Quebec's largest family rotisserie chain continues to grow
and remains focused on the future
BOIS-DES-FILION, QC, Nov. 16, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Benny&Co., the largest family rotisserie chain in Quebec, is proud of the progress it has made since the opening of the Benny family's first restaurant in Joliette in 1960. At the dawn of a new decade, the company continues to see growth in its business model, despite the pandemic. In addition to planning the opening of six restaurants in Quebec over the next few months, Benny&Co. is also becoming a strategic partner of AecopaQ and has signed a major agreement with Hydroserre.
Benny&Co. is an increasingly strong brand that has carved out its own place in a highly competitive industry by promoting fast-casual service. Since 2006, the rotisseries from the Benny family have gradually adopted the Benny&Co. brand in order to come together to perpetuate the vision of the co-founders. Over the last 10 years, the company has grown from 12 to 63 restaurants and has seen its sales increase by 670%. Today, the family-owned business employs more than 1,800 people, 36 of whom are members of the Benny family, and sells more than eight million rotisserie chicken meals a year.
"From day one, we have been convinced of the superior quality of the product we offer and the potential of our business model, which relies primarily on local sourcing. Despite all our enthusiasm and vision, we could not have imagined such success and continued growth, which has been made possible by our loyal customers. Our long-term success is also the result of efficient succession planning. From a very young age, members of the 3rd generation of the Benny family were involved in the management of the restaurants and in the creation of the Benny&Co. identity," said Jean Benny, President and CEO and co-owner of Benny&Co.
Proud of its 63 restaurants in Quebec and Ontario, the chain will open a new rotisserie in Saint-Hyacinthe by the end of the year and plans to open seven new rotisseries in the coming year, including one in each of Valleyfield, Magog and Drummondville, representing an investment of $16 million and the creation of nearly 200 jobs. The results of online sales speak for themselves. From March 16 to November 1, 2020, Benny&Co. saw its delivery service increase by nearly 40% and orders on its website rise by more than 200%.
"Benny&Co. is a leader and one of the unifying elements in the restaurant industry in Quebec. The company has made the right decisions to stay the course since the beginning of the pandemic, which has not prevented it from joining forces with us to make our voice heard," stated David Lefebvre, Vice-President, Federal Affairs and Quebec, Restaurants Canada.
Betting on Downtown Montreal in 2021
Benny&Co. announces the opening of three restaurants in Montreal in 2021, including a downtown location. The pandemic has slightly delayed the company's arrival in the city. However, this period allowed it to review the interior design of its restaurants in order to adapt to the new reality. This new concept will be deployed first in Montreal and will subsequently benefit other restaurants located in the regions.
"Benny&Co. believes in downtown Montreal and, as entrepreneurs, we need to support one another and take calculated risks. Over the last ten years, we have been able to choose the right markets to open our restaurants. Of course, the pandemic has delayed some of our plans a little, but we have been able to adapt quickly thanks to our next generation. In the short term, we will focus on delivery to serve this new territory," said Yves Benny, Vice President of Market Development and co-owner of Benny&Co.
Benny&Co. invests in new green packaging that is unique in Canada
In its desire to support Quebec's entrepreneurs and take concrete action for the environment, Benny&Co. becomes a shareholder of the company AecopaQ, a Quebec startup that offers the best product on the Canadian market in terms of green food packaging. Benny&Co.'s $300,000 investment in the first round of financing will be used to launch production of a new product.
"Choosing Benny&Co. as a financial and strategic partner was a natural choice. We have a similar family-oriented and agile corporate culture. Benny&Co. is a company on a human scale that will allow AecopaQ to adapt its production in the short term by increasing its market share. Our order book is full for the next 18 months and the projects with our partner Benny&Co. are very promising," added Michel Aufoujal, President and CEO of AecopaQ.
Within three years, the production of AecopaQ's green food packaging will reduce CO2 emissions by at least 1,200 metric tonnes. The first wood fibre trays created for Benny&Co. will be available in all rotisseries by early 2021. Note that Benny&Co. packaging is already 100% compostable or recyclable.
Quebec's "frisée" lettuce makes its debut at Benny&Co.
Benny&Co. maintains its commitment to choosing quality ingredients from Quebec producers and has entered into a major agreement with Hydroserre, known for its production of Boston lettuce and other specialty lettuces under the Mirabel brand. Benny&Co. will be able to offer Quebec curly lettuce, which is new to the market, in all of its rotisseries year-round. Benny&Co.'s supply of Quebec products now reaches 80%, 10% more than in July 2020. The Benny family is very pleased to be associated with another Quebec family business that has developed a unique expertise in greenhouse vegetable growing for more than 33 years.
"It is very difficult to sell our lettuces in the hotel, restaurant and institutional sector in Quebec because our competitors in the United States and Mexico offer extremely low prices. Benny&Co. is our first major customer in the restaurant sector, and we are pleased to collaborate with another Quebec family business to offer our newest product, a crisp curly lettuce that is full of freshness because of its proximity, while creating jobs here. Happy 60th anniversary to the Benny family and long live our projects with Benny&Co.," said Sylvain Terrault, President of Hydroserre.
From farm to table: the story of the Benny family
In the fall of 1947, the story began somewhat by chance in the Lanaudière region. One of the eight Benny brothers received 1,500 roosters from a friend. Knowing nothing about chicks, he decided to breed them anyway. His other brothers, while finding his decision ambitious, decided to embark on the adventure and help him by building a chicken farm in the town of Sainte-Mélanie.
A few adventures later and now wishing to become a poultry farmer on a year-round basis, along with his brothers, our young farmer constructed the largest two-storey chicken coop ever built in Quebec. Seeing the success achieved, they all took the plunge to concentrate full-time on poultry farming, becoming the largest poultry producers in the region.
On Sundays, the extended Benny family religiously organized gatherings around a good meal. It was during one of these meals that Gilles Benny, the youngest of the eight brothers, a machinist by profession, having designed an oven in his workshop to roast chicken, introduced them to the flavour of the best rotisserie chicken they had ever tasted. He had just created the first three-hour slow-cooking oven that still makes Benny&Co.'s rotisserie chicken famous today. Concerned about the instability of poultry prices at the time, the eight Benny brothers decided to venture into the restaurant business thanks to their brother's invention. Confident and visionary, the eight brothers were ready to go into business and opened their first rotisserie in Joliette in 1960.
"As children, we would gather at night to discuss our plans and dream of conquering the world with our rotisserie chicken. We are extremely proud of how far we've come and to honour the memory of our father and his brothers. They took to heart the preparation of their successors so that one day they, in turn, could continue to manage and expand the family rotisseries. The entrepreneurial spirit rooted in our family has shown us that anything is possible if you put your passion and effort into it," added Jean, Yves and Vincent Benny, co-owners of Benny&Co.
Highlights over six decades
1959: Gilles Benny builds the first slow baking oven
1960: Inauguration of the first restaurant in Joliette
1970: First 10 restaurants reached
1981: Jean Benny takes over from his father at his restaurant in Montreal-North
1984: Yves and Vincent Benny open their first branch in Saint-Félix-de-Valois
1993: First drive-through service in Terrebonne
2006: Creation of the Benny&Co. brand.
2010: Incorporation of the company Benny & Frères inc.
2013: Inauguration of the Benny&Co. Foundation.
2014: Arrival of hybrid delivery vehicles and installation of electric recharging stations
2019: Opening of the first Ontario restaurants in the Ottawa area
2020: Passing 60 Benny&Co. restaurants in Quebec
About Benny&Co.
Benny&Co., Quebec's largest family rotisserie, with a network of 63 branches in Quebec and Ontario, specializes and excels in roasting chicken with its exclusive three-hour slow-roasting technique developed by cofounder Gilles Benny. Rotisserie chicken specialist since 1960, the fourth-generation company is still 100% owned by members of the Benny family and employs more than 1,800 people. Benny&Co. sells more than eight million rotisserie chicken meals chicken meals per year and is recognized by the Aliments du Québec au menu. To find out more: www.benny-co.com.
SOURCE Benny&Co.
Martine Robert | [email protected] | 514 212-7812
Share this article