From day one, Sawmill Restaurant Group has been committed to the communities it serves. Now, as the brand celebrates 50 years in business, it is poised to make its biggest impact yet – and you can be involved.
This November, Sawmill Restaurant Group will host anniversary celebrations at each of its locations (Edmonton, Leduc, Stony Plain, Grand Prairie). The galas will feature chef-led food stations and roaming wait staff with delicious canapés. Live entertainment and a sizzle reel showing the history highlights of the brand will enhance the evening. The true purpose, however, will be the check presentation to the charitable organization that wins the majority of the votes from those in attendance. That’s right – Sawmill Restaurant Group isn’t choosing the deserving cause. You are.
What makes this gala even more unique is that Sawmill Restaurant Group is donating 100 per cent of the ticket price to the winning cause. Each gala ticket is $99 per person and since the brand is fronting all of the costs for each gala, the full ticket value goes right back into the community. This means the potential to raise six figures for four deserving community causes is well within reach. All it takes is you buying a ticket, casting a vote and having a wonderful time – and a truly great experience.
On paper, Tasker Goodchild, STEAK holder and president, knows this is an investment. Most corporate fundraisers start with recouping the costs – especially for gala formats – with the excess going to the charity. He’s happy to flip the script. After all, he learned from his father and the founder of the brand that if anything is worth doing, it’s worth going all in.
He says, “We saw an opportunity to have the community support the causes dearest to its heart. On gala days, we are closing the restaurant doors so you can have a STEAK in the community’s future. For individuals as well as those on the board of fundraising associations, this is an excellent opportunity to get involved. Our goal is to provide an incredibly easy and fun, yet deeply impactful way, to truly give back to the community in the ways that matter the most to you.”
Giving back has been embedded in Sawmill Restaurant Group since Tom Goodchild opened the doors five decades ago. The energetic entrepreneur had been making a difference since the age of 14 when his own father strongly suggested he get a job to help out the family. Tom took that message to heart and went on to launch one of Alberta’s most successful hospitality businesses. In addition to the Sawmill restaurants, Tom was known for the Pacific Fish Company, Tom Goodchild’s Moose Factory and bringing the Hard Rock Café to Alberta and British Columbia. By the time he was 25, Tom owned 26 properties. Embodying the phrase “go big or go home,” Tom went all in on the Moose Factory, taking it from its starting square footage of 8,000 square feet to 21,000, and filled it with six private dining rooms, including a 3,500 square foot banquet room in the lower level.
Yet, no matter how many restaurants he opened or how many square feet of space across Alberta delighted guests, no matter how delicious the steaks or smooth the drinks, Tom never wavered from his passion – giving back.
Tasker continues that legacy.
Since he was six years old, Tasker wanted to work with his father in the restaurant business. He got that chance in his early teens where hospitality success stories often do – in the kitchen washing dishes. This translated to waiting tables at 18 and then cutting his teeth in various positions across a variety of restaurants in Canada and the United States. Combined with a finance degree from our very own NAIT and learning from failing forward, Tasker is perfectly poised to continue the legacy of the family business while also expanding on the community giving that is the foundation of the brand.
“The 50th anniversary galas are set to become legacy events, which can mean raising a very achievable million dollars for charities over the next 10 years,” says Tasker. “This is on top of our community gift card fundraising program and the Tom Goodchild Memorial Golf Tournament that funds bursaries for students attending NAIT’s Culinary Department & Professional Food Studies program, which in itself is a half million dollar commitment over the next decade.”
The STEAK the restaurant chain has in the community is mirrored by its corporate culture. For that, Tasker looks to the past to inform the future.
“The management group creates an environment where everyone has the potential to win,” says Tasker. “As an owner, it is up to me to understand what those wins mean for each team member, and then help them get there. That is what success is all about – focusing on what people do right and learning from our collective mistakes.”
It’s a culture and value the entire team gets to take part in, thanks to being able to nominate each other for living the S.T.E.A.K. values: Stewardship, Excellence, Knowledge, Teamwork and Appreciation.
As Tasker reflects on 50 years, he considers the past, the present and the future.
“It’s almost surreal to think 50 years have passed. I’ve worked for this brand for 31 of them, and it’s becoming generational. For example, Len McCullough has been with the brand 41 years now, Paul Doucette for 21 years and all of our senior leadership for 10-plus years; and now we are seeing second and third generation guests.
“From team members to clients, we don’t take anybody or anything for granted. Now that Tom has passed, customers tell us stories about him that we have never heard before. It’s like I’m getting to know him in a whole new light.
Beyond that, I have tremendous respect for Edmonton restaurateurs and believe Edmontonians should be proud of our local “hospitalitarians.” What stands out about Edmonton’s hospitality industry is the deep connection it has built with the people who live here. While every market has its own opportunities and challenges, Edmonton’s restaurants thrive by earning the loyalty of local guests and consistently creating memorable experiences that keep people coming back. That commitment to community, hospitality and genuine connection is something worth celebrating.
Fifty years ago, what launched was not just a brand – it was a movement. That movement saw The Sawmill Restaurant Group involved in many of Alberta’s most memorable moments. Birthdays, anniversaries, wedding receptions, graduations – who among us has not attended or hosted these events at the Sawmill Prime Rib and Steak House, the Pacific Fish Company, Tom Goodchild’s Moose Factory or Hard Rock Cafe? Yet, the thing people remember the most is how the Goodchild family and ownership group never missed a moment to feed the community. The local sports teams that could afford to play, the students who relied on support to become the next great chefs, the charitable organizations that received funds – for 50 years the Sawmill Restaurant Group has been a part of it all.
This anniversary, Tasker and his team are ready to empower community giving to the next level. Rather than celebrating the milestone of half a century in business internally, they are closing the steakhouse doors to regular scheduled service and throwing those same doors open in a powerful way to serve the community like never before. Every ticket purchased and every dollar raised means a transformational impact for your community, and you are at the centre of it all. They have the venue, they did the planning, they are providing the food. All you need to do is show up with your ticket, have fun and vote for the cause that means the most to you. By doing that, you continue the incredible legacy now, and beyond.
It ends where it began; with an idea to become part of the fabric of the community in such a way that perpetual giving becomes the norm, no matter who is at the helm. The tastes of diners have changed. The dining rooms have been updated over the years. The founder passed his legacy to his son, and the second generation of patrons picks up the latest menus. What will never change takes places inside and outside of the walls – giving back through corporate culture and to the communities that have given The Sawmill Group 50 years, and counting.
“The plan,” Tasker concludes, “is to hit our 100th anniversary and have the legacy continue. What does that look like? Perhaps employee ownership. We will remain intentional, have a plan and continue to make a difference.”