Toronto, March 7, 2011 - Warren Erhart, president and CEO of White Spot Hospitality, was elected Chairman of the 30,000-member Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) at the association's annual meeting today.
Vancouver-based White Spot Hospitality consists of two iconic West coast restaurant brands: White Spot, a casual dining chain with 64 locations in British Columbia and Alberta; and Triple O's, a quick-service chain with 55 locations in British Columbia, Alberta and Hong Kong. White Spot Hospitality employs 4,000 people and was recognized this year as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies.
Erhart's entire career has been in the restaurant industry, starting with a part-time job at McDonald's, moving up through the ranks at the Keg, and then joining White Spot in 1990 and becoming president and CEO four years later.
"I can't think of any other industry that provides so many opportunities to grow and succeed," said Erhart. "At White Spot alone there are dozens of stories: 25-year-old kids in charge of $3-million budgets; an immigrant who came to Canada 10 years ago with nothing, started as a dishwasher, and now runs one of the busiest, most successful White Spots in B.C.; a young chef in one of our restaurants who competed and won against some of the leading chefs in Vancouver. Our industry has a way of levelling the playing field, no matter who you are."
A recent Ipsos poll for CRFA found that the restaurant industry is the number one source of first jobs - 22% of Canadians landed their first job in the restaurant industry - and that one third of Canadian adults have worked in the industry at some point in their lives.
CRFA is one of Canada's largest business associations, with more than 30,000 members representing restaurants, bars, caterers, institutions and other foodservice providers. Canada's foodservice industry employs more than one million people in communities across the country.
For further information:
Jill Holroyd, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association
(416) 738-7134
jholroyd@crfa.ca
