The history of Tucker's Marketplace restaurants in Ontario

Although Tucker's Marketplace is now a single buffet restaurant operating out of ByWard Market in Ottawa, it was once a well-known chain with multiple locations across the province, including in Burlington, Mississauga, Pickering, and Toronto. 

The brand's history dates back to the mid-1970s, when it was originally opened up as Mother Tucker's Food Experience — an à la carte concept launched by Winnipeg entrepreneur, Oscar Grubert. The first location officially opened in 1976 in downtown Edmonton and was designed in a traditional roadhouse style. 

By 1984, the chain had grown to 21 locations across Canada, and in 1994, the restaurant was rebranded to Tucker's Marketplace, switching from an à la carte concept to buffet-style service. 

A Tucker's Marketplace location in Burlington. Photo: Whpq/Wikimedia Commons.

If you ever visited the restaurant, then you know its buffet was organized into themed stations known as "shops," including The Corner Baker, The Green Grocer, The CookStove, Carvery & Co., and The Ice Cream Stand. Although the chain primarily operated under a buffet-style concept, it also offered a few table-service items, like signature hand-carved prime rib. 

Over time, the restaurants became known for their wide range of international offerings, such as oven-baked bread, made-to-order stir fry, soups, pastas, pick-your-own salads, and roast beef. 

According to its website, Tucker's was committed to a different approach to buffet dining, one that rejected the idea of large-batch or behind-the-scenes preparation.

Photo: Tucker's Marketplace.

"We've never allowed ourselves to be constrained by what many perceive to be the 'rules of buffet,'" the brand's website reads. "For example, when we started out, few, if any other buffets prepared food in small batches or fresh to order. Most everything was prepared out of view of the guest in large quantities, well before it was to be served. We chose to set that thinking aside, believing that it compromised food quality." 

This meant the restaurants grilled your burgers to order, sliced Yukon Gold potatoes immediately before frying, and stir-fried pad Thai noodles on demand. 

The brand's name was also rooted in a Canadian legend known as Mama Lisa or Mother Tucker, who played a vital role in the construction of the Rideau Canal in Ottawa. 

Photo: Tucker's Marketplace.

Born in Ireland in 1789, she immigrated to Canada along with her husband, John Tucker, who was a carpenter, in 1816. Settling in Bytown (a small town that would later become Ottawa), Mama Tucker was known for her culinary skills and generosity. She often cooked for Colonel By's men and served them cozy meals like stew. 

She witnessed the completion of the Rideau Canal in 1832 and continued to run her boarding house near the canal site until she died in 1847. Her descendants inherited her boarding and continued to operate it as a restaurant, eventually going on to name it Mother Tucker's Food Experience, in honour of her nickname. 

Photo: Tucker's Marketplace.

Even when it was rebranded as Tucker's Marketplace, some of the original features of Mama Tucker's boarding house, such as its barn siding, wooden beams, and antique decorations, were maintained. Apart from honouring her legacy, the restaurant's name also referenced the British expression, "tuck in," which means to enjoy a large meal. 

However, in March 2020, the chain posted a letter announcing temporary closures of its locations due to the pandemic. Just a few months later, in June, another letter confirmed the permanent shutdown of all Tucker's Marketplace locations.

Miraculously, just a few years later, the brand announced the reopening of its Ottawa location in ByWard Market, which, to this day, is the last remaining Tucker's Marketplace in operation.