‘Where’s the meats?’ Arby’s Army braves rain to invade Oshawa
Published March 11, 2024 at 7:57 pm
A little rain didn’t stop the Arby’s Army, with more than 200 people on hand at the north-end Oshawa location in a bid to pressure the fast-food chain to open a restaurant in Toronto and as a fundraiser for Nellie’s Shelter.
“Oshawa has been conquered,” was the jubilant message from organizer John Tard, who said the event at the Ritson and Taunton road restaurant raised more than $1,200 for the Toronto shelter, which has been providing education, advocacy and shelter for women and children in the GTA since 1973.
“The Arby’s Army was relentless even though it rained like hell on us,” said Tard. “People came and went but we did hit 200 people.”
The local franchisee added $300 to the cause, Tard added.
As Arby’s Army member Dawna Rae Hicks said, “The Arby’s Army event was awesome and we ate all the meats.”
Nearly 500 people responded to the event’s Facebook page, with a goal of bringing the roast beef sandwich chain back to Canada’s biggest city.
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“Arby’s won’t give Toronto a location so we are taking the Arby’s Army to them,” said the ‘Arby’s Army’ group in a post on Facebook. “The last time we invaded their Burlington location but this time it’s Oshawa!”
Toronto has had Arby’s locations before but all have closed over the years, leaving fans in Canada’s biggest city questioning the sincerity of the company’s slogan, “We have the meats!”
Arby’s was founded in Ohio in 1964 (their signature roast beef sandwich has been prepared and marinated the same way since 1971) and now has 3,400 locations, including 56 in Canada.
