Manchu Wok
{{Short description|Canadian Chinese-themed fast food restaurant chain}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Update|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Manchu Wok Inc.
| logo = Manchu Wok logo.svg
| logo_size = 200px
| image = Manchu Wok Airport SLC.JPG
| image_size = 200px
| image_caption = Location at Salt Lake City International Airport
| type = Subsidiary
| foundation = {{start date and age|1980}} in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
| location = Markham, Ontario, Canada
| founders = Jack Lew
| industry = Fast Food
| products = {{ublist|Canadian Chinese cuisine|Chinese-American cuisine}}
| area_served = {{ublist|Canada|United States}}
| key_people =
| capital =
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| profit =
| num_employees =
| parent = MTY Food Group
| homepage = {{URL|https://www.manchuwok.com}}
}}
Manchu Wok Inc. is a Canadian fast food restaurant chain that specializes in Chinese fusion cuisine. The brand operates 57 locations across eight Canadian provinces and 13 in the US. The chain operates in shopping malls, airports and some US military installations. It is owned by Canada-based MTY Food Group.{{cite press release |url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1466071/mty-completes-the-acquisition-of-manchu-wok-senseasian-and-wasabi-grill-noodle |title=MTY completes the acquisition of Manchu Wok, SenseAsian and Wasabi Grill & Noodle |last=Ma |first=Stanley |agency=CNW Group |date=18 December 2014 |access-date=14 January 2015 |archive-date=12 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412120420/http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1466071/mty-completes-the-acquisition-of-manchu-wok-senseasian-and-wasabi-grill-noodle |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |url=http://canadianrestaurantnews.com/canada/latest-news/mty-to-buy-manchu-wok |title=MTY to buy Manchu Wok |website=Canadian Restaurant News |date=24 October 2014 |author=}}
Despite the chain's name, the menu does not feature any dishes from traditional Manchurian cuisine and instead serves mostly American Chinese cuisine and Canadian Chinese cuisine.
History
The first store was opened by Dr. Jack Lew and other Hong Kong immigrants in 1980 in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.{{cite web |url=http://www.manchuwok.com/history/ |title=ManchuWOK – History |author= |date= |work=Manchu Wok |access-date=14 January 2015}} Lew hired food service equipment consultant Alfred Grech, a Maltese immigrant, to design and help with the building of the first 33 stores. In 1992, Lew sold the company to Scott's Hospitality Inc.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} At the time of the sale, there were 113 Manchu Wok units in Canada and United States.{{cite news |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1992-04-20/business/9202030968_1_manchu-wok-chinese-quik-wok |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523172451/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1992-04-20/business/9202030968_1_manchu-wok-chinese-quik-wok |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 May 2018 |title=Manchu Wok Tries To Carve Fast-food Niche |newspaper=Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel |date=20 April 1992 |first=Betsy |last=Roberts}} Under new ownership, there were 237 Manchu Wok units in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom by April 1992.
By 1996, there were 245 Manchu Wok units when parent company Scott's Hospitality was acquired by Laidlaw Inc.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/23/business/company-news-laidlaw-to-acquire-scott-s-hospitality.html |title=Laidlaw to Acquire Scott's Hospitality |newspaper=The New York Times |date=23 April 1996 |author=}}
In 2000, Laidlaw sold the company to a group of investors headed by Ken Fowler and Café de Coral.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/troubled-laidlaw-sells-manchu-wok-1.223853 |title=Troubled Laidlaw sells Manchu Wok |website=CBC News |date=25 July 2000 |author=}}{{cite news |url=http://www.obj.ca/Other/Archives/2000-10-03/article-2228885/Manchu-Wok-goes-to-Hong-Kong-fast-food-chain/1 |title=Manchu Wok goes to Hong Kong fast food chain |website=Ottawa Business Journal |date=3 October 2000 |author= }}{{Dead link|date=April 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} At the time of the sale in 2000, there were 74 locations in Canada, 119 locations in the United States and 2 in Poland,{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/hong-kongs-cafe-de-coral-in-manchu-wok-takeout/article25472454/ |title=Hong Kong's Cafe de Coral in Manchu Wok takeout |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=4 October 2000 |author=}} making it the largest Chinese restaurant chain in Canada and the second largest in North America. In December 2014 it was acquired by MTY Food Group.
=Business activity outside North America=
Although most of the company's business activity is located in North America, the company briefly had franchises in the United Kingdom and Poland in 1992 and 2000 respectively which have since closed. In 2003 and 2004, Manchu Wok expanded its operations to US military bases in Santa Rita, Guam; and Okinawa, Japan, respectively. It also has two locations serving the U.S. military on Camp Humphreys and Osan Air Base in Korea,{{cite web |title=Manchu Wok |url=http://www.manchuwok.com/ |access-date=3 February 2008 |author= |date=}}{{better source needed|date=October 2016|reason=current source does not currently support statement}} There are also locations at Ramstein Air Base in Germany{{cite web|title=Phase II of KMCC set to open |url=https://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story?id=123161948 |date=5 August 2009 |first=Michael |last=Voss |publisher=Ramstein Public Affairs, US Air Forces in Europe |access-date=16 August 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616044034/http://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123161948 |archive-date=16 June 2011 }} and U.S. Army Base, Grafenwohr, Germany.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.manchuwok.com/}}
{{MTY Food Group}}
{{Fast-food chains of the United States}}
Category:Fast-food chains of Canada
Category:Fast-food chains of the United States
Category:Companies based in Markham, Ontario
Category:Restaurants established in 1980
Category:1980 establishments in Ontario
{{Canada-restaurant-stub}}