Lick's Homeburgers

Lick's Homeburgers & Ice Cream (corporate name: Lick's Concepts, Inc.) is a privately owned Canadian restaurant chain. It is known for its meatloaf-style hamburgers nicknamed "homeburgers", which were higher quality than contemporary fast food chains. Lick's restaurant employees were also known for singing ’50s pop songs while they cooked burgers and fries.[1]

Lick's
Privately Owned
IndustryRestaurants
FoundedQueen Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1980 (1980)
Headquarters
Canada
ProductsFast food (including hamburgers, veggie burgers, french fries, poutine, onion rings, chili, ice cream, and more...)
Websitelicksburgers.ca/

History

Denise Meehan, a native of Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, grew up in a tourist resort operated by her parents.[2] Meehan, the president and sole shareholder, founded the chain in 1980 with a $5,000 loan. Meehan opened her first Lick's location store on Queen Street East in Toronto in 1980. The second store opened at 2383 Kingston Rd in Scarborough several years later. (Both these locations are now defunct.) From 1984 through 2009, the business expanded to several cities in the province of Ontario as the Lick's name and menu became available for franchise. At its zenith, there were 30 Lick's locations throughout southern Ontario. In addition, major Ontario supermarket chains also carried frozen Lick's hamburger patties.[1]

In 2002, Meehan was named to the Sales Hall of Fame by the Canadian Professional Sales Association.[3][4] Meehan has also been profiled by Hilary magazine.[5]

Decline

Lick's began to encounter difficulty in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, partly because of the recession's effect on consumer habits shifting away from sit-down eateries to takeout.[6] As well, the proliferation of gourmet burger chains such as Burger Priest and The Works eroded Lick's market share.[7]

In 2012, two Toronto-area Lick's franchises closed due to arrears in rent, the fourth and fifth Lick's outlet to close in a short period of time. The Barrie and Oakville Trafalgar Road locations were foreclosed by landlords in September 2013. The Guelph location was seized by its landlord on November 21, 2013.[8] Mississauga's last location was seized by its landlord on November 27, 2013.[9][10]

By April 2017, the chain had two stores: Kingston Road at Morningside Crossing in Toronto, and one in Parry Sound down from 30 stores in 2012. The corporate website has not been updated[11] and the Twitter page has not been updated since October 2013. As of May 2016, the Lick's corporate website is not accessible. As of May 2017 there are three locations; the longstanding locations at Morningside Crossing in Toronto, on Horseshoe Lake Road just south of Parry Sound, and a newer location at Eglinton and Warden in Toronto. According to an employee they are still part of a restaurant chain. In June 2019, the Morningside Crossing location closed.

See also

References
  1. "Lick's | Tasty Burgers". Tastyburgers.ca. 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  2. Riccio, Heather. "Interview with Denise Meehan, Founder of Licks. Denise Meehan talks about the inspiration for her successful company". Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  3. Canadian Professional Sales Association – Sales Hall of Fame – Denise Meehan Archived 2009-07-31 at the Wayback Machine
  4. K-tel International Chairman & CEO Philip Kives Inducted Into Canadian Professional Sales Association "Sales Hall of Fame". K-tel press release, Nov. 19, 2002
  5. Riccio, Heather. "Interview with Denise Meehan, Founder of Licks. Denise Meehan talks about the inspiration for her successful company". Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  6. "Lick's franchisees left fuming as restaurant suddenly closed | Metro Toronto". Metronews.ca. 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  8. Mercury Staff (2013-11-25). "Lick's outlet in south end closed by landlord". Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  9. "Closure of Lick's locations raises questions - Toronto - CBC News". Cbc.ca. 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  10. "Lick's franchisees left fuming as restaurant suddenly closed". Toronto Star. June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  11. "With Lick's taking a licking, some wonder how much longer the Homeburger chain will last". Toronto Star. September 26, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
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