Sandy's Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada location was a very proud one for the company. This was due to the fact that it was the first time that Sandy's had ventured outside of the United States. Canada would be joined by Belgium as the only two other countries to host their very own Sandy's! Located unbelievably far away from the nearest Sandy's, near the upper peninsula of Michigan, it would be joined a year later by a sister Sandy's location in Marquette, Michigan.
Sault Ste. Marie opened in 1967 and Sandy's was quickly growing across the midwest. Hints of when it exactly opened can be found in the locations section of this site in the 1968 list of Sandy's. The list appears to be in order of opening which means Sault Ste. Marie opened after July 13th, 1967. The details of the grand opening most likely appeared in the local newspaper. The grand opening ad most definitely appeared in the local newspaper. If you live in or around Sault Ste. Marie and have access to microfilm of the local newspaper at the Sault Ste. Marie public library and can obtain a copy of the grand opening ad and/or the news story of the grand opening for this site, it would greatly be appreciated. The ad and story will not appear on July 13th, however, it will appear sometime after July 13th, perhaps in late July or sometime in August or September. Perhaps a picture of the location exists in the local high school yearbooks from 1968 thru the mid 1970's and might be found at the local library as well!
Larry Cayen is not only a Sandy's fan, he worked at Sandy's! Larry remembers how incredible the food was and how Sandy's was an exiciting addition to the city.
Hi:
In case you didn't know, Sandy's was in Canada long before McD's. I worked in the Sandy's out on the Transcanada Hwy 17 north in 1969-70 in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada. That franchise was there for at least 5 years maybe longer. I don't know when the first McDonalds went to Canada but I suspect Sandy's was there first. Sandy's had much much better burgers and shakes. Just thought I'd let you know.
Larry Cayen
Ottawa Canada
Larry is one hundred percent correct. Sandy's was incredible and Sault Ste. Marie is extra special for yet another reason. When Sandy's was bought out by Hardees in 1973, Sault Ste. Marie was one of the few Sandy's which remained Sandy's! It would be very interesting to know what Sandy's turned into when it no longer was Sandy's and if the original building still exists! It would have been one of the last of the second generation build-outs before switching to a modern version of the classic drive-in. A tell tale sign is the wooden beams which held up the classic roof fins. An example of this can be seen on the Rock Island, Illinois Sandy's page. The address was 201 Great Northern, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada and was managed by Frank Plastino who most likely still lives in Sault Ste. Marie.
If you have any memorabilia, pictures or stories of Sandy's in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada or elsewhere, please email me!