Freshslice Pizza
Freshslice Pizza is a Canadian pizza chain and franchise. Founded by Ray Russell in 1999, Freshslice Pizza has grown from a family-run business to a chain of over 70 restaurants across British Columbia. They are known for their multigrain crust and their pizza by the slice.[1]
restaurant franchise | |
Industry | Fast food |
Founded | 1999 |
Headquarters | Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada |
Key people | Ray Russell (founder and CEO) |
Products | Pizza, pasta |
Website | www |
Awards and recognition
In 2014 and 2015, Freshslice was awarded a Golden Plate award for Best Pizza By The Slice by the Georgia Straight; a Vancouver-based weekly publication.[2][3]
In 2016, Ray Russell and Freshslice were awarded runner-up for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award through BCBusiness and Ernst & Young (EY) for his involvement at Freshslice.[4]
Controversy
In 2011, two Freshslice Pizza companies and the owner of two franchise outlets were fined $44,000 (Canadian dollars) for employing illegal workers. Companies owned by Freshslice Pizza founder Ray Russell, his wife Isabella Flores and corporate employee Bahman Afshari were all charged by the Canada Border Services Agency after a tip led to the discovery that over a dozen undocumented refugees were employed at Freshslice locations in Vancouver. Afshari was also personally charged.[5]
In 2014 Russell was found guilty by the B.C Supreme Court of wrongful dismissal of a corporate employee. The courts ordered a judgement of over $40,000 (Canadian dollars) to the former employee.[6]
References
- "A Unique Pizza Company". Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
- "2014 Golden Plate Awards". Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on 2015-01-10. Retrieved 2014-12-31.
- "2015 Golden Plate Awards". Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
- "2016 Ernst & Young Awards". BCBusiness. Archived from the original on 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
- "Freshslice Pizza fined $44,000 for illegal workers". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- "FreshSlice Pizza owner had affair with employee before she was fired, judge rules", Metro Vancouver, archived from the original on 2015-08-22, retrieved 2014-10-14