Cactus Club Cafe is a "casual-dining" restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

 chain in western Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The chain has since expanded to locations throughout British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 , with other stores located in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

 and Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

.

The chain was founded in 1988 in North Vancouver, British Columbia by two former waiter

Waiter

Waiting staff, wait staff, or waitstaff are those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers — supplying them with food and drink as requested. Traditionally, a male waiting tables is called a "waiter" and a female a "waitress" with the gender-neutral version being a "server"...

s. The partners started with a restaurant named "Café Cucamongas", which they sold in 1988 to fund the establishment of the Cactus Club. In 1996, the company expanded into Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, which nearly resulted in the financial ruin of the chain. However, the organization survived the expansion and by 1998 the chain expanded to 10 locations in British Columbia and Alberta.

By 2008, the chain had 19 locations in British Columbia and Alberta. That year, the chain took on Rob Feenie

Rob Feenie

Robert Feenie is a Canadian chef based in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Culinary career:His interest in cooking began during a high school exchange program in Europe. He attended Dubrulle Culinary Institute...

 (the first Canadian to win Iron Chef America

Iron Chef America

Iron Chef America: The Series is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA. The show is produced by Food Network, which also carried a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef. Like the...

 to date) as its executive chef

Chef

A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...

and "food concept architect".