Mother's Pizza

[Spokes]

Mother’s Pizza comes back to Kitchener
February 21, 2014 | Rose Simone | The Record | Link

KITCHENER — Back in the 1970s, if a family wanted to eat out, the "go-to" place that came to mind was Mother's Pizza.

Done in 1930s boarding-house style, with Tiffany lamps, gingham table cloths, pizzas like the Hula Hula and a variety of other foods, it was a treat for the kids.

But by the end of 1989, the restaurants, including five in Waterloo Region, were closing. The chain of 120 restaurants was saddled with huge debt and went bankrupt. Soon after, all that was left of Mother's Pizza were memories.

Brian Alger and Geeve Sandhu, both from the Hamilton area, are among those who have fond memories of the restaurants. In fact, Alger has an old photograph of himself as a child celebrating a birthday with his parents at Mother's Pizza.

Now Alger and Sandhu have something better — they are reviving Mother's Pizza.

Last year, they opened a Mother's Pizza in Hamilton, the birthplace of the original chain. This spring, they plan to open a second restaurant at 4391 King St. E. in Kitchener, in the former Kelsey's restaurant near Sportsworld Drive. It will employ 60 to 70 people when it opens, probably at the end of April.

"Of all the markets, we were getting the most number of requests from the Kitchener-Waterloo area," Alger said.

Alger is known for reviving The Pop Shoppe brand in North America. He bought the trademarks for Mother's Pizza in 2008. When he decided to revive the brand, he teamed up with Sandhu, a food business veteran whose resume includes ownership of his own pubs and managing Jack Astor's Bar & Grill restaurants in southern Ontario.

Alger said the new Mother's Pizza will retain many of the original touches, including the signage, Tiffany lamps, checkered tablecloths and large glass mugs. The two men are collecting nostalgic items from the old Mother's Pizza to display. But they plan to do it with a contemporary twist.

Most of all, the intent is to bring back "great food, great service and great value," Alger said. "With a brand resurrection, you get that initial bump, but if you aren't doing things correctly, you are not going to get them coming back," he said. "I really take this seriously. I feel that I am the custodian of a really great brand, and I want to put it back to where it is deserves to be."

Sandhu said the original chain failed partly because new owners started shipping in food instead of making it fresh. The new Mother's Pizza will go back to making everything in-house, he said.

There is more competition in the restaurant business now than there was in the 1970s. But Alger said that if the new Mother's Pizza is done properly, it can be successful. There were lineups out the door when Mother's reopened in Hamilton last year.

Sandhu said Mother's Pizza fills a gap. "Over the last 10 to 15 years, a lot of restaurants have moved out of the family segment and into the upper casual dining segment," he said. "We think there is a massive gap that needs to be filled for quality food and great value and where a family of four can dine for a reasonable amount of money."