Pizza Delight

Pizza Delight is a Canadian casual restaurant and franchise brand specializing in pizza, pasta, salads, and related family-style menu items. The chain was established in 1968 in Shediac, New Brunswick, by Léandre Bourque and Allard Robichaud. One year later, Bernard Imbeault and two associates purchased the business, helping establish the ownership and development path that would turn the original local operation into a broader regional restaurant chain. The brand's identity is closely associated with Atlantic Canada. Its head offices are located in Moncton, New Brunswick, and a substantial share of its restaurants remain concentrated in New Brunswick and the other Atlantic provinces. Pizza Delight also operates in Ontario. The chain is primarily a franchise business, using a recognizable restaurant format built around pizza service alongside pasta and salad offerings. Its menu positioning places it in the accessible casual-dining and family-restaurant segment rather than in the premium or narrowly specialized pizza category. Pizza Delight became the foundation of a wider Canadian restaurant group during a period of expansion by acquisition. In 2000, the company behind the brand acquired Mikes, a prominent restaurant chain with operations in Quebec and Ontario, for $15 million. It subsequently acquired Scores in 2005 and Bâton Rouge in 2006. As the portfolio expanded beyond its original pizza focus, the company changed its corporate name to Imvescor in 2006. The rebranding distinguished the corporate group from the individual restaurant banners it owned and operated. At its peak under Imvescor, the portfolio comprised more than 350 restaurants across Canada under four banners: Pizza Delight, Mikes, Bâton Rouge, and Scores. The cited portfolio included 95 Pizza Delight restaurants, 94 Mikes restaurants, 28 Bâton Rouge restaurants, and 40 Scores restaurants. This structure allowed Pizza Delight to remain a distinct consumer-facing brand while sharing ownership and corporate resources with other Canadian restaurant concepts. In December 2017, MTY Food Group acquired Imvescor, including Pizza Delight, for $248 million. Pizza Delight consequently became part of MTY's larger Canadian restaurant portfolio. The brand continues to be described as a Canadian franchise chain, with more than 70 restaurants reported in the reference material and a geographic footprint centered on Ontario and Atlantic Canada. Its present-day role is therefore that of an established regional restaurant banner within a larger multi-brand food-service group, retaining its Pizza Delight identity while operating under MTY Food Group ownership.

Pizza Delight originated in Shediac, New Brunswick, in 1968. Léandre Bourque and Allard Robichaud founded the restaurant concept, which began as a local pizza business before changing hands the following year. Bernard Imbeault and two friends purchased the business in 1969, providing the ownership base from which the chain subsequently developed. The brand expanded as a restaurant franchise focused primarily on pizza. Its menu also included pasta and salads, allowing the restaurants to serve a wider range of family and casual-dining occasions. The chain's operational center eventually moved to Moncton, New Brunswick. Its geographic presence remained particularly strong in Atlantic Canada, especially New Brunswick, while also extending into Ontario. Pizza Delight later became the principal banner in a larger restaurant ownership strategy. In 2000, its corporate owner purchased Mikes, a recognized restaurant chain operating in Quebec and Ontario, for a reported $15 million. Further acquisitions followed: Scores was acquired in 2005, and Bâton Rouge was acquired in 2006. With the business no longer centered on a single pizza chain, the company adopted the name Imvescor in 2006. The new corporate identity reflected the breadth of its restaurant portfolio while leaving Pizza Delight, Mikes, Scores, and Bâton Rouge as separate consumer brands. At its reported peak, Imvescor owned and operated more than 350 restaurants in Canada across those four banners. The cited breakdown was 95 Pizza Delight locations, 94 Mikes locations, 28 Bâton Rouge locations, and 40 Scores locations. Pizza Delight therefore occupied a substantial position within the group while continuing to operate under its own established name and restaurant concept. The next major ownership change occurred in December 2017, when MTY Food Group acquired Imvescor, including Pizza Delight, for $248 million. The acquisition transferred the brand into MTY's broader collection of Canadian and international restaurant concepts. Pizza Delight remained a distinct franchise banner rather than being absorbed into another brand. Reference material describes the chain as having more than 70 restaurants, with operations in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces and nearly half of its locations in New Brunswick. Pizza Delight's history thus combines local Atlantic Canadian origins, regional franchise expansion, and incorporation into a national multi-brand restaurant group. Its core proposition has remained comparatively consistent: accessible restaurant meals built around pizza, supported by pasta and salad offerings, delivered through a network concentrated in eastern Canada.

• 2017

  MTY Food Group acquires Imvescor

  [1]Pizza Delighten.wikipedia.org

  MTY Food Group purchases Imvescor, including Pizza Delight, in a transaction reported at $248 million.

• 2006

  Acquisition of Bâton Rouge and creation of the Imvescor name

  [1]Pizza Delighten.wikipedia.org

  The group acquires Bâton Rouge and changes its corporate name to Imvescor to reflect its expanded restaurant portfolio.

• 2005

  Acquisition of Scores

  [1]Pizza Delighten.wikipedia.org

  The restaurant group expands its portfolio by acquiring Scores.

• 2000

  Acquisition of Mikes

  [1]Pizza Delighten.wikipedia.org

  Pizza Delight's corporate owner acquires the Mikes restaurant chain for a reported $15 million.

• 1969

  Bernard Imbeault and associates purchase the business

  [1]Pizza Delighten.wikipedia.org

  Bernard Imbeault and two friends acquire Pizza Delight one year after its founding.

• 1968

  Pizza Delight is founded in Shediac

  [1]Pizza Delighten.wikipedia.org

  Léandre Bourque and Allard Robichaud establish Pizza Delight in Shediac, New Brunswick.

A Canadian regional casual-dining and family restaurant franchise centered on pizza, with pasta and salad dishes providing broader meal options.

• Pizza · 1968

  Pizza

  Pizza is Pizza Delight's core offering and the product category around which the original restaurant concept was built. The brand presents pizza as its primary casual, family-oriented meal option within its franchised restaurant format.

• Pasta

  Pasta dishes

  Pasta forms one of the brand's principal menu extensions beyond pizza. It broadens the restaurant's appeal to customers seeking a non-pizza entrée while remaining consistent with the chain's casual Italian-inspired restaurant positioning.

• Salads

  Salad dishes

  Salads provide a lighter meal or accompaniment within Pizza Delight's broader restaurant menu. They complement the chain's pizza and pasta categories and support a wider range of family dining preferences.

• 2017

  Sale of Imvescor to MTY Food GroupM&A

  Background

  Pizza Delight was part of Imvescor's portfolio of Canadian restaurant banners.

  Action taken

  MTY Food Group acquired Imvescor, including Pizza Delight, in December 2017.

  Aftermath

  Pizza Delight became part of MTY Food Group's broader restaurant portfolio while retaining its own brand identity.

  Acquisition price. $248 million (December 2017)

  Source

• 2006

  Corporate renaming as ImvescorStrategy

  Background

  After adding Mikes, Scores, and Bâton Rouge to the business, the company operated a portfolio substantially larger than the Pizza Delight banner alone.

  Action taken

  The company changed its corporate name to Imvescor to represent its broader restaurant portfolio.

  Aftermath

  Pizza Delight continued as a distinct restaurant brand within the multi-banner group.

  Source

• 2000

  Purchase of MikesM&A

  Background

  Pizza Delight's corporate owner sought to expand beyond its original pizza-chain base through acquisitions of established Canadian restaurant banners.

  Action taken

  The company acquired Mikes, a restaurant chain with operations in Quebec and Ontario, for a reported $15 million.

  Aftermath

  The transaction began a broader multi-banner expansion that was followed by acquisitions of Scores and Bâton Rouge.

  Acquisition price. $15 million (2000)

  Source

• 2017

  Pizza Delight is acquired as part of MTY Food Group's purchase of Imvescor[1]Pizza Delighten.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  MTY Food Group acquired Imvescor, bringing Pizza Delight and the other Imvescor restaurant banners into MTY's multi-brand restaurant portfolio. The reported transaction value was $248 million.

1. 1Pizza Delighten.wikipedia.org