Canada, ON: Ottawa’s Big Rig Brewery acquired by restaurant franchise Foodtastic

Foodtastic, a Quebec-based restaurant franchise company, has announced that it has purchased Ottawa’s Big Rig Brewery and Big Rig Restaurants for an undisclosed amount, the Canadian Beer News reported on June 10.

“Big Rig is a treasured local brand and we are excited to welcome Big Rig into the Foodtastic family,” said Peter Mammas, President and CEO of Foodtastic, in a statement. “We look forward to preserving Big Rig’s strong brand, while growing the restaurant system across the region. We are already looking at locations in Toronto.”

The original Big Rig brewpub location was opened in 2012 by a group of partners that included Ottawa Senators defenceman Chris Phillips. A larger production brewery and taproom was launched in 2014 in Kanata, and a second Big Rig restaurant and bar opened the following year in Ottawa’s Gloucester Centre.

The announcement also notes that brewmaster Lon Ladell will be remaining in his role, and has increased his equity stake in the company.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .