Harvey's was co-founded by George B. Sukornyk and Rick Mauran in early 1959 as equal shareholders. Mauran originally thought to call the chain Humphrey's, riffing off of the down-home friendliness connoted by the Henry's Hamburgers chain that was already successful in the United States at the time (today, only one Henry's restaurant survives). As he was preparing to open the first restaurant in the summer of 1959, he saw an item in the now defunct "Toronto Telegram" indicating that the John Harvey Motors car dealership in the city was closing, and the sign — which simply designated it "Harvey's" — was available. Mauran obtained the sign and posted it outside his flagship store.