Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Supper
Sleep
White Spot has a passion for using the freshest and finest ingredients, whether it be breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a late night snack. And it all began with a hustling visionary named Nat Bailey, who started what is arguably, the oldest successful restaurant chain in North America.
It all started with a man and his truck. The man was Nat Bailey, his truck was a 1918 Model T, which he transformed into a traveling lunch counter to serve hungry sightseers at Vancouver’s Lookout Point.
One day a customer leaned out his car window and asked, “Why don’t you bring it to us?” So Nat did. He hired three energetic young men to take orders from his customers. Because these servers “hopped to it” they became known as carhops.
Nat’s energy and his passion for service set the stage for the first White Spot drive-in, which he opened in 1928 on Granville Street at 67th Avenue in Vancouver.
By the late 1930s, everyone in Vancouver recognized Nat and his trademark bow-tie. On any given night at White Spot, a celebrity might be dining, an anniversary party might be in full swing, or a young couple might be enjoying their first date.
When Canada entered World War II, girl hops replaced enlisted men at the drive-in. And since no meat could be served on Tuesdays or Fridays, Nat added chicken, cheese and fish dishes to the White Spot menu.
10,000 cars a day. 110,000 guests a week. And that was way back in 1955. White Spot was a quarter of a century old and growing fast. In the spirit of this quick pace, White Spot opened one of the largest commissaries in Western Canada.
In the sixties, the Triple “O” burger was bigger than big among British Columbian teenagers. A White Spot drive-in was the “in” place to congregate: kids crammed into their parents’ cars for an evening cruise to the Spot. Now comprised of 10 locations, White Spot also got a facelift. Out went the original logo. In came an updated design.
During Expo ’86, White Spot was the host restaurant at the BC Pavilion. It opened two concepts, one of which hosted visiting dignitaries such as Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the other served guests from around the world.
White Spot expands into Alberta and the chicken doesn’t survive the logo re-design. The launch of the new identity provided a fresh new look on the outside. Granville Island begins brewing beer exclusively for White Spot – the Nat Bailey Pale Ale and Lager. To go with the new brew White Spot introduced lounges offering guests a more social setting with a variety of alcohol offerings that appeal to a younger target market.
