History
East Side Mario’s was developed through the merger between several restaurants and began as a subsidiary of Yesac Creative Foods.
In 1980 three entrepreneurs from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada opened the first Casey’s Restaurant. The restaurant’s success prompted the opening of a second location in Elliot Lake, Ontario. The company moved to Burlington and introduced a fourth partner. The Casey’s brand was developed through the company name of Yesac Creative Foods. In 1982, the first Pat & Mario’s Restaurant was opened in Whitby, Ontario. The objective was to establish a takeout pizza and pasta business. The venture was successful and the Pat & Mario’s chain expanded into the North York area, as well as Florida, U.S.A.
The first East Side Mario’s restaurant was developed and built in Aventura Mall in Miami, U.S.A. To expand the business on both sides of the border, it was necessary for Yesac to raise capital. To do so, the collective brands of Casey’s, East Side Mario’s and Pat & Mario’s were sold to the Prime Restaurants holding company in August 1989. Prime Restaurants has become a major force in the current Canadian restaurant industry largely in part from this acquisition. By 1993, Prime Restaurants had expanded East Side Mario’s throughout the United States through an American subsidiary. Due to the high potential of this restaurant chain, the American subsidiary was later purchased by Pizza Hut and Prime Restaurants retained exclusive rights to the Canadian trademarks. As of February 2000, Prime Restaurants has re-acquired global trademark rights to East Side Mario’s Restaurants Inc. On July 22, 2002, the parent company made an initial public offer for the Prime Restaurant Royalty Income Fund, allowing for public investing into the brand. Currently, 3 members of senior management retain 18% ownership under the company Prime Restaurant Holdings Inc. with the other 82% belonging to Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.
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