Leroy Earl (Bus) Fuller, the 90-year-old founder of the successful B.C.-based Earls and Joey restaurant chains, died on the weekend, according to a statement from his family.
The longtime resident of West Vancouver leaves behind a restaurant legacy that spans 65 years.
Fuller’s first foray into the restaurant business was in 1954 when the Korean War veteran opened the Green and White Drive-Thru in Sunburst, Mont. He later moved his family to Edmonton and operated a string of A&W franchises in Western Canada, before opening, with his son Stan, the first Earls restaurant in the Alberta capital in 1982.
The casual dining chain began its rapid expansion after the Fullers move to B.C. in 1983. There are now 68 Earls restaurants spread out across Canada and the U.S.