U.K. café chain Pret A Manger debuted its first stand-alone restaurant in Canada on Tuesday.
The location at 90 Adelaide St. W in the heart of Toronto’s Financial District marks a new stage for Pret’s Canadian presence, which began in 2022 when A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. began offering a selection of the brand’s grab-and-go food at some of its shops.
The new Toronto location gives Pret its own space and a chance to build more brand recognition in the increasingly competitive market, though the company declined to share how many more stand-alone spots would follow.
“This expansion into Canada is a natural next step for Pret globally,” Jorrie Bruffett, Pret A Manger North America’s president, said in a statement.
“After the warm welcome from locals at our Pret pop-ups in Canada, we’re excited to continue expanding our footprint and menu offerings to more Canadians.”
Pret’s Toronto menu borrows heavily from what’s sold across the brand’s portfolio of 600 locations in places like Ireland, France, India and Singapore, but also features some Canadian twists.
Pret favourites like its ham and cheese baguette, Mediterranean salad and croissants are on offer as well as a Canadian exclusive — the Montreal smoked meat sandwich that comes topped with pickles, pickled cabbage and carrots, arugula and crispy onions.
Pret started in London in 1986, but is now owned by Luxembourg-based JAB Holding Company.
The Toronto store will operate in soft launch mode until Feb. 5, when it will host a grand opening. Pret food will also continue to be offered at five A&W restaurants in Vancouver and Toronto.
The opening of the Toronto restaurant comes as competition in the quick serve food industry heats up in Canada. U.S. burger restaurant Shake Shack and sandwich chains Jimmy John’s and Jersey Mike’s have announced plans to open locations in Canada this year.
International brands like chicken joints Chick-fil-A, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Jollibee are all in expansion mode in Canada too.
Meanwhile, Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International has plans to grow its Firehouse Subs banner in Western Canada, attract more afternoon and late day Tim Hortons sales and bolster business at its Burger King and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen brands.
Despite the bold plans for Canada, a Jan. 17 report from credit ratings agency Morningstar DBRS predicted 2024 would be a “another difficult year” for the restaurant industry as the market sees “strained consumer confidence and purchasing power following aggressive interest rate increases and the compounded effects of gradually easing inflationary pressures.”
The report said 53 per cent of restaurants in Canada are operating at a loss or barely breaking even compared with 10 per cent before the COVID-19 pandemic.
But it added that the economy is more likely to hamper full-service restaurants than quick-service establishments like Pret and its competitors operate.
“That said, even quick-service restaurants, which are typically more insulated from macroeconomic challenges than their full-service peers, are not immune to consumers’ efforts to reduce their overall spending,” the report said.