Swiss Chalet
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into Chalet Sauce. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2006. |
- This article is about the restaurant chain; for the Alpine building see Chalet.
Swiss Chalet is a chain of Canadian family restaurants originally founded in 1954 in Toronto, Ontario. There are over 180 restaurants in Canada and the United States, as of 2003. It is a division of Cara Operations, which also owns the hamburger chain Harvey's; the two chains frequently share locations. The name Swiss Chalet originates from the design of its original restaurants, which featured exposed beam architecture, resembling a chalet one might find in the Swiss Alps.
The first location was at 234 Bloor Street West in Toronto and was in operation for 52 years. On September 10 2006 this location permanently closed due to the construction of the One Bedford condominium development.
Swiss Chalet is best known for rotisserie chicken and mesquite-smoked barbequed ribs, which are traditionally served with sides of fresh-cut french fries, baked potatoes, salad, Caesar salad, Greek salad, coleslaw, rice, steamed vegetables, rotisserie vegetables, mashed potato, corn, or sauteed mushrooms (with garlic butter) and accompanied with Chalet Sauce, a tangy sauce that is somewhat similar to barbecue sauce, but without the smoke flavour. Sit-down, drive-through, take-out and delivery services are available. In certain parts of Canada online orders are available. Signature Swiss Chalet Sauce, gravy and marinade is available as a powder in Canadian supermarkets.
Perhaps its most famous item is its Quarter Chicken Dinner, featuring a leg or breast piece of chicken with dipping sauce, a roll and a side dish of the customer's choice. During the Christmas season a modified version of this dinner is sold as the Festive Special, with stuffing, cranberries, and a chocolate product from a Swiss-based chocolatier added. Up until 1999, this was a Toblerone bar; since then it has been a set of Lindor chocolate eggs or chocolate truffles supplied by Lindt & Sprüngli.
It was also mentioned in the song One Week by Barenaked Ladies.
Previously present in the province of Quebec as "Chalet suisse", the chain has ceded that market to St-Hubert, while St-Hubert itself has now largely retreated from English Canada.
Advertising slogans
- 1980s–1990s: "Always so good for so little."
- 2000s: "Life should taste as good as Swiss Chalet."
- 2004: "Food you can feel good about."
- 2006: "Taste it once, Love it forever."