Operations
The Keg's financial and physical operations had been managed by David Aisenstat for a number of years.[6] The restaurants operated as Keg Restaurants Ltd. (KRL), with Aisenstat involved in selling to the British firm Whitbread PLC in 1987.[6] In 1997, Aisenstat arranged financing and purchased KRL back from Whitbread.[6]
In 2002, KRL created the Keg Royalties Income Fund, sold through a public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange, trading as tsx: KEG.UN. The Fund owns the trademarks and intellectual property of "The Keg" and receives an annual royalty of 4% of gross sales for restaurant locations in the Royalty Pool. KRL kept a 99-year license to use the name "The Keg"; it also provided management services to The Keg Royalties Income Fund at no cost as part of its long-term royalty and licensing agreement. The Fund's creation presented the first opportunity for the public to trade in any portion of the Keg group of companies, which were previously fully private.
On February 4, 2014, Aisenstat sold 51% of his private holdings in The Keg to Fairfax Financial, a publicly traded Canadian holding company.[7]
On January 23, 2018, it was announced that Cara Operations was purchasing KRL for $200 million.[6][8] The deal closed in February 2018,[9] with Fairfax Financial and David Aisenstat sharing $105 million plus 3.8 million Cara subordinate voting shares.[6] Aisenstat joined Cara's board of directors[9] and assumed executive oversight of the higher-end brands within the 19 restaurant chains then held by Cara.[6] Cara also announced that the acquisition had prompted the company to change its own name,[8] confirming on May 10, 2018, that it would be renamed Recipe Unlimited Corporation.[9]
In July 2019 Nick Dean became President of The Keg. Nick Dean is the former CEO of KBS Canada – a previous advertising agency for The Keg.[10]
In August 2025, Fairfax Financial completed the acquisition of all issued and outstanding units of the Keg Royalties Income Fund for $18.60 per unit. Following the completion of the transaction, the Fund's units were delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange on August 12, 2025.[11]
On September 16, 2025, The Keg split from Recipe Unlimited and returned to be a standalone company, still a part of Fairfax. Richard Jaffray and his company, LFG Growth Partners, have acquired a significant equity position in The Keg. The new board will be led by Jaffray as the executive chairman, and Nick Dean remains the President of The Keg.[12]
