Montana's Cookhouse is a Canadian

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...

 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 headquartered in Vaughan, Ontario

Vaughan, Ontario

Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...

. It is a subsidiary of Cara Operations

Cara Operations

Cara Operations Limited is a Canadian company that provides catering services to airlines and operates several restaurant chains including: Harvey's, Swiss Chalet, Kelsey's, Milestones and Montana's. Its headquarters are in Vaughan, Ontario. It was previously headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario...

.

Operations

Montana's is known for their ribs, steaks, rotisserie chicken and other lodge fare. The restaurant aims to be a family/casual concept, rather than fine dining. The theme of the restaurant is of a lodge/wilderness setting and they try to provide guests with an escape to simpler times. Montana's has been promoted in TV ads consisting of a mounted buck

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

 and moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

 hunting trophies

Trophy hunting

Trophy hunting is the selective hunting of wild game animals. Although parts of the slain animal may be kept as a hunting trophy or memorial , the carcass itself is sometimes used as food....

 conversing about the restaurant.

There are restaurants located in all the Canadian provinces except Quebec and Prince Edward Island (where the chain withdrew), and none in the three territories. As of February 2009, Montana's closed their United States locations in Michigan and New York. It is reported that as of 2010, the busiest restaurant is located in South Common, Edmonton, Alberta.

History

Montana's Cookhouse first opened its doors in 1995 as a subsidiary of Kelsey's

Kelsey's Neighbourhood Bar & Grill

Kelsey's Neighbourhood Bar & Grill is a Canadian bar and grill restaurant chain headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario owned by Cara Operations. Cara Operations also owns other restaurants including Swiss Chalet, Coza!, Milestones, Montana's and Harvey's...

. The original idea was thought up by Kelsey's owner Paul Jeffrey and its president Nils Kravis. In 1999, Cara Operations

Cara Operations

Cara Operations Limited is a Canadian company that provides catering services to airlines and operates several restaurant chains including: Harvey's, Swiss Chalet, Kelsey's, Milestones and Montana's. Its headquarters are in Vaughan, Ontario. It was previously headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario...

obtained controlling interest in Kelsey's, including the Montana's chain. Cara completed its acquisition of the entire company 2002. , the president of Montana's is Andy O'Brien, who is also president of Kelsey's.