Viau Biscuits

Identity area

Type of entity

Corporate body

Authorized form of name

Viau Biscuits

Parallel form(s) of name

  • Viau
  • Biscuits Viau

Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

Other form(s) of name

Identifiers for corporate bodies

Description area

Dates of existence

1867-2004

History

1867: Charles Théodore Viau sets up a bakery on rue Sainte-Marie (now Notre Dame) in Montreal, Quebec. The business makes bread and biscuits, including Village biscuits, which exist to this day in the Dare Traditions line.

1900-1901: Théophile Viau, son of the founder, created the first chocolate-coated mallow cookie, "Empire," the precursor of the Whippet, a top-selling Dare brand today.

1906: The planned construction of a new Canadian Pacific rail line forces the expropriation of the Viau factory in downtown Montreal, Quebec.

1907: Opening of a new factory constructed on 1st Ave., now Viau St., just north of Ontario St., in a new suburban area which became known as "Viauville."

1926: Viau listed on the Montreal Stock Exchange, being only the second French-Canadian institution to be admitted, after la Banque Canadienne Nationale.

1927: Whippet launched (named after a popular new Willys-Overland car called Whippet).

1952: $2 million project to almost double the factory, convert the heating plant to oil and add a new administrative building on Ontario St. opposite the plant.

1969: Viau is acquired by Grissol Food Limited (Yves Hudon).

1972: Grissol, including Viau, is acquired by Imasco Foods Limited, the food arm of Imperial Tobacco company.

1983: Imasco Foods, including Viau, is acquired by Culinar.

1999: Montreal cheese company Saputo Inc. buys Culinar, made up of the Vachon snack cakes business and CFS (Cookies, Fine Breads and Soups).

2001: Dare Foods Limited buys Culinar CFS (Cookies, Fine Breads and Soups) from Saputo Inc. Culinar is dissolved.

2003: St. Lambert (formerly Culinar's Lido) cookie plant expanded to accommodate production transferred from former Viau plant in Montreal, Quebec.

2004: Former Viau cookie plant at Viau and Ontario Streets in east-end Montreal closed and sold to a developer for re-purposing as "La Biscuiterie" residential condos.

2004: Dare sells the Loney's soups business to Produits Alimentaires Berthelet of Montreal.

Places

Viau was headquartered in Montreal, Quebec.

Legal status

Functions, occupations and activities

Biscuit manufacturer.

Mandates/sources of authority

Internal structures/genealogy

General context

Relationships area

Access points area

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Control area

Authority record identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Created by NM in March 2019.

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

The history of Viau and its relationship to Dare Foods Limited was ascertained from a memorandum written by Bryan Dare to the University of Waterloo. Special Collections & Archives, the majority of which has been copied into the history note of this authority record. A physical copy of the memorandum can be found in SCA188-GA420-5-75

Maintenance notes

  • Clipboard

  • Export

  • EAC

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