White Spot is a Canadian restaurant chain based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, best known for its hamburgers, Pirate Pak children's meal, triple-o sauce, and milkshakes. Along with its related Triple-O's

quick service ''Quick Service'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 4 October 1940 by Herbert Jenkins, London and in the United States on 27 December 1940 by Doubleday, Doran, New York.McIlvaine (1990), pp. 78–79, A63. ...

brand, the chain operates over 100 locations in British Columbia,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, and Asia.

History

In the 1920s, White Spot's founder, Nat Bailey, operated a travelling lunch counter in Vancouver, operating out of a 1918

Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

. He sold hotdogs for a dime and ice cream for a nickel. In 1928, Bailey founded the first White Spot restaurant. Initially, he had planned on naming the eatery the ''Granville Barbecue'', but changed his mind instead taking the advice of a friend who suggested he name it White Spot after a restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The first restaurant was located in the Marpole neighbourhood, at 67th and

Granville Street Granville Street is a major street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and part of Highway 99. Granville Street is most often associated with the Granville Entertainment District and the Granville Mall. This street also cuts through resid ...

, at what would become known as Granville House, in Vancouver, British Columbia. The restaurant was called ''White Spot Barbecue Sandwiches'', evolving into a

drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollerskat ...

and dining room. By 1955, the chain was serving 10,000 cars a day and 110,000 customers a week. By the 1990s, some White Spot drive-ins were phased out owing to an increase in the number of franchise restaurants and a gradual decrease in the popularity of drive-ins. Granville House was a popular dining spot until 1986 when a fire in the kitchen damaged the building. The restaurant closed permanently at that location shortly thereafter, despite some talk of rebuilding.

Franchising and growth

The chain was sold to

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

in 1968 when Bailey retired. In 1982, White Spot returned to local ownership when the company was purchased by BC businessman Peter Toigo, becoming part of Shato Holdings Limited. After his death in 1993, his sons Peter and Ron Toigo took over ownership. In 1986, the chain was sued in the court case ''Gee v. White Spot''. The plaintiffs, Mr. Gee and Mr. and Mrs. Pan, claimed damages for

botulism Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum''. The disease begins with weakness, blurred vision, feeling tired, and trouble speaking. This may then be followed by weakne ...

poisoning related to a beef dip sandwich. The decision made it easier for diners to sue restaurants for breach of contract and implied

warranty In contract law, a warranty is a promise which is not a condition of the contract or an innominate term: (1) it is a term "not going to the root of the contract",Hogg M. (2011). ''Promises and Contract Law: Comparative Perspectives''p. 48 Cambri ...

instead of the harder-to-prove

negligence Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as a ...

(Canadian

tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

law expressly disavows strict

product liability Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries those products cause. Although the word "product" has b ...

). In 1993, White Spot introduced franchising, and in 1997 it launched its Triple-O's quick service brand, which is named after White Spots' trademark hamburger sauce. Since 1999, the company's franchises have been installed on some ships in the

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferr ...

fleet. By the 2000s, the chain was opening burger-focused takeouts at its Triple-O's locations. In 2012, 64 White Spot restaurants and 62 Triple-O's served 17 million customers and generated $200 million in gross revenues. Chef Chuck Currie has been featured in marketing campaigns alongside guest

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

s hailing from Vancouver, including John Bishop,

Rob Feenie Robert Feenie is a Canadian chef based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Culinary career His interest in cooking began during a high school exchange program in Europe. He attended Dubrulle Culinary Institute (now part of The Art Institute of V ...

, Umberto Menghi, and Melissa Craig.

International locations

The company experimented with international locations across the nearby

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 territori ...

border in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (loc ...

, without much success. Abroad, White Spot has expanded its Triple-O's chain into

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

in the early 2000s and, more recently,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, and

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

. In Hong Kong, four such stores can be found at the basement of Pacific Place, and in Exchange Square, on the Hong Kong Island; and at Cooked Deli in the Harbour City shopping mall in Kowloon and in

Shatin Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project. The ne ...

. The three Hong Kong franchises each record more than twice as many sales as the average location in BC. A location in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, opened in September, 2008. It is located near Dosan Park, in the Apgujeong neighbourhood.

References

External links

White Spot Ltd.Triple-O's by White SpotTriple-O's Hong Kong
{{Vancouver Corporations 1928 establishments in British Columbia Restaurants in Vancouver Drive-in restaurants Fast-food chains of Canada Hamburger restaurants Hot dog restaurants Restaurants established in 1928 Restaurants in Alberta Regional restaurant chains in Canada Restaurants in Hong Kong Restaurants in South Korea Restaurants in Singapore Canadian companies established in 1928

History

Franchising and growth

International locations

See also

References

External links