East Side Mario's is a Canadian chain of casual dining restaurants, managed by its parent holding company Recipe Unlimited. The restaurant specializes in Italian-American cuisine. Individual locations aim to recreate the historic ambience found at the corner of Canal Street and Mulberry Street in Lower Manhattan. The brand is marketed as "A taste of little Italy". It is best recognized by its original logo featuring the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) holding a large tomato in place of a torch, as well as the jingle containing the catch phrase "Hey, budda boom, budda bing!".
It has 62 locations in Canada.
History
thumb|An East Side Mario's location in [[Moncton|Moncton, New Brunswick]]
East Side Mario's was developed through the merger between several restaurant chains and began as a subsidiary of Yesac Creative Foods (later, Prime Restaurants).
In February 1980, Sudbury, Ontario, entrepreneurs Nick Perpick, Ralph Roy and Gary Ceppetelli, opened the first Casey's restaurant. The restaurant's success prompted the opening of a second location in Elliot Lake, Ontario. The company moved to Burlington, Ontario, and introduced a fourth partner. The Casey's brand was developed by the original parent company, Yesac Creative Foods. In 1982, the first Pat & Mario's Restaurant was opened in Whitby, Ontario. The objective was to establish a takeout pizza and pasta business. The venture was successful and the Pat & Mario's chain expanded into the Toronto area, as well as into the United States, in Florida.
The first East Side Mario's restaurant was developed and built in Aventura Mall in Miami, Florida. To expand the business on both sides of the border, it was necessary for Yesac to raise capital. To do so, the collective brands of Casey's, East Side Mario's, and Pat & Mario's merged with the Lime Rickey's brand from Toronto to become Prime Restaurant Holdings Incorporated in August 1989. Prime Restaurants has become a major force in the current Canadian restaurant industry largely in part because of this acquisition. By 1993, Prime Restaurants had expanded East Side Mario's throughout the United States through an American subsidiary. Because of the high potential of this restaurant chain, the American subsidiary was later purchased by PepsiCo's Pizza Hut division ( which eventually sold ESM to Marie Callendar's in 1997), and Prime Restaurants retained exclusive rights to the Canadian trademarks. As of February 2000, Prime Restaurants had re-acquired global trademark rights to East Side Mario's Restaurants Inc. On July 22, 2002, the parent company made an initial public offer for the Prime Restaurant Royalty Income Fund, allowing for public investing in the brand.
As of 2010, three members of senior management retained 18% ownership under Prime Restaurants,
East Side Mario's began a partnership with Scene in February 2015.
East Side Mario's closed its last United States location, in Livonia, Michigan, in May 2020.
Franchise
The menu primarily offers Italian-American style food, with an emphasis on pasta, as well as classic entrees, such as pizza and chicken dishes. The interior design is styled after New York Italian eateries of the mid-20th century. In 2008, East Side Mario's revamped their franchise design and menu. The new menu had a healthier focus, promising that no artificial trans fats and fresher ingredients were to be used.
Advertising & marketing
thumb|right|The original logo, including the [[Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World)]] thumb|right|The previous logo, used until 2013
East Side Mario's has produced a variety of both chain-wide and regional promotional offers. These have included local radio contests and giveaways in association with communities. This campaign was launched in conjunction with an ongoing social media strategy in which East Side Mario's uses its presence on Facebook in an effort to raise awareness of promotions among consumers.
Charitable work
East Side Mario's has been a corporate sponsor of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in the past. In early May 2010, it was the national family restaurant sponsor of the 2010 Canadian Breast Foundation CIBC "Run for the Cure" fundraising event. The partnership included in-house promotions to help raise awareness about breast cancer.
East Side Mario's has also provided corporate sponsorship of Camp Oochigeas, a volunteer-run and privately funded organization working out of Toronto, Ontario which provides a summer camp experience for children with cancer.
Achievements/Awards
East Side Mario's has been recognized for its success in the past. It has appeared on Canada's 50 Best Managed Private Companies consistently since 2000.