Ricky's All Day Grill

Ricky's All Day Grill is a Canadian restaurant chain operating primarily in Western Canada. Its roots date to 1960, when Al Sheren opened a family breakfast house at Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver, British Columbia. The site was significant in the development of the brand because Park Royal had recently opened and was described as Canada's first indoor shopping mall. Sheren named the business after his son, Ricky, and initially operated it under the name Ricky's Pancake House & Chicken. The concept developed from a breakfast-focused restaurant into a broader family-dining format. Breakfast remained central to the identity, while the menu and service model expanded to cover lunch and dinner, supporting the later Ricky's All Day Grill name. The brand's all-day positioning distinguishes it from restaurants limited to morning service and allows it to serve a wider range of family and casual-dining occasions. Roy Hildebrand became a franchisee in 1979 and took on the role of franchisor in 1982. Together with his family, he expanded the chain across Western Canada, turning a local breakfast operation into a regional restaurant network. This franchising phase was a major structural turning point: the brand's growth became dependent on a repeatable restaurant format and franchise locations rather than only company-operated expansion. Frank Di Benedetto acquired Ricky's in 1997 and became its majority owner, president, and chief executive officer. Under the later Ricky's All Day Grill identity, the chain continued to position itself as a mid-scale, family-oriented restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Reference material describes the chain as having approximately 70 locations and as one of Canada's faster-growing mid-scale family-restaurant groups, although the cited material does not specify the date of that location count. The brand's known footprint has historically been concentrated in Western Canada. It also pursued geographic expansion beyond its traditional base: the first Ricky's location in Eastern Canada opened in Peterborough, Ontario, in November 2007. Ricky's therefore combines a regional Western Canadian heritage with a broader Canadian expansion strategy. Its core offer remains associated with breakfast-house roots, grill meals, and casual family dining rather than with a narrowly specialized cuisine or an international restaurant format.

Ricky's began in 1960 when Al Sheren opened a family breakfast house at Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver, British Columbia. The restaurant was named after Sheren's son, Ricky, and originally traded as Ricky's Pancake House & Chicken. Its location in Park Royal connected the early business with a newly established indoor-shopping environment and gave the restaurant a setting suited to repeat family dining. The business later adopted a franchise-led expansion model. Roy Hildebrand first became a Ricky's franchisee in 1979 and became the franchisor in 1982. He and his family expanded the chain through Western Canada, helping transform it from a single breakfast house into a regional restaurant brand. The operating concept broadened beyond breakfast over time, with the chain serving lunch and dinner as well as breakfast. This broader daypart coverage was reflected in the Ricky's All Day Grill name. In 1997, Frank Di Benedetto acquired Ricky's as majority owner and became president and chief executive officer. The brand continued to operate as a mid-scale family restaurant chain, retaining its breakfast heritage while presenting a wider grill and casual-dining menu. The available reference material describes the chain as having 70 locations and as one of Canada's fastest-growing mid-scale family restaurants, but it does not provide a date for that figure. Ricky's later extended its geographic reach outside Western Canada. The first location in Eastern Canada opened in Peterborough, Ontario, in November 2007. Despite this expansion, the chain's identity and principal operating base remain associated with Western Canada. Its historical development is therefore characterized by four stages: creation as a family breakfast house, transition to franchising, expansion into a regional Western Canadian chain, and broader positioning as an all-day family grill restaurant.

• 2007

  First Eastern Canadian location opens

  [1]Ricky's All Day Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Ricky's opens its first location in Eastern Canada in Peterborough, Ontario, in November.

• 1997

  Frank Di Benedetto acquires Ricky's

  [1]Ricky's All Day Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Frank Di Benedetto acquires Ricky's as majority owner and becomes president and chief executive officer.

• 1982

  Hildebrand becomes franchisor

  [1]Ricky's All Day Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Roy Hildebrand becomes the chain's franchisor and, with his family, expands Ricky's throughout Western Canada.

• 1979

  Roy Hildebrand becomes a franchisee

  [1]Ricky's All Day Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Roy Hildebrand buys a Ricky's franchise, beginning a relationship that later leads to his role as franchisor.

• 1960

  Ricky's is founded

  [1]Ricky's All Day Grillen.wikipedia.org

  Al Sheren opens the original family breakfast house at Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver, British Columbia.

Mid-scale, family-oriented casual dining with an all-day breakfast and grill-meal focus.

• Breakfast

  All-day breakfast

  The all-day breakfast proposition is the brand's clearest link to its origins as a pancake house and family breakfast restaurant. It allows customers to order breakfast-oriented meals beyond the traditional morning period and supports Ricky's positioning as a flexible, family-oriented restaurant.

• Breakfast · 1960

  Pancake-house offerings

  Pancake and related breakfast-house dishes reflect the menu tradition established under the original Ricky's Pancake House & Chicken name. They represent the historical foundation of the chain's food identity, even as the brand later expanded into a full-day restaurant format.

• Lunch and dinner

  Grill meals

  The grill-oriented range broadens Ricky's beyond its breakfast heritage. Known examples associated with the brand include burgers and steaks, supporting its positioning as a casual, mid-scale family restaurant serving lunch and dinner as well as breakfast.

1. 1Ricky's All Day Grillen.wikipedia.org