Ontario Poutine Chain New York Fries Is Trying to Open in Quebec Again | Eater Montreal

"I note the chain hails from Brantford, Ontario in the 1980s and has no connection to New York; it briefly had Quebec locations in the 1990s but has been absent for a couple of decades, now operating over 150 locations in Canada and a few dozen overseas and was acquired by Cara (now Recipe Unlimited) in 2015. Its menu is centred around fries, poutine, and hot dogs: poutines range from the classic to options such as butter chicken and pulled pork, and hot dogs include rather salty items such as a bacon‑cheese–topped dog. Bringing an Ontario poutine brand to Quebec may be a risky move given local pride in poutine, but factors that might work in its favour at Carrefour Laval are that the new Laval location is being directed by St‑Hubert (a company familiar with doing business in Quebec), it sits in a food court where nearby competition may not be strong in poutine, and the chain presents a veneer of quality—advertising hand‑cut fries and curds sourced from a fromagerie in Lac‑Mégantic. The company says it’s sticking to just this one Quebec location for the immediate future while leaving the door open to expansion." - Tim Forster