Tucker's Marketplace is a

buffet restaurant A buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve themselves. A form of ''service à la française'', buffets are offered at various places including hotels, restaurants, and many social even ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

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. It opened in 2023. Previously it was a chain of restaurants, with locations in Burlington, Mississauga, Pickering, and Toronto. It was founded decades earlier as Mother Tucker's Food Experience, an

à la carte In restaurants, ''à la carte'' (; ; ) is the practice of ordering individual dishes from a menu in a restaurant, as opposed to ''table d'hôte'', where a set menu is offered. It is an early 19th century loan from French meaning "according to ...

restaurant. The company ceased operations in June 2020, a result of the

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and its effect on the buffet format. On January 24, 2023, the company announced the Ottawa location would re-open on January 25, 2023. The restaurant's name is a reference to a colloquial expression in

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

; "tuck in" meaning to commence the consumption of a large meal.

Mother Tucker's Food Experience

Winnipeg entrepreneur Oscar Grubert opened the first location in February 1976, in downtown Edmonton, at 10184 104 Street. Its location was a brick warehouse built in 1927. According to ''The Globe and Mail'', "The interior is a dimly lit rabbit warren (lined with barn siding, criss-crossed with huge wooden beams) of alcoves holding two, three or four tables. A cosy friendly atmosphere prevails amid an extraordinary clutter of such things as old cream separators, barrels, haymow hoists, washing machines, crocks, pots, teakettles, copper boilers and suchlike." The location was à la carte. ''The Globe and Mail'' described the chain as a "traditional roadhouse" in 1984, comparing it to Kelsey's and

The Keg The Keg is a Canadian-owned chain of steakhouse restaurants and bars operating in both Canada and the United States. The first location, originally named "The Keg and Cleaver" restaurant, was founded in 1971 by George Tidball in North Vancouv ...

. Winnipeg and Calgary locations were opened within the first year, the latter replacing a location of Grubert's Butcher Block restaurant. As of 1980, the company was headquartered in Winnipeg, likely a result of being owned by Champs Food Systems. It looked to expand into the United States. By 1981, the company intended to move its headquarters to the US within three years. In 1989, the Scarborough, Ontario chain solicited for franchisees.

Locations

As of 1984, the chain had 21 locations.

Tucker's Marketplace

In 1994, the chain rebooted as Tucker's Marketplace. Largely a buffet split into themed stations, it continued to offer some table service items, including prime rib. Stations were dubbed "shops", including The Corner Baker, The Green Grocer, The CookStove, Carvery & Co, and The Ice Cream Stand. The new brand was created by Mother Tucker's Food Experience (Canada) Ltd. and Working Ventures Canadian Fund Inc., as Newgen Restaurant Services. Nolan Grubert was named its president. The goal was to expand to 25 locations in Ontario and Quebec. As of 2018, the Tucker's Marketplace chain was still owned by Newgen. As of the early 2000s, its tagline was "Here's Your Plate, Go Crazy." the chain posted an open letter on its website, suggesting it would stay closed "until concern about the coronavirus, Covid-19 begins to ease." On June 25, 2020, an open letter was posted stating that due to Covid-19 "we will not be reopening our restaurants." The closure was announced chain-wide in late June, with the restaurant stating "that there is not a profitable path forward for our business." The Ottawa location was confirmed to close on June 11, 2020 by CTV News Ottawa, but later was announced to re-open on January 25, 2023.

References

External links

* * Nicholas Moreau,
Burlington restaurant had roots in Edmonton: As Tucker's Marketplace closes, a look at its history
, ''Burlington Post'', June 27, 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker's Marketplace Restaurant chains in Canada Restaurants in Toronto Restaurants in Ottawa Buffet restaurants Restaurants established in 1980 Restaurants disestablished in 2020 1994 establishments in Ontario Canadian companies established in 1980