Rudy, a Toronto-born burger chain, has opened its first location in downtown Kingston, marking the company’s 18th site as it expands beyond the Greater Toronto Area. The new restaurant, located at 263 Princess St., officially opened to the public on Friday, following a friends-and-family event on Thursday that drew local content creators, media members, and invited guests.
According to Luke McCann, founder of Rudy, Kingston was a natural fit for the brand. “Canada’s first capital city, home to the Tragically Hip, RMC, and Queens – how much more Canadian can you get?” McCann said. The company, which launched in 2016, has grown from a single location in Little Italy to restaurants across Ontario, including recently opened outlets in Belleville and Huntsville.
McCann stated that the concept behind Rudy has remained largely unchanged since he and childhood friend Chris Simpson opened the first restaurant on Toronto’s College Street over a decade ago. “Our vision was a very simple menu,” McCann said. “I think the less you have on the menu, the more you can focus on the things that are on your menu.” Rudy has built its reputation around griddled cheeseburgers, hand-prepared toppings, and thin-cut fries cooked in beef tallow.
The company still grinds its proprietary beef blend in-house twice daily and operates what McCann described as a “scratch kitchen.” “Everything is made fresh and in-house,” he said. “It’s not a turnkey spot where you come in and stuff is pre-cooked and ready to go and you’re just reheating.”
The Kingston restaurant is part of a broader growth strategy that has accelerated in recent years. McCann said Rudy expanded cautiously after opening its second location in 2018, relying largely on profits from existing stores rather than outside financing. The company overcame the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by quickly adapting its early Toronto locations with takeout windows, allowing it to continue operating and retain staff.
McCann also reflected on the death of his dear friend and co-founder Simpson in 2022, calling it a difficult turning point for the business. “It was a devastating loss,” he said. “I knew the best way to honour what we had built together was to keep pushing forward.” Since then, the company has pursued a franchise model focused largely on promoting existing managers and employees into ownership opportunities while maintaining operational consistency across locations.
As for the name “Rudy,” McCann explained that it was an inside joke between him and Simpson. “We thought about when we were kids and later in life when we were out at a party or bar, and saw someone who was a little too happy with themselves, a little cocky, obnoxious, acting a bit rude, and we’d call them a Rudy,” he said. “It was a bit of an inside joke. So that’s where the name came from. There is no actual Rudy.”
Attendees at the preview event, including local content creators and students, praised the food and service. Alexa Paemurd, a Queen’s University psychology student, said, “It’s alright so far.” Her friend, Stele Grasza, noted that the affordability stood out, with burgers priced around $12. Ashley Anderson, a Kingston-based content creator, praised the food and service, saying, “This is definitely, like, 10 out of 10.” Anderson’s friend Shelley Irish singled out the restaurant’s deep-fried pickle chips and called the freshly made banana pudding “heaven.”
The Kingston restaurant will operate daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Article and image source: thewhig.com
