GarfieldEats

GarfieldEats was a food-service concept built around the Garfield comic-strip and entertainment franchise. Founded in 2018 by Nathen Mazri and Pascal Haider, it operated as a themed ghost-restaurant business rather than a conventional dine-in chain. Its reported locations included Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Toronto and London in Ontario, Canada. The concept centered on delivery and digitally mediated customer interaction, using Garfield imagery and menu items associated with the character's established personality, particularly his love of lasagna. The menu included lasagna, Garfield-shaped pizzas, smoothies, dark-chocolate bars shaped like Garfield, and drinks branded as “Garficcinos.” A prominent signature product was the “Big Cow” lasagna. The business sought to make ordering part of the entertainment experience: customers could use phones mounted on the restaurant walls or place delivery orders through the GarfieldEats mobile application. The app also offered games and access to episodes of Garfield and Friends, extending the brand beyond food ordering into character-based digital engagement. The restaurant used the slogan “Love Me, Feed Me, Don't Leave Me,” an adaptation of a well-known Garfield line. Mazri said he was particularly inspired by the character's appearance in Garfield: The Movie. Mazri and Garfield creator Jim Davis used the term “entergaging,” combining “entertaining” and “engaging,” to describe the intended experience. This positioning differentiated GarfieldEats from ordinary delivery kitchens by linking licensed entertainment content, branded packaging, menu design, and a proprietary ordering interface. The business encountered operational and financial difficulties. In 2020, the Toronto restaurant temporarily closed following a dispute, and the location later closed permanently on November 9, 2020. The reported reasons included the COVID-19 pandemic and an ongoing dispute over rent. The restaurant concept continued to struggle with landlord payments and was described as generally unprofitable. By the winter of 2021, the restaurant business had shut down. The brand was subsequently reduced to a frozen-food offering centered on Big Cow Lasagnas, although the available reference material does not establish the duration, scale, or present availability of that product line. GarfieldEats therefore represents a short-lived example of an entertainment-led food brand: its proposition combined intellectual-property licensing, ghost-kitchen operations, character-shaped food, delivery logistics, and an app-based media layer. Its history was shaped less by expansion into a durable restaurant chain than by the difficulty of making a themed, technology-supported food concept commercially sustainable during a period of rent disputes and pandemic disruption.

GarfieldEats emerged in 2018 as a food and entertainment concept based on the Garfield franchise. Nathen Mazri and Pascal Haider founded the business with the intention of turning a familiar comic character into a delivery-first restaurant experience. Instead of relying primarily on traditional dining rooms, the concept used ghost-restaurant operations, mobile ordering, themed menu items, and character-centered digital content. The brand's food offer drew heavily on Garfield's established association with lasagna. Its menu included lasagna, a signature Big Cow Lasagna, Garfield-shaped pizzas, smoothies, Garficcinos, and dark-chocolate products shaped like Garfield. The visual and experiential design was intended to make the food recognizable as part of the franchise rather than simply ordinary takeaway cuisine with a character logo. GarfieldEats also tried to connect food service with entertainment. Customers could order through phones installed on restaurant walls or through a GarfieldEats mobile application. The application supported delivery ordering while also providing games and episodes of Garfield and Friends. This model attempted to create a broader branded experience in which ordering, consumption, and media use were integrated. The slogan “Love Me, Feed Me, Don't Leave Me” adapted a Garfield phrase and summarized the brand's character-driven approach. The concept expanded beyond Canada. Reported locations included Toronto and London in Ontario, as well as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The founders and Garfield creator Jim Davis described the intended format as “entergaging,” a blend of entertainment and engagement. The business was consequently positioned between a licensed character attraction, a delivery kitchen, and a consumer packaged-food experiment. Its restaurant operations faced substantial difficulties. The Toronto location experienced an earlier temporary closure in 2020 following a dispute, and it later closed permanently on November 9 of that year. The closure was attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a dispute over rent. More broadly, the business reportedly struggled continuously to pay its landlord and was generally unprofitable. These problems limited the viability of the physical restaurant format. By the winter of 2021, GarfieldEats had shut down as a restaurant concept. The brand was subsequently described as having been reduced to a frozen-food business selling only Big Cow Lasagnas. The available reference does not provide enough information to determine whether that frozen-food activity continued at scale or for how long. GarfieldEats is therefore best understood historically as a short-lived, IP-led food venture whose main innovation was the combination of Garfield-themed menu design, ghost-kitchen delivery, and an entertainment app.

• 2021

  Restaurant concept shuts down

  [1]GarfieldEatsen.wikipedia.org

  After continuing profitability and landlord-payment difficulties, GarfieldEats closes its restaurant operations during the winter.

• 2021

  Brand shifts to frozen Big Cow Lasagnas

  [1]GarfieldEatsen.wikipedia.org

  The remaining brand activity is described as a frozen-food line focused exclusively on Big Cow Lasagnas.

• 2020

  Toronto operations face closure and rent conflict

  [1]GarfieldEatsen.wikipedia.org

  The Toronto location temporarily closes after an earlier dispute and later shuts permanently on November 9 amid pandemic disruption and a rent dispute.

• 2018

  GarfieldEats is founded

  [1]GarfieldEatsen.wikipedia.org

  Nathen Mazri and Pascal Haider establish GarfieldEats as a Garfield-themed ghost-restaurant and delivery concept.

A Garfield-themed ghost restaurant and frozen-food brand combining delivery meals, licensed character design, and digital entertainment.

• Frozen food

  Big Cow Lasagna

  Big Cow Lasagna was GarfieldEats' signature lasagna product and the only product associated with the brand after the restaurant operations ended. It connected the brand to Garfield's best-known food preference and represented the company's transition from a multi-item ghost-restaurant menu to a narrower frozen-food proposition.

• Prepared food

  Garfield-shaped pizza

  Garfield-shaped pizza was a character-themed prepared-food item designed to make the franchise visible in the physical form of the meal. It formed part of GarfieldEats' broader strategy of translating licensed character imagery into delivery-friendly menu products.

• Beverage

  Garficcinos

  Garficcinos were GarfieldEats-branded coffee-style drinks included among the restaurant's themed beverages. Their naming reinforced the character-led menu architecture, in which familiar food and drink categories were given Garfield-specific branding.

• Digital ordering and entertainment

  GarfieldEats mobile app

  The GarfieldEats mobile application supported food delivery orders and offered additional entertainment features, including games and episodes of Garfield and Friends. It was central to the brand's attempt to combine restaurant commerce with an interactive franchise experience.

• 2021

  End restaurant operations and narrow the product rangeStrategy

  Background

  The business reportedly remained unprofitable and struggled to pay its landlord.

  Action taken

  The restaurant business shut down, leaving the brand described as a frozen-food operation focused on Big Cow Lasagnas.

  Aftermath

  GarfieldEats ceased to operate as a full ghost-restaurant concept, although the reference describes a reduced frozen-food presence.

  Source

• 2020

  Close the Toronto restaurant locationStrategy

  Background

  The Toronto operation faced pandemic-related disruption, an earlier temporary closure, and a dispute over rent.

  Action taken

  GarfieldEats closed the Toronto location permanently on November 9, 2020.

  Aftermath

  The closure reduced the company's physical restaurant presence and preceded the eventual shutdown of the restaurant concept.

  Source

1. 1GarfieldEatsen.wikipedia.org