Shoeless Joe's enters Ottawa market

With plans to double its Ontario presence within the next five years, a Toronto-based sports-themed restaurant chain is expanding into Ottawa.

Shoeless Joe's opened its first local franchise on Carling Avenue, near the Coliseum movie theatre, in April and company officials say they are "very confident" the city could support up to a half-dozen locations in the coming years.

Across the province, the chain plans to open 10 to 15 new locations a year, says franchise sales director David Wilson, who notes the new restaurants will be opening their doors just as the economy is predicted to recover.

"We look at it as the perfect time to be growing," he says, adding the recession means there are currently opportunities to negotiate good deals on real estate and construction contracts.

The company is looking to secure franchisees before settling on locations, but Mr. Wilson identifies Orleans as a prime market, due to its healthy average income level and opportunities to build restaurants in locations where there are existing anchor tenants, such as retail power centres.

Mr. Wilson says he also considers Barrhaven, Stittsville and downtown as desirable submarkets to enter.

Along with Ottawa, Shoeless Joe's is expanding into Sudbury, London, the Greater Toronto Area and Leamington, near Windsor, says Mr. Wilson. At the start of the year, there were approximately 40 locations across the province.

The first Shoeless Joe's opened in Toronto in 1985 and grew to seven locations by 1995. It began franchising two years later.