Freshslice Pizza
Freshslice Pizza is a Canadian pizza chain and franchise. Founded by Ray Russell in 1999, Freshslice Pizza has grown from a family-run business to a chain of over 70 restaurants across British Columbia. They are known for their multigrain crust and their pizza by the slice.[1]
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| Type | restaurant franchise |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fast food |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada |
Key people | Ray Russell (founder and CEO) |
| Products | Pizza, pasta |
| Website | www |
Awards and recognition
In 2014 and 2015, Freshslice was awarded a Golden Plate award for Best Pizza By The Slice by the Georgia Straight; a Vancouver-based weekly publication.[2][3]
In 2016, Ray Russell and Freshslice were awarded runner-up for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award through BCBusiness and Ernst & Young (EY) for his involvement at Freshslice.[4]
Controversy
In 2011, two Freshslice Pizza companies and the owner of two franchise outlets were fined $44,000 (Canadian dollars) for employing illegal workers. Companies owned by Freshslice Pizza founder Ray Russell and corporate employee Bahman Afshari were all charged by the Canada Border Services Agency after a tip led to the discovery that over a dozen illegal immigrants were employed at Freshslice locations in Vancouver. Afshari was also personally charged.[5]
In 2014 Russell was found guilty by the B.C Supreme Court of wrongful dismissal of a corporate employee. The courts ordered a judgement of over $40,000 (Canadian dollars) to the former employee.[6]
References
- "A Unique Pizza Company". Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
- "2014 Golden Plate Awards". Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on 2015-01-10. Retrieved 2014-12-31.
- "2015 Golden Plate Awards". Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
- "2016 Ernst & Young Awards". BCBusiness. Archived from the original on 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
- "Freshslice Pizza fined $44,000 for illegal workers". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- "FreshSlice Pizza owner had affair with employee before she was fired, judge rules", Metro Vancouver, archived from the original on 2015-08-22, retrieved 2014-10-14
