaging. “Carl’s Jr.!”

Of course, after years of watching ads featuring supermodels eating burgers, I finally caved. I went to Carl’s Jr. in Lloydminster and it was a far superior experience, so much so that I couldn’t believe it. Still, based on our poll, there aren’t a lot of people holding their breath for Carl’s Jr. in North Battleford.

We also got a big response when we posed the question of “fast food franchises” on our Facebook page. We saw a lot of support for Booster Juice, Arby’s, Joey’s, and Quiznos, and there were also some suggestions for Original Joe’s, Jungle Jim’s, Chili’s and Mary Brown’s Fried Chicken. 

There was also some support expressed for a new Fuddruckers. Unfortunately, there is only one Fuddruckers in all of Canada, in Saskatoon. And nobody can believe this situation, because they all say the burgers are great. (Update: check, that, Fuddruckers is now up to two franchises. They just opened a new one in Regina.)

This franchise ought to be all over Canada, but it isn’t. Anyway, the bottom line is I don’t think we’ll see Fuddruckers in North Battleford.

There was also support expressed for a new Bonanza. Now, Bonanza has been in the news lately because of the big, spectacular fire that gutted its restaurant on 8th Street in Saskatoon, a restaurant that was a fixture of the Saskatoon scene for so many years.

In fact, I find it a miracle that Bonanza in Saskatoon lasted as long as it did. It was one of two left in all of Canada, the other one being in Moose Jaw.

The real problem with Bonanza is that everyone has fond memories of going there years ago, but they simply haven’t kept up with the competition. Other chains have been tweaking their menus and adding new furniture and décor, as well as big-screen TVs so nobody will miss the big Riders game when they take the family out to a restaurant. So I wouldn’t hold my breath expecting Bonanza to be back in the Battlefords again any time soon.

There are a lot of other chains out there that, for some reason, just haven’t yet set up in Saskatchewan at all, period.   

Here are a few of the more notable exceptions that I can think of:

Hooters. Face it, this franchise will never fly in Saskatchewan.

Krispy Kreme. A mystery. When this franchise opened in Canada, the product got rave reviews. People thought the donuts were great! The lineups were down the street! Then everyone went right back to Tim Hortons.

IHOP. Seriously, why don’t we have an IHOP? Apparently, there’s even one in Medicine Hat! Maybe there’s too much competition from all these “pancake breakfasts” that Saskatchewan is famous for.

Olive Garden. They’re not here, either, but I’m guessing more people would opt for Boston Pizza.

The Old Spaghetti Factory: ditto.

Jimmy the Greek’s: This is a personal request from myself; I really liked their souvlaki when I was living in Ontario. Somebody bring them here, darn it!

Nathan’s Famous. I know it’s more of a New York thing, but even people in Saskatchewan like hot dogs.   

White Castle. If it was good enough for Harold and Kumar to travel miles for their burgers, it should be good enough for us, too!