Earls has backtracked on a plan to drop Alberta beef from its menu in favour of a U.S. supplier, amid public outcry for the restaurant to use locally-sourced meat.
Earls acknowledged the public misstep in a news release, saying that it "made a mistake" in moving away from Canadian beef.
"We want to make this right," Earls President Mo Jessa said in a news release. "We want Canadian beef back on our menus so we are going to work with local ranchers to build our supply of Alberta beef that meets our criteria."
The restaurant chain caused a stir last week, when it announced it would serve only U.S.-raised beef, due to difficulty finding a suitable source of Alberta beef that met its ethical standards. Earls said it wanted beef that had never been treated with antibiotics or growth hormones, and that had been raised in an ethical way.
The company said Wednesday, that it has found several Alberta ranchers whose products meet its standards, and it will begin working their supply into its stream of product from the U.S.
"We are committed to sourcing as much beef as we can from Alberta that meets our requirements and we will work with cattle ranchers to build supply," Earls said.
