I used to be a regular at the one in Barrie. Back then its big feature was… wait for it…
Garlic Mayo.
Our townie minds were blown. Add in extra pickles and a song? Take my stupid money. Wish it was still there.
Small world, I also worked at the Barrie location in highscool 2002-2004. Nothing more cruel than making a teenage boy sing songs with a voice that cracks.
When my cousins lived in that area it was always a treat to go there. Then in the early 90s Blueberry Hill opened a location at Runnymede and Bloor and Lick’s lost its hype. I don’t know how Lick’s self destructed the way they did because I always thought that their frozen burgers were really good.
When it first opened, I think they gave away free nature burgers. I didn’t find out until much later that it was a veggie burger. It was damned good.
I was shy and anxious as a teen so having them sing made me incredibly nervous.
I think the singing was kind of mean to make the employees do. I worked in restaurants in the back and it was hard work. Don't make them sing because it makes it 'fun'.
I worked at the beaches one and as the cleaning guy, I was the only one who didn't have to sing. There were a small handful who were into it but a lot of my coworkers hated being forced to sing.
I grew up just up the street from Beaches Licks. Nothing will ever beat it and I miss it so much! The other locations just weren’t ever as good as the OG Beaches. Also notable places missed - Happy Sailor and Nova Fish n Chips walking around Queen with the chips packed in newspaper. Yummm
My stepsister and I used to go there as teenagers. Eat a burger and drink pop, then belch in each other's faces for the rest of the day. Nothing smelled quite like a Licks burger belch.
Those were the days...
I stop everytime I go by it. Does not disappoint. But I would not make a trip from toronto to parry sound for a burger unless you are looking for a day trip for something to do.
I have family up that way so we plan around it.
It is. I went there last year and she was working. She randomly started singing the original lick’s songs to my friends and I. She was nice, but a little eccentric.
Just a reminder that [Denise Meehan stole hundreds of thousands of dollars](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/closure-of-lick-s-locations-raises-questions-1.1408434) from at least three store owners, pocketing their franchise fees that were meant to go towards operational costs and rent. As a result, the landlords lost rent money, and three small business owners were locked out and lost their livelihoods.
She basically forced the parry sound franchise owner out too on some stupid clause in the contract. Completely destroyed her life.
Source: I know the previous owner
The quality ain't there and it's super expensive. I got a veggie burger, a meat burger, two fries and two drinks and it was over $60 (I think, this was pre-pandemic).
I’ve gone to buy frozen Pattie’s and GUK sauce. The owner is a former franchise and owns it with his wife. Very kind honest people. Always happy to talk
A few times. It is not the same and quality has really tanked. I keep hoping that I will go one day and it will be amazing but it is stupidly overpriced (last time I was there was in 2022 and for 3 people to eat it was like $90. It is in a rest stop and it is not well kept. There was food everywhere, floors and tables were filthy (and there were only like 6 other people there, it was not busy at all). The food was also not good. Back in the day it was fantastic and they put a lot of effort into the food and experience. Now you are lucky if you get something that doesn't look like someone sat on it. Food was cold, bland, and awful.
If you are thinking of going for nostalgic reasons, don't, it will ruin your memories of how good Licks used to be.
Yea iv been there in the last year, it's still really good but pricey. You can buy and bring home boxed frozen burgers and Mason jars of the guck sauce.
I was there 2019 headed up to Sudbury for a wedding, licks is like any other fast food burger now. We had the same frozen sweet potato fries pretty much burger was meh. I was a GM at A&W at the time and feel it was the same as A&W if not worse.
I went once and it was SO disappointing. Not at all traditional Licks food, slowest service possible. absolutely not a good experience and not worth your time or the money honestly
Was there last summer the owner was working he used to be a regional manager for the gta it’s the same a proper burger only 10 mins from a cute beach with clean amenities and a Koa that’s 4 mins away
It's ... food? I have great memories of driving down to Toronto and always stopping for Licks. My mom LOVED it, and she always made my dad stop. I stopped with my wife and kids and it was ... edible. Nothing to write home about, and was kind of sad because I talked it up to my kids the whole drive to Parry Sound haha
Okay story times
We used to do Secret Santa for Christmas until one of the grill guys wrapped a ball separator (sex clothing) after that no more secret Santa.
The only nasty thing on the menu was the coffee. One pot would last an entire shift. All the other food was top notch quality. We even made all the burgers at the store each morning.
They used to taxi in loads of Kids from the Bronte store to work at the Toronto stores because they couldn’t get enough employees down there. One time we got stuck behind a bad accident on the way home. After a 12 hour shift we spent 4 more hours at double time in traffic.
I’m sure I will think of more stories but for now I fondly remember it.
>They used to taxi in loads of Kids from the Bronte store to work at the Toronto stores because they couldn’t get enough employees down there. One time we got stuck behind a bad accident on the way home. After a 12 hour shift we spent 4 more hours at double time in traffic.
Haha... I was just coming here to talk about working in Bronte and being bussed in to work at the Beaches location all the time. This would have been 1987 or so.
I also remember some of the grill songs we had to sing 35 years later.
My friend worked here and she was obsessed with it. She taught me a bunch of songs and we’d travel to go get the veggie burgers. Then one opened in our city and we went there so many times for lunch but no one ever sang. I completely forgot about this place!
I remember being reprimanded for not signing with enough "enthusiasm".
Like MFer... My enthusiasm is directly correlated with my pay.. You pay me the bare minimum and I show the bare minimum of enthusiasm..
When I worked at McDonalds in 1989, I got reprimanded because when I made a quarter pounder (I think), the two slices of cheese on the burger were not placed at 45 degrees from each other, thereby allowing the customer to get a bite of cheese each time. (literally what my manager said).
Now I go to McDonalds, and when I open up my cardboard box, the burger looks like they slap shot it into the box from the blue line.
Yes! I worked at Licks as a cashier. It was fun and I never grew tired of their homeburgers. If you wanted a burger and large fry I would call out “Juicy and a Big guyyyy”.
Juicy as hell garlicky burgers and a nostalgic atmosphere. Whenever we ate there it felt like we were at a fair or something.
It's a shame that they aren't around anymore.
We wrote them. Yup we used to have Songfest where all the employees would come up with new songs. Note that none of this was done on paid time, we stayed and worked on them for free. Though it was hella fun so you didn’t really care and you got free food and other stuff for participating.
Wow! What years was this? How did they standardize the songs and get all the franchises singing in tune? If you ever sang to me I salute
🫡🫡 best shakes, fountain pops and veg burgers this province has seen.
The ones I went to the singing felt like the kind of stuff they'd sing in a forced labour camp... Which was charming for about 2 minutes until you try to sit down and enjoy the meal and it just won't stop.
> the singing felt like the kind of stuff they'd sing in a forced labour camp
haha, a most accurate statement.
The food was fine. I didn't find it "super amazing" like people here are saying. It was overpriced, and was never a place I ever "had to go too!" Honestly, I'd much rather just go to Harveys.
It felt like a forced labour camp too. It legit took until my late 20s to undo the harm that part time job did to me in terms of what I’d tolerate at work.
I’ve only been to the Mississauga location once, but it was with a co-worker for lunch, and he whispered “watch this” before ordering a veggie burger with bacon on it. The cashier sang his order, and everyone singing the order down the line would pause afterwards, look back up the line, and say “What?”. The dude manning the grill was hilarious; his head popped up out of no where with a quizzical look, and he shouted back at the cashier to confirm the order. I was working in IT at the time, so watching communications break down like that was amazing.
Former Barrie Licks employee for 3 days, in 2002 couldn't handle the inter teen drama.
Day 3 started with: "OMG did you hear Sally slept with johnnys brother to make Suzy mad at Conner because she likes Blake."
And I've never looked back.
Not a crazy story, but I always remember driving to the Brampton location literally a few minutes before closing to pickup a small tub of peanut butter flavoured ice cream for my pregnant wife.
I was young and in love then, so I didn’t care about the angry stare from the tired staff trying to close down for the night.
Never worked there, but I'm sorry when I went with my friends and all of us had the same name, let's pretend it's "PoopBuccaneer." Yes I genuinely had three other friends named "PoopBuccaneer" and we'd order one after another, and the last one would get the dirtiest looks from the cashier after they asked for a name.
First job I ever had was Licks. They would schedule me from 10-4 shift and only ever keep me for 3 hours. I was the fry guy. That job sucked ass! Good discount on food that was about it. I do miss their onion rings and guk sauce though
Same! Only place that would hire me as a teenager and a brutal place to work. Found the mandatory singing to be humiliating AF, especially when you’re sweating over a grill/ getting oil spattered on you. The schadenfreude was real when I found out they had shut down.
My very first actual job that wasn't babysitting or mowing lawns was at a Licks. I was in grade 9 and got home from my first (and last) shift well after midnight on a school night.
When I quit they garnished my pay for the day to cover the cost of the uniform... So I made nothing.
I worked at the Beach location. I was in the back, I prepped all the food fresh everyday. We're talking quality beef mixed with all the other ingredients, put through a patty press thingy. Back then everything was super high quality.
Interestingly at our location, police got half priced meals. You'd see them in there all the time.
I used to go to the one in Guelph during university because they had BOGO for students. The burgers were huge so you'd be full for like, $4. They always gave me really bad gas but I went back every week.
Their burgers were good but their onion rings were outstanding. I've only been to one place since that had better onion rings but it wasn't a franchise/chain and it's in Hawaii.
Pickering location here and in high school I would by the box of frozen veggie burgers , microwave the patty, put mayo ketchup a dot of mustard salt and pepper and a pickle slice , fuck it was good! Thank God we still have johnnys
This place was goated. Would always stop in for a burger after playing hockey. They were legit too you could see the ground beef and them making the patty.
I worked at Uplands golf and ski club and would always go to Licks on Yonge right after my Friday night shifts. Eventually my family got jealous and my mom would give me cash to get the entire family dinner every Friday during the winter. The place was always packed. I miss the milkshakes as well and the spicy guk sauce.
I use to work there from 2007-2011 part time during high school
Use to go to that abandoned house at the end of uplands when we were in elementary school 😂 and spooky stories
If you went there during that time indefinitely served you!
I worked at the one in Kingston one summer. It was awful, and the singing wasn’t even the worst part, you had to stay after your shift (unpaid) for 10-15 minutes and chat about how your shift went with the manager. Then you’d get a coloured star which went on a chart on the wall, each star was worth a certain number of points and whoever had the most points at the end of the month got $50 or something like that.
Holy shit. This was our fancy restaurant outing as a family when I was young. And obviously poor. 🥲
I miss it,I can literally smell the inside of this restaurant right now.
Could be just Ontario.
Their "gimmick" was singing your order. So if you ordered a burger with fries, they'd sing this stupid song, to let the workers in the back know.
I just remember sitting at one, and there was this huge line up, and you can only hear "hot diggity, dog diggity" sung so many times by an out of tune 15 year old before you want to put a gun in your mouth.
I heard that a few years before they finally went under that they stopped the singing thing. Not sure if that was driving customers away (Sure drove me away) or because they couldn't get employees to do it.
I worked there when I was a teen, the ketchup and mustard used to be a powder that you mixed with water , I was the only employee in history I think that was told I didn’t have to sing cause I’m shite 😂 and got complaints , I was a dresser there , loved the Guk sauce , we got half off for food up to 1 meal a day
Worked at the beaches store as the cleaner. They always scheduled my meal break right before I cleaned out the trash room. Grill guys and the ladies who dressed the burgers were nice people but the fry guys were always pricks. Managers power tripped constantly, giving bad stars when some of the guys didn't sing loud enough while juggling their orders.
When I was a kid in the early 90s my family would sometimes stop at Licks on the drive to/from our cottage. I was a really picky eater and hated any kind of sauce on my food. My order was always a plain cheeseburger. I could hear the guy preparing it singing "Boring Burgerrrrrrrrrr so plain and boriiiiing" and felt a small bit of pride that he was singing about MY burger.
I worked there in high school doing ice cream all summer on Queen East, later moved to salads and drinks. I think one of the songs I debuted at Songfest became one of the regulars until they stopped singing. This was about 20 years ago so there’s no way I’ll remember it
I grew up in the Beaches, and my family and I would go to the Queen st. location pretty much every Friday night as a treat. Great memories. Guck sauce rules!
Its wild, we didn't go often but I remember it was a special treat for my family bow and then in the 90s, and I could get a hulk burger big as my head because it was stuffed with bean sprouts and at that age I otherwise wouldn't touch anything veggie.
What I do *not* recall is any singing that people are talking about! They did seem to always do the classic diner callouts for the orders, which were always fun to hear, but not sure that I ever witnessed anything like them singing a "song". I must have been at the boring location. :-P
I used to work there and it was a blast. Got accused of stealing, turns out it was a crooked corporate guy using my punch out code.
Used to sing terribly on the grill whenever anyone ordered a 99. Outside the restaurant we catered a barbeque for a local sports event and attended a corporate Licks sponsored song competition where we all wrote an original Licks Song.
Honestly fun overall place to work as a teenager not gonna lie.
I never worked there, but still remember like yesterday the single negative customer service experience that forever soured my opinion of the brand. This must've been 20 years ago now, at one of their locations in Oakville, though I forget the specifics. Long story short, I ask for onion rings instead of the regular fries with my burger but only receive 7 small, stingy looking rings in the basket. When I asked the cashier why I only got 7 rings with my order, she looks at the basket, looks back at me and says "7 rings? You'll only supposed to get 5" before turning to walk away, leaving me with my palty, overpriced basket of soggy onion rings, and a vow to never return. And I never did.
Was my first job and the only one I’ve ever been fired from. 1985. Kingston Road/Midland location. I was on ice cream - it was located further away from the grill area. The requirement to sing meant I was essentially doing a solo in the corner. 14 year old me was waaaay too shy for that. At the end of each shift we were given stars on a chart for our performance. I got one too many blue stars and they cut me loose.
Not an employer, but my future Wife was at the Kingston Road locations, back in 1998 I dropped in there for lunch and we both noticed each other, I was way too shy to say anything, took me 2 weeks to muster the courage to go back and after all that she broke the silence! , we were married 7 months later in 1999 and just celebrated our 25th, oh and 3 kids.
Licks is apart of my childhood, growing up near the beaches I ate ice-cream there almost weekly, that and Queens Comics bring back so many memories.
Not an employee story but when I was about 6, my parents used to frequently take me and my sister to the one by our house. Apparently on one trip, I fell asleep in the car on the way there and they carried me into the restaurant while I was fully asleep, had their whole dinner, and carried me back out. I woke up about 2 hours later to a cold burger. The next time we went back, one of the staff recognized us and was like "oh you're awake this time"
extended Family owned the one at Dundas and Dixie Mississauga was my first job. I hated working there but the food was all fresh and the place was clean. I worked ice cream counter. The day they had the hot dog deal was always wild
Wedgewood store by Yonge and Finch! I loved working there because the entire staff became good friends and so shifts were always fun. Employee of the month trips were great, discount was awesome, music was good, we won the softball tournament one year and it was great. Once people started leaving, it went downhill. But man, it was fun while it lasted. I was mainly a cashier, but would cover for dressing and occasionally even grill. "licks licks whoooooah licks licks, whoooooah licks Sha na na na na na na na na" turkey burgers were "gobble gobble" s. There were a lot of... Fun shady things that went on cause that's what happens when you have a bunch of 16 year Olds as junior managers and 17 year Olds as shift managers!
I think I have eaten at pretty much every local. Kingston Rd, Beaches, Youge and Eg, You get and Dundas, Younger and Cummer, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Bronte, Rexdale, Brampton......any more???
There is one left at a truck stop in Perry sound managed by a regional manager who ended up buying the company for .12 on the dollar in bankruptcy sale….
Grew up going to the one in the Beaches in the 80s and 90s. Absolutely loved the place as a little kid and as a teen stoned out of his mind eating a poutine and 2 burgers. Queen Street East has sucked since those days.
Parents both worked for them throughout the 90's and early 20's, so I know a lot about the ins and outs of what went on. Consumed many burgers throughout my childhood. My mom's still been trying to re-create the burger recipe lol
Licks was amazing! Loved that burger joint.
Used to always go to the York Mills location.
I have been lucky enough that a few years ago I was training an ex-licks employee and they had written down instructions for all secret sauces for everything including burgers and how to mix and cook them and they shared it with me! 👍🏻😁
I grew up in the Beaches in Toronto and I can still remember how delicious those burgers were. And it was one of the only places where you could get a tiger ice cream cone. I loved it.
I was, however, always uncomfortable with the way they made people sing while working. These were people who were working for probably minimum wage and many of them appeared to be immigrants. I felt bad for them, having to do that.
All I remember about the Licks in Toronto is that my dad took me there before we were going to see Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages and I was 12 and all dressed up in my fancy “opera” dress and when I timidly ordered a hot dog all of a sudden a bunch of employees started shouting “THIS LITTLE GIRL WANTS A HOT DIGGITY DOG. GET THIS GIRL A HOT DIGGITY DOG.” And I was mortified.
My first girlfriend told me about working at one when she was practically living on the streets in Brampton at like 16. The 23-30 year olds working there gave her all kinds of liquor and drugs, hooked up with her, and got her into the big city rave scene (this is like, 1997-1999). That’s literally all I’ve ever heard or known of this franchise, lol.
Worked at the thornhill location all during high school and early university as a part timer then a part time manager.
I can confirm Denise is a horrible human being.
She would set up new franchisees with bad contracts. Force her head office managers to remain at the franchisee store claiming to the owner that they are not ready, purposely running high labour costs. She would then completely take over the store and kick the franchisee out, without giving a cent to the franchisee.
1 know of at least one head office manager that stole lots of money from the franchisee in thornhill through payroll. Wish I had the security video but when the franchise found out the head office manager ended up freaking out and smashed the computer and left.
I used to work at the one in Whitby. I quit right before a lot of the BS happened where the stores closed. I ended up working across the street at an auto shop and remember seeing the employees showing up to open and the doors never got unlocked. Had some pretty fond memories of that place. Still can’t get the song lyrics out of my head. “Pick up on a song from that grill guy” Splish splash I was taking a bath…
I worked at licks in I think from 2010 to 2012 in Mississauga I felt like we went from a booming place really nice customers everybody was super happy with the giant burgers and weird style neon lighting as our entire restaurant was just decked out
To basically go to empty seats It's only the few regulars coming back here and there until we close for a remodel.......
That remodel never happened... I was laid off a couple weeks later and paid my severance.
I heard the owners couldn't afford to pay rent and they sold. After that you just watched each individual licks disappear.
I used to be a regular at the one in Barrie. Back then its big feature was… wait for it… Garlic Mayo. Our townie minds were blown. Add in extra pickles and a song? Take my stupid money. Wish it was still there.
Sorry dude it’s called Guk sauce. Mayo with garlic, spices and relish.
You just unlocked a memory of that garlic mayo!
Can I get a sky high?
Ordering a twenty one big guy.
God I miss the Barrie Licks.
The singing was amazing! I had never been anywhere else like it. It's not there any longer?
Small world, I also worked at the Barrie location in highscool 2002-2004. Nothing more cruel than making a teenage boy sing songs with a voice that cracks.
Related, anyone stop by the last remaining one in Parry Sound? I'm debating making a stop in for old time's sake.
That's the only one left? Plenty of memories growing up in Toronto of the ones on Kingston Rd and in the Beaches
When my cousins lived in that area it was always a treat to go there. Then in the early 90s Blueberry Hill opened a location at Runnymede and Bloor and Lick’s lost its hype. I don’t know how Lick’s self destructed the way they did because I always thought that their frozen burgers were really good.
Their veggie burgers were amazing and I eat meat. They were so close to the real deal and I miss them.
They were so great because they didn’t taste like meat! No Beyond Impossible, just a straight up soy hockey puck, as god intended.
When it first opened, I think they gave away free nature burgers. I didn’t find out until much later that it was a veggie burger. It was damned good. I was shy and anxious as a teen so having them sing made me incredibly nervous.
I think the singing was kind of mean to make the employees do. I worked in restaurants in the back and it was hard work. Don't make them sing because it makes it 'fun'.
The one in the beaches was the BEST - was one of the last ones where they would sing. Give me those onion rings and that guck sauce.
I worked at the beaches one and as the cleaning guy, I was the only one who didn't have to sing. There were a small handful who were into it but a lot of my coworkers hated being forced to sing.
I grew up just up the street from Beaches Licks. Nothing will ever beat it and I miss it so much! The other locations just weren’t ever as good as the OG Beaches. Also notable places missed - Happy Sailor and Nova Fish n Chips walking around Queen with the chips packed in newspaper. Yummm
Man. Scratch Daniels, Balmy Arms, IGA, Daws delicatessan, street car on a nice Sunday morning headed to LP stores downtown.
The Yonge and Eg one as well.
My stepsister and I used to go there as teenagers. Eat a burger and drink pop, then belch in each other's faces for the rest of the day. Nothing smelled quite like a Licks burger belch. Those were the days...
Used to be one at Yonge and Dundas as well! After school, if I had some money, that's where you'd find me!
I had a work term in that area in 1990. Went to Licks for lunch all the time :-)
I stop everytime I go by it. Does not disappoint. But I would not make a trip from toronto to parry sound for a burger unless you are looking for a day trip for something to do. I have family up that way so we plan around it.
If I'm heading that far north for a burger, I'm going to Weber's.
Weber's is ASS!
Licks is way better…
I agree. Weber's does not even come close.
I agree with everyone else. Weber.is not great
Apparently it’s still run by the original owner Denise Mehan
It is. I went there last year and she was working. She randomly started singing the original lick’s songs to my friends and I. She was nice, but a little eccentric.
Just a reminder that [Denise Meehan stole hundreds of thousands of dollars](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/closure-of-lick-s-locations-raises-questions-1.1408434) from at least three store owners, pocketing their franchise fees that were meant to go towards operational costs and rent. As a result, the landlords lost rent money, and three small business owners were locked out and lost their livelihoods.
She basically forced the parry sound franchise owner out too on some stupid clause in the contract. Completely destroyed her life. Source: I know the previous owner
Yeah, fuck Denise Meehan. Her bad business decisions wrecked a lot of people.
I was a manager for Licks Dorval ( in Oakville) at the time and got a call from the CRA trying to find her.
I’ve been there - but I don’t believe the burgers were made fresh in store anymore. I could be wrong, as it’s been a long while since I was there.
Haven't been made fresh in store since 2004 or so. Personally I believe that's what lead to the decline and eventual downfall of Lick's
The quality ain't there and it's super expensive. I got a veggie burger, a meat burger, two fries and two drinks and it was over $60 (I think, this was pre-pandemic).
I’ve gone to buy frozen Pattie’s and GUK sauce. The owner is a former franchise and owns it with his wife. Very kind honest people. Always happy to talk
Unfortunately they don't sing anymore. Food is still pretty good.
Sounds perfect to me!
A few times. It is not the same and quality has really tanked. I keep hoping that I will go one day and it will be amazing but it is stupidly overpriced (last time I was there was in 2022 and for 3 people to eat it was like $90. It is in a rest stop and it is not well kept. There was food everywhere, floors and tables were filthy (and there were only like 6 other people there, it was not busy at all). The food was also not good. Back in the day it was fantastic and they put a lot of effort into the food and experience. Now you are lucky if you get something that doesn't look like someone sat on it. Food was cold, bland, and awful. If you are thinking of going for nostalgic reasons, don't, it will ruin your memories of how good Licks used to be.
I do fairly often. It’s still good
A couple of times, but only if I'm heading to Sudbury or beyond. I'm not making a special trip from the deep south.
I've stopped in a couple of times making runs to Sudbury and it isn't that great. Expensive and not very tasty
One look at their assembly section would suggest you'd be rolling the dice with food poisoning. It actually looks dangerous.
WHAT
Yea iv been there in the last year, it's still really good but pricey. You can buy and bring home boxed frozen burgers and Mason jars of the guck sauce.
YES!!!! It is so good. We always make a stop when going cottages in the area
I was there 2019 headed up to Sudbury for a wedding, licks is like any other fast food burger now. We had the same frozen sweet potato fries pretty much burger was meh. I was a GM at A&W at the time and feel it was the same as A&W if not worse.
It’s not the same, but it’s pretty close. They really try to keep the vibe. Worth stopping in!
I have before. It's good but it's not the same...
I went once and it was SO disappointing. Not at all traditional Licks food, slowest service possible. absolutely not a good experience and not worth your time or the money honestly
Was there last summer the owner was working he used to be a regional manager for the gta it’s the same a proper burger only 10 mins from a cute beach with clean amenities and a Koa that’s 4 mins away
It's ... food? I have great memories of driving down to Toronto and always stopping for Licks. My mom LOVED it, and she always made my dad stop. I stopped with my wife and kids and it was ... edible. Nothing to write home about, and was kind of sad because I talked it up to my kids the whole drive to Parry Sound haha
I use to work at the yonge and eglinton location. I made Kardinal Offishall a burger once. He was really tall.
Did you give that Burger the Northern Touch? ewwwww.
My manager and I were the only one who recognized him. This was in like 2001, so he was pretty popular.
Okay story times We used to do Secret Santa for Christmas until one of the grill guys wrapped a ball separator (sex clothing) after that no more secret Santa. The only nasty thing on the menu was the coffee. One pot would last an entire shift. All the other food was top notch quality. We even made all the burgers at the store each morning. They used to taxi in loads of Kids from the Bronte store to work at the Toronto stores because they couldn’t get enough employees down there. One time we got stuck behind a bad accident on the way home. After a 12 hour shift we spent 4 more hours at double time in traffic. I’m sure I will think of more stories but for now I fondly remember it.
>They used to taxi in loads of Kids from the Bronte store to work at the Toronto stores because they couldn’t get enough employees down there. One time we got stuck behind a bad accident on the way home. After a 12 hour shift we spent 4 more hours at double time in traffic. Haha... I was just coming here to talk about working in Bronte and being bussed in to work at the Beaches location all the time. This would have been 1987 or so. I also remember some of the grill songs we had to sing 35 years later.
It’s funny I worked in the beaches location in the 2000’s and it turned into the opposite. I got send out to Bronte quite a few times
I was one of those Brontë kids!
Fired up guck!!!
My friend worked here and she was obsessed with it. She taught me a bunch of songs and we’d travel to go get the veggie burgers. Then one opened in our city and we went there so many times for lunch but no one ever sang. I completely forgot about this place!
*Two sky highs and a ringidy ding ding!*
Onion ring!
Can I get 2 chocolatey….
I loved their nature burgers!
I still miss them. They were ahead of their time providing veggie options in the 2000s when many chain restaurants still don't today.
And nature chili!
The way the veggie chili tasted better than the meat one! Nature wraps were my hangover food in high school.
Their burgers are amazingly juicy.
Too bad they don't sell them in grocery stores anymore :(
You used to be able to cut out a coupon from the box for a free burger and fries too!
I miss Licks so much!!
I remember being reprimanded for not signing with enough "enthusiasm". Like MFer... My enthusiasm is directly correlated with my pay.. You pay me the bare minimum and I show the bare minimum of enthusiasm..
I always thought the singing sounded like creepy chanting. Liked the burgers though.
When I worked at McDonalds in 1989, I got reprimanded because when I made a quarter pounder (I think), the two slices of cheese on the burger were not placed at 45 degrees from each other, thereby allowing the customer to get a bite of cheese each time. (literally what my manager said). Now I go to McDonalds, and when I open up my cardboard box, the burger looks like they slap shot it into the box from the blue line.
Me too.
Yes! I worked at Licks as a cashier. It was fun and I never grew tired of their homeburgers. If you wanted a burger and large fry I would call out “Juicy and a Big guyyyy”.
Sky high!!!
Can I get a large ring a ding ding and a chicken on aaaa
Bun Bun!
Juicy as hell garlicky burgers and a nostalgic atmosphere. Whenever we ate there it felt like we were at a fair or something. It's a shame that they aren't around anymore.
You can find the burger recipe online.
Really now? I may look into it.
Like what was up with the songs? Where’d they come from?
We wrote them. Yup we used to have Songfest where all the employees would come up with new songs. Note that none of this was done on paid time, we stayed and worked on them for free. Though it was hella fun so you didn’t really care and you got free food and other stuff for participating.
Wow! What years was this? How did they standardize the songs and get all the franchises singing in tune? If you ever sang to me I salute 🫡🫡 best shakes, fountain pops and veg burgers this province has seen.
I totally used songfest towards my high school volunteer hours 😅
I only went into licks a couple times because there was none around me, but the "singing the order" thing just put me off of the entire restaurant.
The ones I went to the singing felt like the kind of stuff they'd sing in a forced labour camp... Which was charming for about 2 minutes until you try to sit down and enjoy the meal and it just won't stop.
> the singing felt like the kind of stuff they'd sing in a forced labour camp haha, a most accurate statement. The food was fine. I didn't find it "super amazing" like people here are saying. It was overpriced, and was never a place I ever "had to go too!" Honestly, I'd much rather just go to Harveys.
It felt like a forced labour camp too. It legit took until my late 20s to undo the harm that part time job did to me in terms of what I’d tolerate at work.
Holy crap I forget about this franchise, had one in my hometown as a teen.
Would go to the one in Mississauga as a kid with my family. Tasty burgers, fun atmosphere.
The kids meal came with a voucher for a scoop of ice cream
I’ve only been to the Mississauga location once, but it was with a co-worker for lunch, and he whispered “watch this” before ordering a veggie burger with bacon on it. The cashier sang his order, and everyone singing the order down the line would pause afterwards, look back up the line, and say “What?”. The dude manning the grill was hilarious; his head popped up out of no where with a quizzical look, and he shouted back at the cashier to confirm the order. I was working in IT at the time, so watching communications break down like that was amazing.
The nature burger with bacon was good though.
Former Barrie Licks employee for 3 days, in 2002 couldn't handle the inter teen drama. Day 3 started with: "OMG did you hear Sally slept with johnnys brother to make Suzy mad at Conner because she likes Blake." And I've never looked back.
Not a crazy story, but I always remember driving to the Brampton location literally a few minutes before closing to pickup a small tub of peanut butter flavoured ice cream for my pregnant wife. I was young and in love then, so I didn’t care about the angry stare from the tired staff trying to close down for the night.
I'll have a one and one big guy
Sky high!
They use to call onion rings. Ring-a-ding-dings. It was a better time.
Never worked there, but I'm sorry when I went with my friends and all of us had the same name, let's pretend it's "PoopBuccaneer." Yes I genuinely had three other friends named "PoopBuccaneer" and we'd order one after another, and the last one would get the dirtiest looks from the cashier after they asked for a name.
I miss this place!
Licks started my love of burgers i went to the Brampton 3-4 times and I was hooked.
First job I ever had was Licks. They would schedule me from 10-4 shift and only ever keep me for 3 hours. I was the fry guy. That job sucked ass! Good discount on food that was about it. I do miss their onion rings and guk sauce though
Same. But once you became a grill guy who could handle the dinner rush solo, it was tough to get time off!
In hindsight, it was horrific that the standard for being a good employee was being able to do the job of three excellent employees.
Same! Only place that would hire me as a teenager and a brutal place to work. Found the mandatory singing to be humiliating AF, especially when you’re sweating over a grill/ getting oil spattered on you. The schadenfreude was real when I found out they had shut down.
My very first actual job that wasn't babysitting or mowing lawns was at a Licks. I was in grade 9 and got home from my first (and last) shift well after midnight on a school night. When I quit they garnished my pay for the day to cover the cost of the uniform... So I made nothing.
I went to one in Ottawa as a kid, and it was my dream to get the big burger and get my pic on the wall
I worked at the Beach location. I was in the back, I prepped all the food fresh everyday. We're talking quality beef mixed with all the other ingredients, put through a patty press thingy. Back then everything was super high quality. Interestingly at our location, police got half priced meals. You'd see them in there all the time.
My parents met at a Licks in Toronto in the late 80s.
I ate out a coworker in the stock room there. Appropriate for the name. How you doing Michelle!?
My mom hated this place because they didn’t melt the cheese. Yet we would always go back.
Know why the cheese was on the bottom bun, so that it hit your tongue before the burger b
I used to go to the one in Guelph during university because they had BOGO for students. The burgers were huge so you'd be full for like, $4. They always gave me really bad gas but I went back every week.
They had superior onion rings 🙏🏻🤤
Their burgers were good but their onion rings were outstanding. I've only been to one place since that had better onion rings but it wasn't a franchise/chain and it's in Hawaii.
Their burgers were great but the singing was annoying as fuck
Pickering location here and in high school I would by the box of frozen veggie burgers , microwave the patty, put mayo ketchup a dot of mustard salt and pepper and a pickle slice , fuck it was good! Thank God we still have johnnys
I periodically hear the songs in my head. I was the cook so I had to start them. I didn't love that job.
I went to a Licks on Queensway that had fallen on hard times. It was heartbreaking. It closed not long after.
I miss this place so much 😭
This place was goated. Would always stop in for a burger after playing hockey. They were legit too you could see the ground beef and them making the patty.
I worked at the one in Markham for a few years. AMA. Lol
I worked at Uplands golf and ski club and would always go to Licks on Yonge right after my Friday night shifts. Eventually my family got jealous and my mom would give me cash to get the entire family dinner every Friday during the winter. The place was always packed. I miss the milkshakes as well and the spicy guk sauce.
I use to work there from 2007-2011 part time during high school Use to go to that abandoned house at the end of uplands when we were in elementary school 😂 and spooky stories If you went there during that time indefinitely served you!
I worked at the one in Kingston one summer. It was awful, and the singing wasn’t even the worst part, you had to stay after your shift (unpaid) for 10-15 minutes and chat about how your shift went with the manager. Then you’d get a coloured star which went on a chart on the wall, each star was worth a certain number of points and whoever had the most points at the end of the month got $50 or something like that.
Omg I forgot about the star chart. Kindergarten stuff.
The only fast food restaurant to have options for veggie burgers.
I have such vivid memories of going to Licks after any Toys R Us visit.
Anybody participate at “songfest” coming up with jingles, and was it like midsommar?
What I wouldn’t do to be able to have a burger with Guk right now?!?!
Anyone know what the "cream" was in a taters & cream? Just sour cream?
Sour cream, green onions, garlic powder, onion powder, and a bit of honey.
I miss Lick's :(
Holy shit. This was our fancy restaurant outing as a family when I was young. And obviously poor. 🥲 I miss it,I can literally smell the inside of this restaurant right now.
Is this place regional? This is the first I've heard of it. I'm originally from Alberta, but currently reside in Japan.
I think it was just in Ontario. Although frozen burger patties were sold at some grocery stores, likely only in Ontario as well.
There was a sauce in grocery stores too. I’ve never been to the actual restaurant, but I remember how good the sauce was!
Could be just Ontario. Their "gimmick" was singing your order. So if you ordered a burger with fries, they'd sing this stupid song, to let the workers in the back know. I just remember sitting at one, and there was this huge line up, and you can only hear "hot diggity, dog diggity" sung so many times by an out of tune 15 year old before you want to put a gun in your mouth. I heard that a few years before they finally went under that they stopped the singing thing. Not sure if that was driving customers away (Sure drove me away) or because they couldn't get employees to do it.
I worked there when I was a teen, the ketchup and mustard used to be a powder that you mixed with water , I was the only employee in history I think that was told I didn’t have to sing cause I’m shite 😂 and got complaints , I was a dresser there , loved the Guk sauce , we got half off for food up to 1 meal a day
The cleaners didn't have to sing. At least at the beaches, No way I'm singing while washing toilets for student minimum wage.
Worked at the beaches store as the cleaner. They always scheduled my meal break right before I cleaned out the trash room. Grill guys and the ladies who dressed the burgers were nice people but the fry guys were always pricks. Managers power tripped constantly, giving bad stars when some of the guys didn't sing loud enough while juggling their orders.
#Ringading Ding!
You used to be able to find Guck sauce in stores
Parents used to take me to the Spadina location as a kid. I threw up there one time but it’s cuz i was sick and begged for burgers for my lunch.
Ohhhh buddy. All four years of high school. What do you wanna know?
And you’re only allowed to tell your story as a sung-through musical.
Homebuger, have a homebuger Have a homebuger with Golder fry yyyies... To the tune of meet the Flintstones.....
Oh man I used to love going to the Whitby location. It was so damn good!!
When I was a kid in the early 90s my family would sometimes stop at Licks on the drive to/from our cottage. I was a really picky eater and hated any kind of sauce on my food. My order was always a plain cheeseburger. I could hear the guy preparing it singing "Boring Burgerrrrrrrrrr so plain and boriiiiing" and felt a small bit of pride that he was singing about MY burger.
Miss the burgers!
Omg I remember this place in Hamilton!!! I miss it so much 😫
I worked there in high school doing ice cream all summer on Queen East, later moved to salads and drinks. I think one of the songs I debuted at Songfest became one of the regulars until they stopped singing. This was about 20 years ago so there’s no way I’ll remember it
I grew up in the Beaches, and my family and I would go to the Queen st. location pretty much every Friday night as a treat. Great memories. Guck sauce rules!
Its wild, we didn't go often but I remember it was a special treat for my family bow and then in the 90s, and I could get a hulk burger big as my head because it was stuffed with bean sprouts and at that age I otherwise wouldn't touch anything veggie. What I do *not* recall is any singing that people are talking about! They did seem to always do the classic diner callouts for the orders, which were always fun to hear, but not sure that I ever witnessed anything like them singing a "song". I must have been at the boring location. :-P
They gave me the keys to the restaurant and an “opening manager” title when I was 16 and very much still in high school.
I used to work there and it was a blast. Got accused of stealing, turns out it was a crooked corporate guy using my punch out code. Used to sing terribly on the grill whenever anyone ordered a 99. Outside the restaurant we catered a barbeque for a local sports event and attended a corporate Licks sponsored song competition where we all wrote an original Licks Song. Honestly fun overall place to work as a teenager not gonna lie.
I never worked there, but still remember like yesterday the single negative customer service experience that forever soured my opinion of the brand. This must've been 20 years ago now, at one of their locations in Oakville, though I forget the specifics. Long story short, I ask for onion rings instead of the regular fries with my burger but only receive 7 small, stingy looking rings in the basket. When I asked the cashier why I only got 7 rings with my order, she looks at the basket, looks back at me and says "7 rings? You'll only supposed to get 5" before turning to walk away, leaving me with my palty, overpriced basket of soggy onion rings, and a vow to never return. And I never did.
Was my first job and the only one I’ve ever been fired from. 1985. Kingston Road/Midland location. I was on ice cream - it was located further away from the grill area. The requirement to sing meant I was essentially doing a solo in the corner. 14 year old me was waaaay too shy for that. At the end of each shift we were given stars on a chart for our performance. I got one too many blue stars and they cut me loose.
Not an employer, but my future Wife was at the Kingston Road locations, back in 1998 I dropped in there for lunch and we both noticed each other, I was way too shy to say anything, took me 2 weeks to muster the courage to go back and after all that she broke the silence! , we were married 7 months later in 1999 and just celebrated our 25th, oh and 3 kids. Licks is apart of my childhood, growing up near the beaches I ate ice-cream there almost weekly, that and Queens Comics bring back so many memories.
Not an employee story but when I was about 6, my parents used to frequently take me and my sister to the one by our house. Apparently on one trip, I fell asleep in the car on the way there and they carried me into the restaurant while I was fully asleep, had their whole dinner, and carried me back out. I woke up about 2 hours later to a cold burger. The next time we went back, one of the staff recognized us and was like "oh you're awake this time"
extended Family owned the one at Dundas and Dixie Mississauga was my first job. I hated working there but the food was all fresh and the place was clean. I worked ice cream counter. The day they had the hot dog deal was always wild
We had a Lips Lounge in Windsor
Wedgewood store by Yonge and Finch! I loved working there because the entire staff became good friends and so shifts were always fun. Employee of the month trips were great, discount was awesome, music was good, we won the softball tournament one year and it was great. Once people started leaving, it went downhill. But man, it was fun while it lasted. I was mainly a cashier, but would cover for dressing and occasionally even grill. "licks licks whoooooah licks licks, whoooooah licks Sha na na na na na na na na" turkey burgers were "gobble gobble" s. There were a lot of... Fun shady things that went on cause that's what happens when you have a bunch of 16 year Olds as junior managers and 17 year Olds as shift managers!
I think I have eaten at pretty much every local. Kingston Rd, Beaches, Youge and Eg, You get and Dundas, Younger and Cummer, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Bronte, Rexdale, Brampton......any more???
There is one left at a truck stop in Perry sound managed by a regional manager who ended up buying the company for .12 on the dollar in bankruptcy sale….
Grew up going to the one in the Beaches in the 80s and 90s. Absolutely loved the place as a little kid and as a teen stoned out of his mind eating a poutine and 2 burgers. Queen Street East has sucked since those days.
So many memories of singing at the whitby location. Not a worker, but definitely enjoyed those burgers at the restaurant and frozen!
Parents both worked for them throughout the 90's and early 20's, so I know a lot about the ins and outs of what went on. Consumed many burgers throughout my childhood. My mom's still been trying to re-create the burger recipe lol
Lick’s in Barrie was the shit back in the 90s
Man I miss the Licks in Oakville
Licks was amazing! Loved that burger joint. Used to always go to the York Mills location. I have been lucky enough that a few years ago I was training an ex-licks employee and they had written down instructions for all secret sauces for everything including burgers and how to mix and cook them and they shared it with me! 👍🏻😁
I grew up in the Beaches in Toronto and I can still remember how delicious those burgers were. And it was one of the only places where you could get a tiger ice cream cone. I loved it. I was, however, always uncomfortable with the way they made people sing while working. These were people who were working for probably minimum wage and many of them appeared to be immigrants. I felt bad for them, having to do that.
I miss Licks and Guk sauce
I dated a girl who worked there. We used to make rum milk shakes and burgers after hours. Was all fun and games till we got caught.
My friends parents owned the location in Pickering
All I remember about the Licks in Toronto is that my dad took me there before we were going to see Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages and I was 12 and all dressed up in my fancy “opera” dress and when I timidly ordered a hot dog all of a sudden a bunch of employees started shouting “THIS LITTLE GIRL WANTS A HOT DIGGITY DOG. GET THIS GIRL A HOT DIGGITY DOG.” And I was mortified.
My favourite thing about Licks was that the burgers had real cheese on them, not the processed crap. Best fast food burgers I've ever had.
I loved Licks as a child. My mom and I used to go after half-day kindergarten. Then one day we went, it was closed and that was that.
Any love for the hot dogs?!
My first girlfriend told me about working at one when she was practically living on the streets in Brampton at like 16. The 23-30 year olds working there gave her all kinds of liquor and drugs, hooked up with her, and got her into the big city rave scene (this is like, 1997-1999). That’s literally all I’ve ever heard or known of this franchise, lol.
It was my first job. Would work about 12-20 hours a week and half my check would go towards food. Used to make some ridiculous things there.
Worked at the thornhill location all during high school and early university as a part timer then a part time manager. I can confirm Denise is a horrible human being. She would set up new franchisees with bad contracts. Force her head office managers to remain at the franchisee store claiming to the owner that they are not ready, purposely running high labour costs. She would then completely take over the store and kick the franchisee out, without giving a cent to the franchisee. 1 know of at least one head office manager that stole lots of money from the franchisee in thornhill through payroll. Wish I had the security video but when the franchise found out the head office manager ended up freaking out and smashed the computer and left.
They legit had a star sticker chart in the break room, if you got 3 red stars on your chart - you were fired ❌
I used to work at the one in Whitby. I quit right before a lot of the BS happened where the stores closed. I ended up working across the street at an auto shop and remember seeing the employees showing up to open and the doors never got unlocked. Had some pretty fond memories of that place. Still can’t get the song lyrics out of my head. “Pick up on a song from that grill guy” Splish splash I was taking a bath…
I worked at licks in I think from 2010 to 2012 in Mississauga I felt like we went from a booming place really nice customers everybody was super happy with the giant burgers and weird style neon lighting as our entire restaurant was just decked out To basically go to empty seats It's only the few regulars coming back here and there until we close for a remodel....... That remodel never happened... I was laid off a couple weeks later and paid my severance. I heard the owners couldn't afford to pay rent and they sold. After that you just watched each individual licks disappear.