Tara Deschamps

To avoid squandering the opportunities, Barry encouraged workers to get their hands on AI and build an understanding of how it can be used.

The play is loosely based on a 2010 Ontario snowstorm that caused some to hunker down at at a local Tim Hortons and wait it out Author of the article:

In the last year, Tim Hortons has also treated cottaging Canadians to a boat drive-thru, revived its beloved Dutchie doughnut and launched flatbread pizzas

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Shake Shack to open first Canadian location in Toronto this summer Shake Shack to open first Canadian location in Toronto this summer Plans to open 35 locations across Canada by 2035 Author of the article: Article content TORONTO — When Shake Shack crosses the border into Canada later this year, it will make its debut at one of the country's most prominent intersections with a menu largely borrowing from what it serves in the U.S. Advertisement 2 Article content Shake Shack to open first Canadian location in Toronto this summer Back to video The fast-food company's first Canadian location will take over the northeast corner of Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto with a 5,500 square-foot space once home to an Adidas. Article content The restaurant will offer a window into how Toronto-based private investment firms Osmington Inc. and Harlo Entertainment Inc. intend to replicate the New York-based brand across Canada, where they have said they will open 35 locations by 2035. Billy Richmond, Shake Shack Canada's business director, said the Toronto location will open early this summer. Most of its offerings will be recognizable to those who have tasted Shake Shack in other countries. “You're going to get the same experience you've received elsewhere in the world,” he said. Advertisement 3 Article content That means Canadian diners will be able to get their hands on Shake Shack's burgers, crinkle-cut fries and handspun milkshakes. (The company said it has yet to settle on prices Shake Shack's Canadian debut comes as several other fast food chains plot expansions in the country. Inspire Brands will bring sandwich chain Jimmy John's to Canada soon, while Redberry Restaurants is plotting to open more than 300 Jersey Mike's locations in the country by 2034. Plus, the country has a strong contingent of McDonald's , Wendy's, A&W and Harvey's that will serve as Shake Shack rivals. They're coming from a market that's $800 billion in size to a market that's $90 to $100 billion in size here in Canada Robert Carter The Canadian restaurant market is quite different than what Shake Shack is used to in the U.S., said Robert Carter, a food industry analyst with StratonHunter Group, in an interview held before Shake Shack revealed its first Toronto location. Advertisement 4 Article content “They're coming from a market that's $800 billion in size to a market that's $90 to $100 billion in size here in Canada,” he said. “Too many times we'll have a U.S. brand that'll come into the market and think just because it's a smaller market or they're just close to the U.S., it's going to be the same strategy or marketing plan, when in fact there's nuances they'll have to address.” For example, he said the U.S. market is much more value-driven and menus there are splashed with dollar deals. “They won't have to rely so much on discount and dealing because Canadians are more willing to pay for quality, innovation, those types of things,” Carter said. The new market and the competition don't intimidate Richmond, in part because Shake Shack fashions itself as a premium chain offering some of the most popular fast-food items. Advertisement 5 Article content A 2023 report from Restaurants Canada named French fries, along with sweet potato fries and onion rings, as the most ordered foods at Canadian restaurants. They made it into 15.7 per cent of restaurant orders in the country, down 0.1 per cent from a year earlier. Burgers, including chicken varieties, ranked third with about 9.8 per cent of orders, down 0.6 per cent from 2022. Shake Shack's Canadian debut won't just rely on fast-food staples. It will also come with a few twists, including a Toronto-exclusive menu item. Customers will be able to order a maple salted pretzel shake, made of frozen vanilla custard streaked with Canadian maple syrup and pretzels. The shake, which Richmond said is meant to be rich, sweet and “nostalgic,” is the product of lots of tinkering in the kitchen. Advertisement 6 Article content “We went through a handful of variations and looked at different shake flavours that we thought would resonate well with Canadians and ultimately landed on our maple salted pretzel shake,” he said. Country-exclusive items in other markets have included a hibiscus jelly-topped vanilla custard in Malaysia and a pandan sticky rice shake in Thailand. As is customary at its U.S. locations, Shake Shack will also sell beer and wine — a rarity for Canadian fast-food joints. “It definitely sets us apart from our peers,” Richmond said. But Carter isn't convinced it will be a popular order. “The reality is that alcohol consumption in Canada is declining,” he said. “We're at a pretty much historical low in terms of alcohol consumption because younger consumers, the gen Z and whatnot, they're just not drinking as much.” Still, Carter expects Shake Shack's “mystique” and cult-like following to carry the brand in Canada. Asked where its next location will open after Yonge-Dundas Square, Richmond demurred saying, “we're really excited to in time be expanding across the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario and other provinces.” Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Shake Shack to open first Canadian location in Toronto this summer Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Loading... Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers

In its federal budget released April 16, it announced plans to free up lands held by both entities in order to build housing at a pace and scale “not seen in generations” and help younger Canadians get into the real estate market.

TORONTO - When talent search platform Plum noticed ChatGPT sending ripples through the tech world and beyond, it decided to turn right to the source to lay out how staff could and couldn't use the generative artificial intelligence chatbot.

Author of the article: The Canadian Press Tara Deschamps Published on May 6, 2024 • 5 minutes reading Article content

TORONTO — When talent search platform Plum noticed ChatGPT sending ripples through the tech world and beyond, it decided to turn right to the source to lay out how staff could and couldn’t use the generative artificial intelligence chatbot.