Since the last newsletter was published, BurgerBusters has undergone some major changes. As hinted at in the previous newsletter, BurgerBusters has recently acquired twenty-five restaurants across southwestern Virginia from Tacoma Inc. This transaction has also brought a new brand into the company, Long John Silver’s, as part of two Taco Bell multibrand locations. Since the end of 2017, it was an enormous undertaking to bring these restaurants into the fold and members of all of our departments labored countless hours to ensure a smooth, error-free transition. Thank you to everyone for all their efforts. I would also like to take this opportunity to formally welcome everyone from the Tacoma acquisition to the BurgerBusters family. I have known the former Tacoma owners for many years and I know that you will find BurgerBusters to be a great place to work and develop in your career.
We continue to develop new units at a dizzying pace. Since the last newsletter, BurgerBusters has constructed and opened four new Taco Bell restaurants (Unit No. 32538 Fredericksburg, VA; Unit No. 33109 Inwood, WV; Unit No. 34779 Henrico, VA; and Unit No. 34782 Midlothian, VA) and fully-remodeled three existing restaurants (Unit No. 1899 Greensboro, NC; Unit No. 4577 Greensboro, NC; and Unit No. 4782, Greensboro, NC). Our development group has also completed two minor remodels (Unit No. 19010 Charles Town, WV and Unit No. 34016 Nags Head, NC), as well as a major project involving adding a parking lot to Unit No. 2096 in Greensboro, NC. Currently, BurgerBusters has another four new restaurants (Richmond, VA; Orange, VA; Waynesboro, VA; and Virginia Beach, VA), one scrape and rebuild (Hampton, VA), one scrape and offset (Lynchburg, VA), two full remodels (Unit No. 17199 Waynesboro, VA and Unit No. 19749 Ruckersville, VA), and one minor remodel (Unit No. 34842 Troutville, VA) all under construction. Furthermore, we will have another restaurant under construction shortly in Greensboro, NC. As it is plain to see, BurgerBusters has been very busy this year and we will plan to continue just as strong next year. Thank you to Don Baruch and the development team for all their hard work.
As of this writing, BurgerBusters Inc. and its affiliates currently operates 142 Taco Bells, 4 KFCs, 12 Pizza Hut Expresses, 2 Long John Silver’s, and 6 Steak ‘n Shakes for a grand total of 166 franchise businesses. As the previous paragraph clearly shows, we are quickly adding to those numbers. That is pretty impressive considering we began 2018 with 131 franchise businesses and even just 8 years ago our total was at 96.
With this impressive growth, I would like to emphasis two ideas: opportunity and fundamentals. As I have mentioned before, all these new stores are leading to numerous growth and development opportunities for all employees, with new openings from team member all the way to Vice President of Operations. That is why it is important to continue building yourself and your team up, gain new skills, and be prepared because there is ample opportunity for advancement. The perfect example of these new opportunities are Ben Hodnett and Sly Brown. I would like to congratulate each of them on their promotion to Vice President of Operations. We look forward to them continuing their great work alongside the Senior Vice Presidents and Joe Mangano.
With this large growth and opportunities, it is easy to lose track of our fundamentals, the core and foundations of our company. We need to be mindful not to be so busy worrying about the future growth and remain focused on running our corner of the company as best as it can be run. This applies to all levels of the company. Crew members: double down on your training, Above-store leaders: make sure your stores facilities are up to standard and that your stores are following procedures, Marketing: ensure that all prices and POP are correct, Development: make sure that even the littlest details on all your projects are double-checked, CEO: ensure that all departments are able to keep up with this added growth. This return to basics and emphasis on details means that the work of our Field Trainers and the Asset Protection Department, led by Deb Baylor, are more vital than ever. Please utilize these tremendous resources to ensure that every aspect of your restaurant is running properly and as efficiently as possible. As long as we continue to focus on these foundational fundamentals, BurgerBusters will continue to grow and succeed.
For helping lead us on this path toward continued growth and success, I would like to thank the BurgerBusters Senior Team, Joe Mangano, Greg Rowland, and Kirk Jester. These gentlemen continue to excel in their roles and are role models to follow. Once again, thank you to all of you. Due to your efforts, BurgerBusters is having a successful 2018. I look forward to even greater successes in the future.
“… it is important to continue building yourself and your team up, gain new skills, and be prepared because there is ample opportunity for advancement.”
By: Tassos Paphites
Chairman / CEO
