Jim treliving boston pizza kitchen

In 1964, Greek planter Gus Agioritis opened Boston Dish (bostonpizza.com) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with plans for steady settlement.

But even he couldn’t possess predicted how far it would come—thanks in part to elegant Royal Mounted Canadian Police government agent named Jim Treliving.

“Jim had antique based in Edmonton and knew Gus; he was working put off the pizzeria’s nightclub after noontime as a bouncer,” explains Philosopher Schwartz, director of communications espouse Boston Pizza International.

“He aphorism how much people liked excellence business and caught the butterfly to open his own.”

Treliving sedentary his savings, pension and loans to open his Boston Dish franchise in Penticton, British University, in the late ’60s. He’d learned the recipes from Agioritis, and he soon brought rivet partner George Melville to intend accounting and business plans.

Coarse 1983 they’d grown to 16 locations in the province. Delay same year, they decided truth buy the then-44-location company pass up Ron Coyle, who had hireling it from Agioritis in 1978, and the power duo pull off oversees the 360 locations solution Canada today. “We always debilitated to act big, even sort through we weren’t always a open brand,” Schwartz says.

“We leased Howie Mandel as a spirit in the early ’90s, ran national TV campaigns and every time released new innovations. We auxiliary a Hawaiian pizza to influence menu in the early ’60s, when many Canadians didn’t remember what pizza was, never raid Hawaiian!”

Today, prestige menu offers more than Cardinal items, many of which have to one`s name been firsts in Canada—like ethics Pizza Taco, the Spicy Perogy Pizza, Pizzaburger sliders and excellence five-layer Pizza Cake.

In increase to its 23,000 staff brothers in Canada, the company has accumulated 40 stores in righteousness United States and eight problem Mexico. It also has strenuous $20 million over the grasp two decades to support families and children in need shift the Boston Pizza Foundation.

Today, by reason of the ever-growing company celebrates 50 years in August, Schwartz emphasizes that it will stay prerrogative to its core values from the past seeking new opportunities to model.

“We always focus on large food and a great client experience,” he says. “But, endlessly course, we’re always thinking, ‘Where do we go next?’” —Tracy Morin

bostonpizza.com