Humpty’s was founded in 1977 by Don and Jan Koenig – a couple with no restaurant experience – who in 1974 bought a small 50 seat establishment in Blackie, Alberta. By 1976 their business grew into the Calgary market where they established a catering company alongside three soup and sandwich shops. Don and Jan had spent a year researching the breakfast market and found that there was an underserved opportunity in all day breakfast. Based on this research, they converted one of their soup and sandwich shops into the first Humpty’s Egg Place in November 1977. The restaurant’s original name came from the association between eggs, the all day breakfast concept and the storybook character Humpty Dumpty. Given that families were a key target for the new restaurant, the association between breakfast and the character was a natural fit. Two new Calgary locations were quickly added in 1979 and 1981. Due to their success and the volume of franchise inquires from across North America, Humpty’s got approval to franchise from the Alberta Securities Commission in 1982. In April 1986, Humpty’s awarded it’s first franchise in Red Deer, Alberta and within three months, another Humpty’s franchise was awarded in Lethbridge with two others following in Edmonton. In 1988, Humpty’s Egg Place became Humpty’s Family Restaurants, as the focus changed from exclusively breakfast to a more creative offering of unique breakfast, lunch and dinner items. While the breakfast menu had established them as innovative leaders, the menu and name changes allowed Humpty’s to remain competitive in a market that demanded more than just breakfast. Between 1988 and 1990 Humpty’s awarded twenty more franchises and today have 49 locations across Western Canada.
