TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Oct. 1, 2010) –
Attention: Business and Food Editors.
Burger King Corp. (NYSE:BKC) today announced that BURGER KING® franchisee HMSHost Corporation has opened the doors to four new BURGER KING® restaurants inside fully modernized and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Silver certified service centres along Highways 400 and 401 in Ontario. New BK® restaurants located inside highway rest stops in Bainsville, Morrisburg, Tilbury North and Tilbury South are now open to service travellers along Ontario’s busy 400-series highways, which see over 500,000 travellers daily.
“Over the past 13 years, HMSHost has successfully operated BURGER KING® restaurants located in some of Canada’s busiest international airports and we believe they are the right operator to run these service centres.” said Raj Varman, general manager, BURGER KING® Canada.
Scheduled for completion in 2013, nine additional new restaurants will bring the BURGER KING® brand’s restaurant count in Canada to more than 300 locations. HMSHost already operates BURGER KING® restaurants in airports across Canada.
HMSHost partnered with Ontario-based Kilmer Van Nostrand Co. to form Host Kilmer Service Centers Inc. (HKSC), an alliance between the world leader in travel dining and shopping and a well-recognized Canadian company with extensive experience in building public infrastructure. Through the 50-year agreement, HKSC will develop and operate a network of 23 modern Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Silver certified highway service centres, featuring 13 BURGER KING® restaurants in addition to other restaurants.
“We are excited to showcase these new locations and expand our network of BURGER KING® restaurants in Canada,” said Bruce Carbone, vice-president of operations, HMSHost Corporation. “HMSHost has been part of the BURGER KING® family for several years and we believe in the brand as well as the quality products and friendly service that we provide for our guests. With these service centers and restaurants, we look forward to setting a new standard of service and quality for travellers in Canada.”
ABOUT BURGER KING CORPORATION
The BURGER KING® system operates more than 12,150 restaurants in all 50 states and in 76 countries and U.S. territories worldwide. Approximately 90 percent of BURGER KING® restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family-owned operations that have been in business for decades. In 2010, Fortune magazine ranked Burger King Corp. (BKC) among America’s 1,000 largest corporations and Standard & Poor’s included shares of Burger King Holdings, Inc. in the S&P MidCap 400 index. BKC was recently recognized by Interbrand on its top 100 “Best Global Brands” list and Ad Week has named it one of the top three industry-changing advertisers within the last three decades. To learn more about Burger King Corp., please visit the company’s website at www.bk.com.
ABOUT HOST KILMER SERVICE CENTERS
Host Kilmer Service Centers Inc. is an alliance between the world leader in travel dining and shopping and a well-recognized Canadian company with extensive experience in building public infrastructure.
With more than US$2.5 billion in annual sales and 34,000 employees, HMSHost has provided travelers with food, beverage and retail services in travel venues for more than 112 years. The Company operates 86 travel plazas throughout the U.S. and Canada and in 111 airports worldwide, including Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, as well as the 20 busiest airports in North America. HMSHost is a part of Autogrill Group, the world’s leading provider of food & beverage and retail services for people on the move. With sales of €5.7 billion in 2009, the Autogrill Group operates in 43 countries and employs some 70,000 people. It manages over 5,500 stores in more than 1,200 locations worldwide. Visit www.HMSHost.com for more information.
For more than 40 years, Kilmer Van Nostrand has been building Canadian businesses through long-term, stable investments in areas as diverse as construction and building products, sports, cable television and publishing, and environmental rehabilitation. Kilmer Van Nostrand’s better known interests include: Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, and Toronto FC) and Insight Sports Ltd., a founding partner of the NHL Network and World Fishing Network.