Healthy fast-food chain Mad Radish has opened its first Toronto franchise location as it continues to expand its footprint.
The latest opening is at 4 King Street West and is the company’s fourth Toronto location but first as a franchise.
Mad Radish was founded in 2017 in Ottawa on Albert Street in the downtown and today has a total of nine locations. Five stores are in Ottawa.
“We’re at King and Yonge and it’s a really prime location. We are in between Starbucks and Chipotle so we couldn’t ask for a better location. It’s an absolutely outstanding store,” said Adam Tomczyk, CEO and co-founder of Mad Radish, of the company’s latest store.
“In Toronto we’re dominating in the downtown right now.”
Other Toronto locations are the Bay Adelaide Centre, the Exchange Tower and Bloor Street.
“In Ottawa we’re kind of covering the whole city. We’re trying to find more locations in Ottawa because there’s a lot of interest from franchising as well. We have three downtown and we opened our first franchise in Kanata at the beginning of last year. And we also have one in Barrhaven.”
“It’s been a phenomenal story of ups and downs, and obstacles and triumphs,” said David Segal, Founder and Owner.
Segal said the concept has evolved dramatically since its inception.
“The vision hasn’t changed. Our north star remains the same. We really want to bring healthy, fast food to everyone in Canada. Really high quality food that makes you feel great after you eat it, that doesn’t cost too much and make it accessible to all the neighbourhoods across the country,” he said.
“That’s what hasn’t changed for us. What we stand for as a brand has remained a constant and that vision and that north star is still there. I think now we’re much closer to realizing that vision. Between COVID and the opening, it’s easier said than done and we’ve focused a lot over time on perfecting some of the most important things in healthy fast food.
“For example, chicken. We have the best chicken you’re ever going to have in a fast food restaurant. We cook it fresh every single day from scratch, marinated, in an oven. It’s outstanding. That matters. That’s your key protein. To be able to find hot ingredients with cold ingredients.
“Adam and the team through painstaking effort figuring it out, we’re healthy bowls and by bowls we mean something more hardy. You’re not going to feel like it’s rabbit food, like you’re hungry two hours after you eat it.”
The brand is known for its bowls and burritos and salads.
Mad Radish began franchising in 2021, with their first franchise location opening in Kanata, a fast-growing suburb of Ottawa.
Tomczyk said the company is in negotiations currently for a few more leases with four more locations to open this year. He couldn’t reveal those locations as they have not been finalized yet.
“Right now the focus is in Ontario because we really believe in responsible growth,” he said. “But we do have conversations with master franchisees across the country. So we’re trying to find the right partners that we can build this together.
“It’s a mainstream brand. We put so much effort, so much money to bring this together and bring it to the point where we can proudly take it anywhere.”
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved as a brand,” said co-founder Stephanie Howarth. “Our commitment to compostable packaging, responsible sourcing and inclusivity has always set Mad Radish apart. We realized that we were doing something really special and the best way to reach new communities was by engaging owner-operators who are as passionate about our values as we are.”
Segal, who was co-founder of DAVIDsTEA, said he’s never been more excited about a concept as he is about Mad Radish right now.
“It’s because of the focus Adam and the team has on the most important thing which is delivery of this incredible food quickly for customers on the go at a very, very fair price,” he said.
“I think we’ve nailed the model and we’re now ready to expand it. But we’re not just going to sell franchises. We’re going to award them. We’re going to be very careful on who we bring on as partners. They need to share our vision for quality and that’s really, really critical. We want to of course bring this everywhere in Canada. We think Canadians are going to love it. We have proof of concept in Toronto and in Ottawa. But we need the right people who are going to really love what they do and bring the same level of passion to this as we have right now.’
During his time at DAVIDsTEA, Segal grew the company from a single store on Toronto’s Queen Street West to a $200 million retail giant. In June 2015, DAVIDsTEA became a publicly-traded company on the NASDAQ, and since launch, the brand has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Women’s Wear Daily, The Globe and Mail, and Fast Company.
Segal left DAVIDsTEA in 2016 and started Mad Radish – a quick service restaurant concept.
In 2017, David was named one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40.
In 2021, Segal also started Firebelly tea to create exceptional loose leaf teas tailored to modern living, and gorgeous tea accessories to shake up the category.
