Freshslice Pizza


Freshslice Pizza is a Canadian pizza chain and franchise. Founded by Ray Russell in 1999, Freshslice Pizza has grown from a family-run business to a chain of over 70 restaurants across British Columbia. They are known for their multigrain crust and their pizza by the slice.

Awards and recognition

In 2014 and 2015, Freshslice was awarded a Golden Plate award for Best Pizza By The Slice by the Georgia Straight; a Vancouver-based weekly publication.
In 2016, Ray Russell and Freshslice were awarded runner-up for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award through BCBusiness and Ernst & Young for his involvement at Freshslice.

Controversy

In 2011, two Freshslice Pizza companies and the owner of two franchise outlets were fined $44,000 for employing illegal workers. Companies owned by Freshslice Pizza founder Ray Russell, his wife Isabella Flores and corporate employee Bahman Afshari were all charged by the Canada Border Services Agency after a tip led to the discovery that over a dozen undocumented refugees were employed at Freshslice locations in Vancouver. Afshari was also personally charged.
In 2014 Russell was found guilty by the B.C Supreme Court of wrongful dismissal of a corporate employee. The courts ordered a judgement of over $40,000 to the former employee.