fast food chain . for other uses see harvey . harvey s type subsidiary industry restaurants founded april 1 1959 ; 57 years ago 1959 04 01 richmond hill ontario canada founder george b. sukornyk rick mauran headquarters vaughan ontario canada products fast food including hamburgers hot dogs french fries onion rings poutines number of employees 7 000 employees parent cara operations website harveys.ca harvey s is a fast food restaurant chain that operates in canada with locations in every province . it serves hamburgers hot dogs french fries onion rings and other traditional fast food fare . the chain is owned by cara operations . harvey s is the second largest canadian established restaurant chain in the country behind tim hortons and is the fourth largest burger chain in canada . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 1959 and 1960s inception and growth 1.2 1970s foodcorp and cara acquisition 1.3 2010 present great canadian and health check 2 products 2.1 main dishes 2.2 flagship burger 2.3 breakfast 2.4 side dishes 2.5 beverages 2.6 other 3 legal disputes 3.1 e. coli outbreak 3.2 harvey s vs. hardee s 4 loyalty program 5 advertising 5.1 free burger week 5.2 slogans 6 retail presence 7 references 8 external links history edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message harvey s foods co founders george b. sukornyk pictured left and rick mauran right at the pyramids in cairo egypt in 1962 1959 and 1960s inception and growth edit harvey s was co founded by george b. sukornyk and rick mauran in early 1959 as equal shareholders . mauren chose the name harvey s from the name of a car dealership he saw advertised in the toronto telegram in the summer of 1959 . the name humphrey s was also considered . 2 the first harvey s location was opened on april 1 1959 at the southeast corner of yonge street and observatory lane in richmond hill ontario on a 10 acre 40 000 m2 parcel of land purchased from the owner of a bankrupt dairy queen . the first franchised location was on company owned property on avenue road . subsequently land was purchased on the queensway west toronto barton street in hamilton and eglinton ave east in toronto just before warden where locations were developed and then franchised . the 238 bloor street west location opposite varsity arena was opened as a company owned and operated location . it was sold by cara in early 2006 to one bedford a condo project . beginning in 1963 harvey s purchased 39 parcels of land in niagara falls ottawa montreal buffalo and winnipeg with the exception of one leased property . sukornyk insisted where possible that all property be company owned in order to provide equity and stability to the company s balance sheet . harvey s has been operating in quebec since 1964 a fact printed in english and french on their take out bags . otherwise little english is visible in their quebec locations . in 1959 harvey s introduced three original concepts in the drive in take out business . the first concept was for a customer to order purchase and obtain a receipt which was placed on the topping counter . the cash was immediately placed in the cash register thereby controlling and monitoring cash and keeping theft to a minimum . the second concept was to have the customer move along the counter following his her receipt and then at his her request have an employee customize his her hamburger with a variety of toppings . the third concept developed for its full line swiss chalet restaurants in montreal was to purchase potatoes from prince edward island have the franchisee wash then cut the fresh potatoes into oversized chips with skin on that were then deep fried and served . this approach was a distinction from thin pre frozen french fries of unknown origin that were being sold at the time . ten years later under different management the number of toppings was substantially increased and pre frozen string french fries were introduced replacing the freshly cut pei potato . 3 1970s foodcorp and cara acquisition edit harvey s food limited merged with industrial growth limited in the early 1970s to form foodcorp led by president bernie syron . the company grew to operate 80 restaurants and was acquired by cara operations in 1979 . 2010 present great canadian and health check edit after going through four different flagship burgers in twenty years harvey s introduced the great canadian as its flagship burger in 2010 . the sandwich remains available . in february 2012 the first harvey s location was demolished to make way for condominiums . 2 in the summer of 2012 harvey s added dole strawberry kiwi as a fountain juice . later in november 2012 harvey s introduced a health check approved section for its menu . this includes the veggie burger the grilled chicken sandwich the lil original and the grilled chicken salad . only approved toppings condiments and dressings may be used on the sandwiches for them to meet the health check requirements . the lil original has a price of 1.99 comparable to those found on competitors value priced burgers . products edit a harvey s employee garnishing a single burger an old style harvey s restaurant in toronto ontario main dishes edit harvey s is known for its grilled burgers allowing customers the choice of 11 different toppings including lettuce pickles tomatoes onions chili peppers and a wide selection of condiments ranging from ketchup mustard relish bbq sauce mayonnaise to frank s red hot sauce . cooked burgers are placed in view of the customer behind a glass counter while an employee garnishes the burger according to the customer s wishes before wrapping it in paper and serving it to them . in this sense harvey s is closer to the model used by submarine sandwich chains like subway than to other burger chains which use a set list of toppings for each burger omitting toppings only at the customer s specific request . harvey s claims that in 1998 they were the first to introduce custom combos allowing customers to modify their combo with different items from those usually included . for example one could get a salad instead of fries or a milk carton instead of a soft drink . aside from beef burgers harvey s also offers hot dogs veggie burgers and grilled chicken burgers all which can be topped as desired by the customer . chicken strips and salads with or without chicken are also available . in the third fiscal quarter of 2006 harvey s discontinued items such as specialty burgers deli sandwiches caesar salad and value priced burgers . the hamburger menu at the time was simplified to six basic varieties original hamburger original cheeseburger original bacon cheeseburger and double patty versions of each . the current version of the menu lists cheese and bacon as premium toppings rather than as part of a burger meaning that only the original burger and double original are listed as hamburgers . three alternative sandwiches were kept on harvey s revised menu one with grilled chicken one with crispy chicken and a veggie burger . flagship burger edit harvey s combined with a swiss chalet harvey s has changed flagship burgers several times before introducing the angus in 2014 superburger 1989 1996 1 3 lb 4 ultra burger 1996 2001 1 4 lb steak like 1.88 introductory price 5 big harv 2001 2007 angus burger 2007 2010 great canadian 2010 2013 over 1 3 lb great canadian angus 2013 2014 over 1 3 lb . introduced spring 2013 angus 2014 present . 1 4 lb . a double angus 1 2 lb burger is also available . introduced spring 2014 . in 2010 as a competitive measure to mcdonald s angus burgers which were first introduced in canada in 2008 harvey s introduced their angus burger series . in late 2014 harvey s changed several of the toppings on its standard and premium burgers no longer offering the same styles of chopped onions or lettuce that they had always served and no longer serves them from their traditional metal bowls . breakfast edit at a small number of locations such as the ottawa macdonald cartier international airport breakfast is also served during the traditional morning period . 6 the breakfast menu includes real fried eggs with toast and optional meats bacon or sausage as well as breakfast sandwiches made using english muffins . 7 harvey s is one of the few fast food restaurants offering fried eggs with yolks as opposed to other chains such as mcdonald s or burger king who only offer fully cooked eggs . while burger king did offer more traditional breakfast options such as fried eggs in the past they were phased out by the year 2010 . harvey s advertises its product as a homestyle breakfast with custom made eggs . 8 in the 1980s and 1990s breakfast was available at most but not all harvey s restaurants ; like drive through service breakfast locations were identified with specific pole signage placed directly under the main harvey s logo . the breakfast sign was replaced with the generic it s a beautiful thing slogan at locations which no longer open during breakfast hours . side dishes edit one of harvey s more popular promotional menu items are frings fridelles in french a specially designed french fry box that s half full of french fries and half full of onion rings . 9 frings are now a permanent item on the menu for a small premium compared to standalone fries or rings . 10 harvey s is one of the few fast food chain restaurants to offer poutine on its menu nationally . beverages edit a long time purveyor of coca cola products as are most hamburger chains in canada harvey s switched to pepsi products in summer 2005 . 11 12 in the summer of 2006 harvey s eliminated mountain dew and diet 7 up products from its locations as part of its simplified menu . 13 harvey s has since begun to offer mountain dew and 7 up at certain locations . 14 apple and orange juice from dole can be purchased in a bottle although there is a premium price for these products . due to restaurants ongoing trend in selling non carbonated fountain juices harvey s added dole strawberry kiwi to its fountain drinks lineup in the summer of 2012 . there are a few exceptions to the pepsi partnership however . for example the ottawa macdonald cartier international airport s catering company has a partnership with coca cola so these beverages replace pepsi at the airport s harvey s. hot beverages such as coffee and tea are available at harvey s restaurants . the milkshake lineup was discontinued in q3 2006 in an attempt to simplify the menu . an improved thick chocolate milkshake was reintroduced in april 2007 . it is available at most locations but some restaurants do not carry it including all that are located in quebec . other edit where a harvey s is co located with a swiss chalet the harvey s offers a small selection of chicken dishes from swiss . this makes it possible to order items from both restaurants and eat them at harvey s. legal disputes edit e. coli outbreak edit in october 2008 over 200 people were infected with the o157 h7 strain of e. coli due to contaminated onions at the north bay ontario location . 15 there was a class action lawsuit against harvey s ; the end result was a cheque for 1 000 to