Van Houtte Inc. is a company based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

that processes, distributes and sells

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

and coffee related goods. They have expanded their product selection, which now includes tropical teas, sandwiches and salads. It was founded by

Albert-Louis Van Houtte Albert-Louis Van Houtte was a French-born Canadian businessman best known for the coffee company Van Houtte. Biography Van Houtte was born in 1877, in Tourcoing, France, then emigrated to Canada in 1912. After the First World War, he attempted ...

History

French-born

(1877–1944) emigrated to Canada in 1912. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

made his attempt at a horse importing business unsustainable, he turned to food retailing. He opened a grocery store in 1919 to sell specialty items but soon found particular success with gourmet

coffee roasting Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee products. The roasting process is what produces the characteristic flavor of coffee by causing the green coffee beans to change in taste. ...

. After Van Houtte's death in 1944, his family continued to operate and develop the Maison A.L. Van Houtte business. In 1980, the family business evolved into a corporation known as A.L Van Houtte Inc., led by Paul-André Guillotte and Benoît Beauregard. In 1987, the company went public on the Montreal Stock Exchange. Its corporate name was shortened to Van Houtte Inc. following a shareholder vote on 12 September 2000. In 2000, U.S sales alone represented around 20% of the company's total revenues, with products being sold in 28 states. Today, Van Houtte has grown into an international supplier of coffee,

coffee machine A coffeemaker, coffee maker or coffee machine is a cooking appliance used to brew coffee. While there are many different types of coffeemakers the two most common brewing principles use gravity or pressure to move hot water through coffee gr ...

s and related support for over 60,000 offices and other places of employment in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

. The company claims this to be the largest such system in North America. Van Houtte also supplies and supports coffee sales for

cafeteria A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...

grocery A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, an ...

and

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s and

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

s. Van Houtte also offers a selection of fair-traded coffee products. Van Houtte Coffee Shop

Van Houtte still sells coffee directly to customers through its chain of

cafés A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

throughout Quebec and two in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

(

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

). Van Houtte also offers coffee and associated products for sale through its website. In May 2007, U.S. private equity firm Littlejohn & Co. announced a $600 million deal that will take Van Houtte ownership out of Canadian hands, although the coffee company will continue to have headquarters in Montreal under its existing name and have the leadership of its current management team. On September 14, 2010, Van Houtte Inc. agreed to be bought by

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

based coffee company,

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (1981–2014) and Keurig Green Mountain (2014–2018), is a publicly traded American beverage and coffeemaker conglomerate with headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts. Formed in ...

for Can $915 million. The completion of the transaction was announced on December 17, 2010. On August 29, 2011

sold Van Houtte's U.S. Coffee Service business (Filterfresh) to

Aramark Aramark Corporation, known commonly as Aramark, is an American food service, facilities, and uniform services provider to clients in areas including education, healthcare, business, prisons, and leisure. It operates in North America (United St ...

for $145 million. In November 2014, Keurig Green Mountain sold Quebec-based Van Houtte cafes to quick-service restaurant operator

MTY Food Group MTY Food Group is a Canadian franchisor and operator of numerous casual dining, fast casual, and quick service restaurants operating under more than 70 brand names, some of them through wholly owned subsidiaries. Headquartered in the Montreal bor ...

, while retaining control of the Van Houtte brand, image, and wholesale business.

Photos

File:Albert-louis-van-houtte 1919.jpg, Albert-Louis and his first store in 1919. Image:VanHoutte OttawaBusStation.jpg, Entrance to Van Houtte café at the

Ottawa Central Bus Station Ottawa Central Station was the main inter-city bus station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was located 1.5 km south of downtown Ottawa in the Centretown neighbourhood and served buses from Greyhound Canada, Ontario Northland and Autobus Gati ...

. Image:'00-'04 Ford Focus Wagon (Van Houtte).jpg, A 2000-04 Ford Focus wagon from Van Houtte. Image:AL Van Houtte image.png, Higher resolution photo of Mr. Van Houtte in Montreal.

References

External links

* {{MTY Food Group Companies based in Montreal Food and drink companies established in 1919 Retail companies established in 1919 1919 establishments in Quebec Coffee brands Coffeehouses and cafés in Canada

History

Photos

See also

References

External links