De Company
De Dutch is the only restaurant of its kind in Western Canada!
We're a franchise of casual dining restaurants that specializes in breakfast, brunch and lunch, and offers oh so much more that we're simply different than all the rest!
Simply De licious!
When you walk into any one of our 18 restaurants, you are immediately surrounded by the warmth and comforts of home, and welcomed by genuine smiles and the wonderful aroma of fresh meals cooking.
You can trust that the same great food is available at every location, from your traditional favourites such as a large variety of Eggs Bendict, Omelettes and Breakfast Platters, to our special Dutch creations such as our famous Pannekoeken - genuine Dutch pancakes over 12" in diameter and served in over 50 combinations of mouthwatering ingredients!
And, of course lunch favourites are also available from an assortment of hot and cold Sandwiches, Wraps and Soup to our legendary Frying Dutchman Burgers!
With only the highest quality ingredients used and freshness guaranteed - plus, a Dutch twist to most creations - it's just simply delicious!
Simply De Best!
Not only are you guaranteed the best De Dutch dining experience at each one of our locations, you are also guaranteed to experience the unique charm and character that each one of our Franchisees personally brings to their restaurant.
While each location features a décor honouring Dutch tradition, each is independently designed to reflect the unique character of each restaurant. But even more importantly, each Franchisee is passionately devoted to their business and brings to their restaurant and customer experience the flavour of their own personalities and individual character.
As a result, our customers are greeted with the delightful combination of consistent quality and the personal touch of each Franchisee, guaranteeing simply delicious food and an experience that is simply de best!
Here's a new twist to the traditional De Dutch Restaurants that is simply divine! De Dutch Strawberry Hill in Surrey is open for dinner 7 nights a week! You've just got to check it out!
The De Dutch Story
A long time ago - well, 1955 to be exact - a young man named John Dys lived in the Netherlands.
John had joined the Dutch army, and one day he realized that he wanted "out." But in the Netherlands there were only three ways to leave the army at that time: either by finishing the full service period and retiring; by emigrating to another country, or; by dying. Since he was still young and nowhere near the age of retirement, and he really did not want to die yet, the second option seemed to be the most attractive of the three. So John emigrated to Canada .
John found his way to Vancouver Island in British Columbia and worked for a couple of years in a logging camp at Gold River . Then one day, during a visit to the city of Vancouver , John was involved in a car accident. While he waited for the settlement to come through, he ran out of money. John scoured the newspapers, looking for ways to earn a living. He saw an ad that read, "Young man wanted to learn restaurant business." He applied and found his first restaurant job quite literally "by accident."
In 1970 John tried his own hand at becoming a restaurateur and created the "Frying Dutchman." You may have heard of the Hamburger Polls that John organized during Federal and Provincial elections from the 1960's to 80's - he was actually able to predict election outcomes by hamburger sales!
After he had started The Frying Dutchman, John decided to try another restaurant concept. While on a trip to the Netherlands to visit family, his father took him to a traditional Dutch pannekoek house for supper. (You see, in the Netherlands , pannekoeken are served for lunch and supper, but not for breakfast.) John decided then and there that he was going to bring this wonderful idea back to Canada and market it.
The first "Original Dutch Pannekoek House" was opened in July of 1975 at the corner of Knight Street and 25th Avenue in Vancouver .
By the time the third Pannekoek House turned on its grill for the first time at Main Street and Terminal Avenue , a niche had been developed. The Original Dutch Pannekoek House had become a unique, specialty breakfast restaurant with shortened hours of operation and an emphasis on quality food. People still could not pronounce the "P Word," but they liked the giant pancakes for breakfast.
It was during this part of John's life that he met Bill Waring, a young sales representative for a dairy company that had secured the Frying Dutchman as a client. In 1979 Bill bought the first Frying Dutchman franchise, and his fate was sealed.
The early 1980's had their own special challenges: a deep recession, increased competition, and interest rates that had gone through the roof. There seemed to be no end. Both the Frying Dutchman and the Original Dutch Pannekoek House survived the recession intact, but Bill and John decided to concentrate on the more successful concept, the Original Dutch Pannekoek House.
Today, the Original Dutch Pannekoek House has become "De Dutch" with 18 restaurants located in the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley , Vancouver Island , Okanagan, and the Cariboo. John has semi-retired, and Bill is the President of De Dutch.
This chain of "funny little restaurants" has succeeded and will continue to grow - and it all started with a young man from the Netherlands who wanted out of the army. Who would have thought?!
Our Founder Today!
John in the recording studio working on our new web-based training module! (July 2009)