LOS ANGELES Operators of the uWink food-and-entertainment concept based here are planning a move into Canada.
uWink Inc. said it has formed a separate entity called uWink Canada to develop the concept in partnership with experienced Canadian restaurateurs. uWink Canada is a joint venture between uWink and Jefferson Partners, a Toronto-based joint-venture firms that specializes in technology.
The uWink concept was created by Nolan Bushnell, who founded and later sold Atari Corp. and the Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theater chain.
The first uWink bistro, which features touch-screen terminals at each table for ordering, payment and gaming, opened in Woodland Hills, Calif., last year. Two more units are scheduled to open in the Los Angeles area by the end of 2008.