Valentine is a Canadian chain of over 100 privately owned restaurant franchises operating in the province of

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 ...

. In September 2010 it became a subsidiary of

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 ...

which purchased the brand rights for $9.3 million.

History

The first restaurant opened in 1979 in

Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Saint-Hyacinthe (; French: ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérég ...

. A few years later, its founder, Jean-Pierre Robin, opened a second restaurant in Saint-Hyacinthe in order to meet the demand for its "famous

hot-dogs A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a f ...

". The chain's success increases and becomes a turning point: the brothers opt for franchising as the company's mode of functioning for its future restaurants. As time passes, more franchises are bought and restaurants open throughout

. During the 1990s, the chain underwent a major renewal plan in which the restaurants' design changed along with the company's colours. The company's fare is typical Canadian fast food, such as burgers, fries, sandwiches and

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 it ...

. The company employs humor in its advertising. It offers an app that records footsteps. After 10,000 steps, the user is eligible for a

References

{{MTY Food Group Fast-food chains of Canada Restaurants established in 1979 1979 establishments in Quebec Companies based in Saint-Hyacinthe