Mandarin Restaurant Franchise Corporation is a chain of all-you-can-eat Chinese-Canadian buffet restaurants. It was founded in 1979 and currently has its headquarters in Brampton, Ontario. The chain consists of licensed restaurants across Southern Ontario offering over 100 Chinese-Canadian buffet menu items, take-out, and delivery, as well as à-la-carte ordering. Each restaurant location employs about 100 people, making Mandarin an employer for approximately 2,500 people.
History
Mandarin was founded by James Chiu, George Chiu, K. C. Chang, and Diana Chiu, all of whom had many years of restaurant experience in Montreal and New York City. Together, they moved to Ontario in 1979 and purchased a small restaurant with Chinese-Canadian décor on Queen Street in Brampton, naming it "Mandarin".
At the time of purchase, Mandarin operated only as a small à-la-carte restaurant. The restaurant was later increased to three times its original size.
In 1987, Mandarin began to franchise by allowing its existing employees to become franchise partners. To become a franchisee, a candidate must have worked for at least one year at one of the company's restaurants and graduated from the Management Apprenticeship Program at the corporate headquarters. Franchisees are also asked to retire or move into an alternate role within the company after 20 years to make space for new talent.[1]