As each year goes by, it seems there are new restaurants and food services cropping up on every available corner in the Canadian society. As more and more cultures are introduced to the Canadian population, the desire to create new taste sensations to appeal to the masses, has caused a surge in new businesses to be developed.

According to Statistics Canada in the year 2000, more than 64,000 restaurants, caterers, pubs, bars and nightclubs were in business across the continent. An average household spent $1536 on food and alcohol in 2000, which was 2.7% of their total income and about 22% of the household food dollar budget.

Food Service is one of the largest and most dynamic industries in Canada, with annual sales of more than $41 billion, which is 4% of Canada's gross domestic product.

In 2001, Food Service operators managed an average sale per unit of $576,600, which was a 4.1% increase over 2000. Full service restaurants were the fastest growing sector in 2001 for total sales but the number of units and 3.7% menu inflation brought the overall sales growth down.

Limited service restaurants led the industry with a 6.8% increase in sales growth through consumers trading down from higher priced establishments. Tourist food purchases account for nearly 22% of total sales in Canada or $6.1 billion a year.

The projected Food Service Sales forecast is stated to increase on average 2.5% per year in income earned through restaurants, caterers, pubs, bars, and nightclubs (commercial).Other food service providers such as Accommodation foodservice, Institutional foodservice, Retail foodservice, and other foodservice(non-commercial) are anticipated to increase 3.5% per year.

As each year progresses, more tourist and residents alike will find their way into exciting new restaurants and food service facilities to taste the many flavors provided by the vastly growing food industry. With families finding less time to prepare home cooked meals due to busy schedules, a night out to a local family favorite restaurant is quickly becoming a treasured and anticipated time to spend a few quality moments together over a delicious meal for all.