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Earls Kitchen and Bar 3 For my alignment research paper, I have chosen to expand the topic I wrote about in the first reflective thinking. It is Earls Kitchen and Bar restaurants. I have decided to write about Earls because I personally enjoy this establishment, their in-house made bread, sauces, dressings, delicious desserts and the best clam chowder I have ever had. Hearing from my friend, that once worked at one of the Vancouver’s locations, how every morning he would make all the breads, soups and desserts from scratch with the freshest ingredients. Honestly, this story impressed me a lot, because not every chain restaurant would make as much food as possible in-house. In this paper, I would like to write about Earl’s story, their values, mission, strategy, and some of operational decisions. History This chain of restaurants is not a franchise, but a family-owned business that was established in 1982 and has 62 restaurants in Canada and 5 in US with more US locations to be opened in the near future. (Earls Kitchen and Bar, 2016). According to Earls Kitchen and Bars website, the co-founder Leroy Fuller, born in Ohio, moved his family to Edmonton where in late fifties opened his first number of A&W restaurants and from there moved into steakhouse concept restaurants. (Earls Kitchen and Bar, 2016). “In 1982 Bus and his eldest son Stanley opened the first Earls restaurant on Whyte Avenue in Edmonton, AB. With their home base in BC, they opened their second location in North Vancouver in June of 1984.” (Earls Kitchen and Bar, 2016). Earls’ success was based on “innovation; the best ingredients and great service. Burgers were made fresh, to order and from scratch (a concept unheard of back in the early eighties). Beer was from small craft brewers, wine from family wineries and table service was Earls Kitchen and Bar 4 warm, friendly and professional – all with an affordable price point that attracted young singles and families.” (Earls Kitchen and Bar, 2016). Mission and Values Earls mission and values are “We love hospitality and all that it entails and our business is to bring all of that together in one place. We are inspired by the world around us - both near and far; from chefs in London, to farmers in our local regions, our partners and inspirations inform our choices and our offer to you. Our purpose is to bring the best of everything to our guests. The tradition of Earls is centred on dishes that make people want to come back for more: house-made sauces, locally-sourced ingredients.” (Earls Kitchen and Bar, 2016). In my opinion, Earls is following their own mission as to buy locally grown food for all the locations. Supply-Chain Management From the mission and value statements above we can see that Earls tries to use local suppliers and farmers for the best available ingredients. However, Earls chain has a diverse supplier mix from small independent farmers to multinational corporations. As per Edmonton Journal (2016) Earls has been very proud about using the best local, organic, natural ingredients for the last 20 years. (Edmonton Journal,2016). Recently they have become the first restaurant chain in North America that will serve a 100% Certified Humane beef. (Edmonton Journal,2016). Even after a crucial mistake of not using local Albertan beef but give all meet business to US farmers-suppliers, Earls realized its mistake right on time and gave local farmers a chance to grow and maybe supply more of Albertan beef to all the locations in Canada and US. Such decision returned Earls restaurant to follow their own strategy. Furthermore, Earls Earls Kitchen and Bar 5 purchases free run, cage-free chicken and eggs, as well as “[the] chain’s seafood is sustainable and approved by Ocean Wise and the Marine Stewardship Council.” (Edmonton Journal,2016).