Northland Properties
Northland Properties is a privately held Canadian hospitality and leisure group with hotel, restaurant, resort, sports, and asset-management businesses.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Northland Properties Corporation is a privately held Canadian hospitality and leisure company controlled by the Gaglardi family. Founded in 1963 by Bob Gaglardi, the group developed from a regional hotel operator into a diversified portfolio spanning lodging, restaurants, mountain resorts, professional and junior hockey, and asset management. Its businesses operate primarily in Canada, with additional properties and brands in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. The company's hotel platform is centered on the Sandman family of brands. The first Sandman Inn opened in Smithers, British Columbia, in 1967, followed by the Sandman Hotel format, introduced with a Vancouver property in 1976. Sandman Signature was subsequently positioned as a higher-end offering. Northland also operates or owns Sutton Place hotels and has participated in hotel and resort developments connected with Revelstoke Mountain Resort. The hotel portfolio has expanded internationally, including properties in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Northland's restaurant interests include the Canadian Denny's business, Moxies, Shark Club, Chop, Rockford Wok, Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, Bar One venues located in Sandman hotels, and investments in CRAFT Beer Market and related concepts. These operations cover full-service dining, casual dining, sports bars, steakhouses, hotel bars, and beer-focused restaurants. The Canadian Denny's business is operated through Dencan Restaurants under a licensing arrangement with Denny's. The group also owns significant sports and recreation assets. Northland and the Gaglardi family acquired the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars in 2011 after the franchise had passed through bankruptcy proceedings. The group has also owned the Texas Stars, the Dallas club's American Hockey League affiliate, and the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League. In the resort sector, Northland is the owner of Revelstoke Mountain Resort and acquired Grouse Mountain Resort in North Vancouver in 2020. Its international leisure portfolio includes Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links near Dublin, Ireland. Tom Gaglardi serves as president of Northland Properties, while Bob Gaglardi is identified as the company's founder and chairman of the board. Northland presents itself as an integrated hospitality operator able to combine hotels, restaurants, resorts, entertainment, and sports properties under family ownership. Because it is privately held, detailed financial reporting is not generally available in the public domain. The company is best understood as a diversified hospitality and leisure group rather than as a single consumer-facing hotel brand.
History
Northland Properties was established in 1963 by Bob Gaglardi and remains controlled by the Gaglardi family. Its early growth was built around lodging in Western Canada. In 1967, the company opened the first Sandman Inn in Smithers, British Columbia. The business expanded steadily, with the company described as opening at least one property in each subsequent year during a period of rapid development. In 1976, Northland broadened its hotel offering through the opening of the Sandman Hotel Vancouver, creating a format distinct from the more basic inn model. The Sandman Signature brand was added in 2007 to serve a more upscale segment. Northland later developed a multi-brand lodging platform. Alongside Sandman properties, it became associated with Sutton Place hotels and with hotel and rental-management activities connected to large resort developments. In 2011, the company bid for the Sutton Place Hotel in Edmonton and subsequently acquired that property and the Sutton Place Hotel in Halifax. It also held a rental-agent contract relating to the Vancouver Sutton Place operation and a hotel-and-strata development at Revelstoke Mountain Resort. The company's hotel expansion eventually extended outside Canada, with Sandman properties in the United Kingdom and additional hospitality interests in Ireland. Restaurants became another major part of the group. Through Dencan Restaurants, Northland operates all Denny's locations in Canada under licence from the United States-based Denny's company. Its other restaurant interests include Moxies, Shark Club, Chop, Rockford Wok, Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, Bar One, and investments in CRAFT Beer Market and related concepts. The collection gives Northland exposure to upscale casual dining, sports-bar entertainment, steakhouses, Asian-American casual dining, hotel food and beverage, and beer-focused venues. The company also diversified into sports ownership. Tom Gaglardi pursued the purchase of the Dallas Stars beginning in 2009, and Northland Properties and the Gaglardi family formally became the NHL franchise's owners in November 2011 after a bankruptcy proceeding. The group subsequently owned the Texas Stars, the Dallas team's AHL affiliate, and also owns the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League. These holdings connected Northland's hospitality portfolio with sports entertainment and venue-related commercial activity. Resorts and destination properties became increasingly important to the group. Northland is the sole owner of Revelstoke Mountain Resort, a large British Columbia ski destination undergoing expansion. In January 2020, Northland acquired Grouse Mountain Resort in the District of North Vancouver. The company also acquired Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links near Dublin, Ireland, a hotel and golf property overlooking the Velvet Strand and featuring a championship links course designed by Bernhard Langer. Northland's growth has not been without controversy. In 2013, temporary foreign workers employed in Canadian Denny's restaurants brought a class action alleging breaches involving promised hours, airfare reimbursement, and recruitment fees. The case was settled for $1.4 million. In 2014, Northland Properties and Tom Gaglardi were fined over the destruction of salmon habitat during construction work at a private Kamloops property; Bob Gaglardi was acquitted of the related charges. These matters form part of the public record concerning the group but do not define the full scope of its operating history. Today, Northland Properties is a privately held, family-controlled hospitality and leisure group. Bob Gaglardi is identified as founder and chairman, and Tom Gaglardi as president. Its business model combines hotel ownership and operation, restaurant chains, resorts, golf and destination leisure, sports franchises, and asset-management activities. The group operates across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, with the Sandman and Sutton Place platforms serving as its principal lodging identities.
- 2020
Grouse Mountain Resort is acquired
[1]Northland purchases Grouse Mountain Resort in North Vancouver.
- 2014
Texas Stars ownership is recorded
[1]Northland is identified as owning the Texas Stars, the Dallas Stars' American Hockey League affiliate.
- 2011
Sutton Place expansion and Dallas Stars acquisition
[1]Northland expands its Sutton Place hotel interests and becomes owner of the Dallas Stars with the Gaglardi family.
- 2007
Sandman Signature is introduced
[1]Northland adds Sandman Signature as a higher-end hotel brand.
- 1976
Sandman Hotel format expands
[1]Sandman Hotel Vancouver opens, adding a distinct hotel tier to the company's lodging portfolio.
- 1967
First Sandman Inn opens
[1]The first Sandman Inn opens in Smithers, British Columbia, forming the foundation of Northland's hotel network.
- 1963
Northland Properties is founded
[1]Bob Gaglardi establishes Northland Properties, beginning the company's development as a family-owned hospitality group.
Products and positioning
A family-owned, vertically diversified hospitality and leisure group combining accommodation, restaurants, resorts, sports entertainment, and related property assets across North America and selected European markets.
Hotels · 1967
Sandman Hotels and Inns
Northland's principal lodging platform includes Sandman Inns and Sandman Hotels across Canada and selected international markets. The formats provide conventional full-service and limited-service accommodation, commonly combining guest rooms with restaurants, lounges, meeting facilities, or other hotel amenities.
Upscale hotels · 2007
Sandman Signature
Introduced in 2007, Sandman Signature is positioned as a higher-end extension of the Sandman lodging portfolio. It gives Northland a brand platform for more design-oriented and amenity-rich hotel properties than the standard Sandman formats.
Luxury and upscale hotels
Sutton Place Hotels
Sutton Place is a hotel platform associated with Northland's upscale urban and resort lodging interests. Northland acquired Sutton Place properties in Edmonton and Halifax and has also been involved in management or rental-agent arrangements connected with other Sutton Place developments.
Family restaurants
Denny's Canada
Dencan Restaurants, a Northland subsidiary, operates the Canadian Denny's network under a licensing agreement with Denny's. The restaurants serve the chain's familiar all-day breakfast, family dining, and casual meal formats.
Upscale casual restaurants
Moxies
Moxies is an upscale-casual restaurant chain with company-owned and franchised locations in Canada and the United States. It broadens Northland's food-service presence beyond hotel restaurants into standalone dining and social occasions.
Sports bars
Shark Club
Shark Club is a sports-bar concept operating in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Its proposition combines televised sports, bar dining, and nightlife-oriented hospitality, complementing Northland's sports ownership and hotel businesses.
Steakhouses
Chop
Chop is a steakhouse chain operating in Canada, with Scottish locations using the Chop Grill & Bar name. The brand gives Northland a premium casual-dining format focused on steaks, grill dishes, and full-service restaurant occasions.
Mountain resort
Revelstoke Mountain Resort
Revelstoke Mountain Resort is a large British Columbia destination resort wholly owned by Northland. Its business combines mountain recreation with accommodation and related tourism infrastructure, and the property has been subject to continuing expansion plans.
Mountain resort · 2020
Grouse Mountain Resort
Grouse Mountain Resort is a North Vancouver mountain destination acquired by Northland in 2020. The resort adds a major urban-adjacent recreation asset to Northland's Canadian leisure portfolio.
Professional sports team
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are an NHL franchise acquired by Northland Properties and the Gaglardi family in 2011. The team represents Northland's most prominent sports-entertainment asset and complements its ownership of other hockey organizations.
Controversies
2014
Salmon-habitat destruction case
Northland Properties and Tom Gaglardi were fined a combined $140,000 after construction work at a Kamloops-area private property damaged salmon habitat. Bob Gaglardi was found not guilty of the related charges.
2013
Temporary foreign-worker class action
Seventy-seven Philippine temporary foreign workers in Canadian Denny's restaurants alleged that promised weekly hours and airfare reimbursement were not delivered and that recruitment fees had been charged. Northland settled the case for $1.4 million.
Brand decisions
2020
Acquire Grouse Mountain ResortM&ABackground
Northland sought to expand its ownership of destination leisure and mountain-resort assets in Western Canada.
Action taken
The company purchased Grouse Mountain Resort in North Vancouver.
Aftermath
The transaction added a major metropolitan mountain destination to Northland's resort portfolio alongside Revelstoke Mountain Resort.
2011
Acquire the Dallas StarsM&ABackground
The Dallas Stars were offered through a sale process following bankruptcy proceedings, and Tom Gaglardi had pursued the franchise for more than a year.
Action taken
Northland Properties and the Gaglardi family submitted the successful bid and took ownership of the NHL team.
Aftermath
The acquisition expanded Northland from hospitality and property operations into major-league sports ownership and strengthened its wider sports portfolio.
Recent events
Northland Properties acquires King Blue Hotel[2]
Northland Properties acquired the soon-to-be-completed King Blue Hotel in Toronto from Greenland Canada. The hotel was near completion and slated to open later that fall.
Northland Properties announces purchase of Grouse Mountain Resort[3]
Reported:
Northland Properties announced that it had purchased Grouse Mountain Resort from CM (Canada) Asset Management. The transaction was expected to close later in January; its terms were not disclosed.
Sources3 sources
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