Manchu Wok

Manchu Wok Inc. is a Canadian Chinese-themed fast food restaurant chain in the United States (13) and Canada (57 across Canada in all but Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island and Yukon). The chain operates 70 stores, primarily in shopping mall locations, but also at airports and US military installations. It was owned by Hong Kong-based Café de Coral, and now it is owned by Canada-based MTY Food Group since 2014.[2][3]

Manchu Wok Inc.
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryFast Food
Founded1980 (1980) in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
FoundersJack Lew
HeadquartersMarkham, Ontario, Canada
Number of locations
70[1]
Area served
  • Canada
  • United States
Products
ParentMTY Food Group
Websitewww.manchuwok.com

Despite the chain's name, the menu does not feature any dishes from traditional Manchurian cuisine and instead serves mostly American Chinese cuisine and Canadian Chinese cuisine.

History

The first store was opened by Dr. Jack Lew and other Hong Kong immigrants in 1980 in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.[4] Lew hired food service equipment consultant Alfred Grech, a Maltese immigrant, to design and help with the building of the first 33 stores. In 1992, Lew sold the company to Scott's Hospitality Inc. At the time of the sale, there were 113 Manchu Wok units in Canada and United States.[5] Under new ownership, there were 237 Manchu Wok units in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom by April 1992.[5]

By 1996, there were 245 Manchu Wok when parent company Scott's Hospitality was acquired by Laidlaw Inc.[6]

In 2000, Laidlaw sold the company to a group of investors headed by Ken Fowler and Café de Coral.[7][8] At the time of the sale in 2000, there were 74 locations in Canada, 119 locations in the United States and 2 in Poland.[9]

Business activity outside North America

Although most of the company's business activity is located in North America, the company briefly had franchises in the United Kingdom and Poland in 1992 and 2000 respectively which have since closed. In 2003 and 2004, Manchu Wok expanded its operations to US military bases in Santa Rita, Guam; and Okinawa, Japan, respectively. It also has two locations serving the U.S. military on Camp Humphreys and Osan Air Base in Korea,[10] There are also locations at Ramstein Air Base in Germany[11] and U.S. Army Base, Grafenwohr, Germany.

See also

References
  1. https://manchuwok.com/store-locator/
  2. Ma, Stanley (18 December 2014). "MTY completes the acquisition of Manchu Wok, SenseAsian and Wasabi Grill & Noodle" (Press release). CNW Group.
  3. "MTY to buy Manchu Wok". Canadian Restaurant News. 24 October 2014.
  4. "ManchuWOK - History". Manchu Wok. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  5. Roberts, Betsy (20 April 1992). "Manchu Wok Tries To Carve Fast-food Niche". Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel.
  6. "Laidlaw to Acquire Scott's Hospitality". New York Times. 23 April 1996.
  7. "Troubled Laidlaw sells Manchu Wok". CBC News. 25 July 2000.
  8. "Manchu Wok goes to Hong Kong fast food chain". Ottawa Business Journal. 3 October 2000.
  9. "Hong Kong's Cafe de Coral in Manchu Wok takeout". The Globe and Mail. 4 October 2000.
  10. "Manchu Wok". Retrieved 3 February 2008.
  11. Voss, Michael (5 August 2009). "Phase II of KMCC set to open". Ramstein Public Affairs, US Air Forces in Europe. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
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