Cara celebrates opening its 1,000th restaurant

Cara Operations Limited (TSX:CAO) ("Cara") is proud to announce that on December 14, 2015 it will open its 1,000th restaurant. The restaurant holding the honor of Cara's 1,000th store is a new Fionn MacCool's, an Irish-style pub and restaurant, located in Oshawa, Ontario.  Grant Cobb, Sr. Vice President Casual Dining Division at Cara commented, "Not only does this new Fionn MacCool's represent Cara's 1,000th store, it is one of 37 new restaurants Cara is opening in 2015. Cara's new restaurant growth includes openings from Newfoundland to British Columbia and many reflect new modern designs that we are extremely proud of". 

Cara is Canada's oldest and largest full-service restaurant company. Of the 1,000 restaurants expected to be open, approximately 11% are owned and operated by Cara and 89% are run by Cara's franchise partners. Ken Otto, President of the Family Dining Division and Chief Development Officer at Cara commented, "I would like to thank our franchise owners, head office associates, and restaurant teams across the entire network for helping us make this happen and for being part of our company as we celebrate this milestone".   

Cara's total restaurant count was recently bolstered by its acquisition of New York Fries which is expected to have 159 locations as of December 14, 2015.  Bill Gregson, Cara's CEO, commented, "Reaching the 1,000 store mark provides a great foundation for Cara as we strive to grow by 30 to 50 net new restaurants a year".  

About Cara
Founded in 1883, Cara is Canada's oldest and largest full-service restaurant company. Cara is a publicly traded company and it franchises and/or operates restaurant brands including Harvey's, Swiss Chalet, Kelsey's, East Side Mario's, Montana's, Milestones, Prime Pubs, Casey's, Bier Markt, New York Fries and Landing restaurants.  As of December 14, 2015, Cara will have 1,000 restaurants across Canada, 89% of which are operated by franchisees. Cara's restaurants are predominately located across Canada with approximately 72% of Cara's total locations based in Ontario.  More information about Cara is available at www.cara.com.

SOURCE Cara Operations Limited