2019 Winner
Wise 50 Over 50 Award™
Tom O’Neill – Quesada Franchising of Canada Corp.
www.quesada.ca
Tom has been in the franchise restaurant industry since 1986. Prior to partnering with Steve Gill and Greg Gill in Quesada, Tom was VP Franchising Canada for Quiznos Canada Restaurant Corp where he was responsible for franchise sales for Canada. Tom also operated his own franchise consulting business from 2001-2004, and between 1986 and 2000, was a Development Agent for Subway Canada during which time he owned three Subway franchised restaurants.
In 2008, Tom partnered with Steve Gill (founder) and Greg Gill (COO) to form Quesada Franchising of Canada Corp. which has grown to over 125 restaurants in Canada with more than 20 currently in development.
Tom notes, “I was 60 when I started this business with Steve and Greg.
I was fascinated by the product and thought it had the potential to be a national chain, and that was a challenge I couldn’t resist.
Tom also notes that “as soon as we could, we started donating to charitable groups” including the Boys and Girls Clubs, Fort McMurray/Red Cross, annual donations to We Day (Free the Children), and our most recent addition, Quesada has become the first Canadian restaurant chain to join 1% for the Planet when we launched the country’s only ‘Beyond Meat® Burrito That Gives Back’ donating 1% of annual Beyond Burrito sales to support environmental non-profit partners focused on issues such as sustainable food systems and climate change. We model giving back to our franchisees, and they are often engaged with their local charities and community events.