Empire Co. Ltd. topped expectations as it reported a profit of $103.8 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss in the same period last year. The company behind Sobeys and Safeway grocery stores in Canada says the profit amounted to 38 cents per share for the quarter that ended Nov. 3. That compared with a loss of $23.6 million or nine cents per share a year ago.

Defunct discount chain BiWay is set to make a comeback of sorts in 2019. BiWay had around 250 shops across the country and operated for more than 30 years before shutting down in 2001. Retail veteran Mal Coven, 89, who helped build the brand, hopes to resurrect the name with a new 7,500 square feet "BiWay $10 Store" scheduled to open in August in Toronto. “BiWay is a legacy brand,” Coven told CTV News. “We carried a lot of brands, but never junk.

Empire Company Limited has completed its purchase of Farm Boy. The parent company of grocery chain Sobeys Inc. announced in September it was paying $800 million for the Ontario-based chain of grocery stores, with plans to aggressively grow the brand in the Toronto area over the next five years. With the buying power of Sobeys behind it, Farm Boy will have better access to premium sites all around the GTA including in the downtown core where Farm Boy sees potential for smaller formats, such...

MTY Food Group Inc. has signed a deal to acquire South St. Burger, a chain of gourmet burger restaurants. Financial terms of the deal were not immediately available.  The burger chain will join MTY's stable of restaurants that includes food court staples such as Thai Express, Vanellis and Manchu Wok as well as Baton Rouge, Pizza Delight and Scores restaurants. South St. has 26 franchised and 14 corporate restaurants. The network had $28 million in system sales in the last 12 months.

The Canada Food Price Report for 2019, released last week, makes assumptions that the cost of meat is set to fall because Canadians are adopting plant-based diets. In fact, the beef demand index is strong, only showing a decrease of two per cent demand in 2018, but maintaining levels not seen since the late 1980s. Statistics Canada data shows that meat consumption by Canadians has decreased steadily between 2004 – 2015 – and not suddenly because of any specific dietary trends.

Classic Plateau steakhouse Moishes has been sold to a corporation known for its sports bars in Quebec. According to a press release (also reported by the Montreal Gazette), the Sportscene Group, known for owning La Cage Aux Sports, has bought the 80-year-old icon on St-Laurent Boulevard, ending decades of family ownership. Sportscene also owns the Quebec locations of Chinese-American restaurant P.F. Chang’s.

Shoppers Drug Mart has been granted a licence to sell medical marijuana online. Health Canada’s list of authorized cannabis sellers and producers has been updated to reflect that the pharmacy can sell dried and fresh cannabis, as well as plants, seeds and oil. A website has been set up by the company, which says patients “with a valid medical document will soon be able to purchase a wide selection of medical cannabis products” from Shoppers.

The average Canadian family is expected to spend $411 more on food in 2019 than in 2018, bringing the total cost of healthy food to $12,157 for the year, according to Canada’s Food Price Report 2019. The report, now in its ninth edition, was just released by a team of researchers from Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph. “Overall food prices are expected to rise no more than 3.

Cargill has opened its 188,000-square-foot North American protein headquarters in Kansas as it aims to bring innovative food solutions to global customers. The $70 million building, located in the city of Wichita, was created as a destination to retain and recruit top talent and immerse customers in “innovative culinary and food sensory experiences”, Cargill said.