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Smoke's Poutinerie is a Canadian
poutine Poutine () is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec, in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are uncertain and there are several competing claims regarding i ...
restaurant franchise founded by Ryan Smolkin.


History

Ryan Smolkin, the founder of Smoke's Poutinerie, worked alongside
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
restaurant consultants
The Fifteen Group ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...
when starting out. He needed to gain experience in the restaurant industry. With the help of The Fifteen Group's chef, the original gravy recipe was developed. In 2008, Smoke's Poutinerie opened its first location in Toronto. It was the first poutine restaurant in the city. Smolkin was inspired by Montreal restaurant
La Banquise LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
, which serves many different kinds of poutine. In 2016, Smoke's Poutinerie had 76 restaurants in Canada and 5 in the United States. They planned to expand the company internationally and open 1,300 restaurants around the world by 2020. Smoke's Poutinerie had already started on this expansion, having sold franchises to franchisees in the United States. By 2017, the restaurant had some 150 locations across Canada and United States. Smoke's opened its first location in the US, in Berkeley, California in 2014, which closed on April 2018. The four other U.S. locations have also closed. According to their websites, as of August 20, 2022, there are currently 49 locations all in Canada. Ryan Smolkin died October 29, 2023, from complications following surgery. He was 50 years old.


Poutine Eating Championship

The Annual Smoke's Poutinerie World Poutine Eating Championship crowns a new champion each year, and in 2016 a world record was broken for poutine eating. The event includes 3 levels of poutine eating including amateur, professional, and destroyer. In that same year, the event focused on raising money for the
Friends of We Care ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Li ...
charity and raised over $50,000 to send disabled children to camp.


Competition

Smoke's Poutinerie had its fair share of competitiveness. Most large Canadian restaurant chains already had a basic poutine item on their menu. Smoke's Poutinerie opened its second location in Toronto by 2015, and Poutineville which as of May 2019, has 6 restaurants in Quebec. Smoke's Poutinerie's further competition has come from corporate businesses.
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...
expanded its poutine product from being only in Quebec, Canada, to the entire country. In 2012,
Wendy's Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was ...
added poutine to their menu as Canada’s national dish. More companies have added poutine to their menus including
Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant c ...
, A&W,
KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
and
Popeyes Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., also known as Popeyes and formerly named Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits, is an American multinational chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants that was formed in 1972 ...
.


See also

*
List of Canadian restaurant chains Although many of the largest restaurant chains in Canada are US-based (McDonald's and Yum Brands among others), some Canadian-based (owned and operated from Canada) restaurant chains are growing and have expanded into other markets, especially i ...


References


External links

* Restaurant chains in Canada Restaurants established in 2008 2008 establishments in Ontario Companies based in Ontario Ajax, Ontario Fast-food chains of Canada {{Canada-restaurant-stub