Celebrity-backed restaurants are gaining traction in Canada, according to JLL.

The company’s latest Celebrity Restaurants Report shows that Toronto has emerged as a top destination for celebrity restaurants in North America. Toronto, with 18, ranked sixth in North America among celebrity-backed restaurant openings between 2019 and 2024.

A total of 361 celebrity-backed restaurants opened across North America during that period. Toronto tied with Chicago and placed well ahead ahead of New York, Dallas, Miami, Washington, D.C.; and Kansas City, which posted nine openings apiece. The list includes cities in which five or more celebrity-supported eateries launched.

Celebrities are backing the restaurants through a combination of full or partial ownership, or licensing, management and branding agreements, says the JLL report.

In Canada, celebrity chefs, athletes, and musicians were involved in more than 80% of the celebrity restaurants that have opened, a JLL spokeswoman told Connect. These restaurants are located primarily in retail and office properties, along with shopping centres.

Celebrities’ preferred restaurant concepts are fast-casual and full-service dining that serve basic popular dishes such as pizza, burgers and chicken.

Chef Matty Matheson, National Basketball Association superstar LeBron James, and Canadian musician Drake are responsible for a significant portion of the celebrity restaurant openings in Canada over the past five years, according to the JLL spokeswoman.

Recently, Canadian entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary has partnered with Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner and restaurant developer Nick Di Donato to open the full-service Blue Bovine Steak and Sushi House in downtown Toronto’s Union Station. Meanwhile, Gordon Ramsay Steak, backed by the famed ornery British chef of the same name, is slated to open this year in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, B.C.

Another Vancouver suburb, Coquitlam, B.C., is the home of a Gordon Ramsay Burger restaurant. In both Richmond and Coquitlam, Ramsay partnered with casino operator Great Canadian Entertainment.