No two Burger Baron menus are alike. Photo by Amber Bracken/Back Road Productions
Burger Baron was founded in Calgary by Jack McDonnell, a serial entrepreneur who moved his family up from Montana on a hunch that he could beat the other “Mc”-owned fast-food chain to Canada. A new McDonald’s was opening every few weeks in the U.S., yet Canadians had barely tasted the fast-food craze. His prophecy proved true: Burger Baron exploded to over 30 franchises in six provinces and two states in just over three years, before burning up in its own forward momentum and declaring bankruptcy in 1961. “The restaurants weren’t run properly,” says the late founder’s son Terry McDonnell. “Dad didn’t train the franchisees well enough, and the franchisees didn’t train staff well enough.” Left in the wake of insolvency were dozens of orphaned franchises, almost all of which closed shop by the time McDonald’s made its Canadian debut in 1967.To the best of his knowledge, the intellectual property of his father’s burger chain—trademarks for the name, the logo, the flagship Baron burger—was neither passed to another shareholder nor sold to creditors. (If you don’t enforce a trademark, it ceases being one.) Burger Baron became public domain.A restaurant owner himself, Terry wasn’t sure how any franchisees survived the rush of U.S. franchises that followed on the chain’s heels. While running a steakhouse in Lethbridge, Alberta, in the 1980s, he was surprised to see Burger Barons that had nothing to do with his family popping up all around him and seemingly out of nowhere in towns populated by fewer than 1,000 people.“The first time I tasted that mushroom sauce, I was 8 years old again, back in my mom’s kitchen.”
Burger Baron in Leduc, Alberta, with its distinctive candy-striped A-frame. Photo by Back Road Productions
The logo—a colourful fat knight with double-Bs in his shield—often appears on signs as a crudely drawn copy of the original (left). Photo by Back Road Productions
Riad Kemaldean, or “Rudy,” is known to many as "The Godfather of the Burger Baron." Photo by Amber Bracken/Back Road Productions
A young Rudy Kemaldean at Cedars. Photo supplied
Jamil Amin Chehayeb was swayed to work at and eventually take over a Burger Baron to secure a better life for his children. Photo by Back Road Productions
By 1985, there were over 30 locations in Alberta and B.C. operated by a handful of extended families. Few sought the Godfather’s blessing to open anymore; the secret sauces had become part of the community’s collective knowledge. In a way, Burger Baron is the perfect business model for Lebanese, who are famous for their independence. Sociologist Baha Abu-Laban, who authored some of the first studies of North America’s Arab diaspora, referred to this in his works as a “Levantine ethic,” which emphasizes capitalistic enterprise without waiting on others for support. “They are average-type entrepreneurs, who want to be self-independent, run a business, and make a living that way,” explains the University of Alberta professor emeritus. Yet at the same time, the ethic emphasizes collectivism by sharing mutually beneficial information, such as the restaurant’s trade secrets. “The Lebanese community rose, and Burger Baron prospered, because of interpersonal relations.”“The Lebanese community rose, and Burger Baron prospered, because of interpersonal relations.”
Burger Baron is an ideal business model for Lebanese who are famous for their "Levantine ethic," which emphasizes both capitalistic enterprise and collectivism. Photo by Back Road Productions
Nazem Kamaleddine, who became a baron at 18, and his son Kamal. Photo by Back Road Productions
Seeing as how Burger Baron had become a sustainable source of wealth for his extended family, Saleh moved to Olds, Alberta, in 1984 to try his hand at it again. He went about trying to standardize the other restaurants almost immediately, driving from town to town in his Rolls Royce, to criticize the other owners and suggest they begin consulting him about proper uniforms, training, and branding. “It was my personal crusade because nobody cared about it as long as they were making money.”But others, including members of his own family, saw him as an interloper trying to profit off their hard work. “I became the bad guy of the Burger Baron, and Rudy is the Godfather,” jokes Saleh.“I became the bad guy of the Burger Baron, and Rudy is the Godfather.”
Saleh Kemaleddine took it upon himself to try and standardize the Burger Barons, with limited success. Photo by Back Road Productions
Terry McDonnell, the son of the original Burger Baron owner Jack McDonnell, didn't love how Lebanese immigrants purported to start the chain. Photo by Back Road Productions
Omar Mouallem stands in front of a Burger Baron in Edmonton. Photo by Amber Bracken/Back Road Productions