History
Grey Sisson, Ken Fowler and Pasquale Marra partnered to found Mother's in 1970, opening their first restaurant at Westdale, a residential neighbourhood in Hamilton, Ontario the same year. Just a month later, the Hamilton Spectator′s Gourmet Guide named it as one of the ten best restaurants in the city.
As of 1976, an advertisement for the new Windsor, Ontario location cited 17 locations, in Brantford, Burlington, Cambridge, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Oakville, Oshawa, Peterborough, Waterloo, and Windsor. They served pizzas, spaghetti, and submarine sandwiches, and a variety of other items, including spumoni ice cream. No frozen food was used in preparation, spumoni excepted. Promotions included Wednesday night NoodleNight, A 1928 Model A Ford was converted into the Mother's Pie Wagon, which participated in parades, fairs, and festivals across Ontario.
Fifteen corporate Mother's restaurants were purchased in 1987, with Bayswater Partnership as the primary investor. Bayswater included Toronto Blue Jays catcher Ernie Whitt and three partners, who paid $9.8 million for the locations, deemed under performing as they didn't have active, hands-on owners. Lloyd Moseby and batting coach Cito Gaston were persuaded to become limited partners in the chain. Whitt was to become a spokesperson and appear at charity fundraising events. The chain frequently ran "Ernie Whitt Specials" on pizza deliveries. Television commercials featured such international celebrities as Dennis Weaver.
The company went into receivership, and was purchased by Little Caesar International in 1989. Within a few years, locations began closing, including Westdale in 1992.
Current owners note that mismanagement was to blame for the chain closing, not the brand itself.
Co-founder Grey Sisson is now chair of the Service Inspired Restaurants board, which owns Jack Astor's, Alice Fazooli's and Canyon Creek; the group is based out of the same South Service Road building that Mother's was, in Burlington, Ontario.
Their flare glasses are considered drinking glass collectibles.
Read more about this topic: Mother's Pizza
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