MAID-RITE CELEBRATES ITS 80TH ANNIVERSARY!

Maid-Rite, famous for its seasoned to perfection, fresh ground beef sandwiches will be celebrating its 80th Anniversary since its founding on November 19th 1926 in Muscatine, Iowa by a well known and respected local butcher, by the name of Fred Angell.

Maid-Rite takes pride in being one of, if not the oldest franchise restaurant chains, in the United States as a quick serve, casual dining restaurant franchise known among its customers for its delicious, one of a kind, loose meat sandwiches. Not many companies in any industry have the honor of such longevity and customer loyalty.

Back in 1926, Maid-Rite’s founder, Fred Angell, got the name for his Maid-Rite sandwich, when he served one of his new sandwich concoctions to the mailman delivering mail to his butcher shop. When Fred Angell asked the fellow how he liked the sandwich, the mailman replied to Mr. Angell, “You know, Fred, these sandwiches are made right!” Thus the name for Maid-Rite’s legendary sandwich was born that has become a household word here in the Heartland of America where Maid-Rite restaurants are currently located in eight Midwestern states.

Since its founding in 1926, Maid-Rite has always taken pride in having restaurants known for the hospitality that we extend to each and every customer. Our restaurants have always been part of the local community in reflecting Maid-Rite’s philosophy of friendly, hometown service delivered to each and every customer, each and every day. “We are pleased that these service standards of hospitality have withstood the test of time over the past 80 years,” Bradley L. Burt, President & CEO of Maid-Rite emphasized.

In January 2002, Maid-Rite was purchased by an investor group headed by Bradley and Tania Burt, who have, since their purchase, accomplished a great deal in bringing Maid-Rite forward as a restructured and reinvigorated quick serve franchise brand now growing nationwide. At the time of purchase in January 2002, Maid-Rite was somewhat of a sleepy little restaurant chain in the Midwest that needed to be reinvigorated, retooled and provided with the infrastructure to go forward as a franchise entity to accomplish its growth plans to have hundreds of new Maid-Rite Sandwich Shoppe franchises soon dotting the landscape all across the country.

Maid-Rite’s position with the industry is one that is rather unique since there is no other sandwich in the quick serve, casual dining industry like a Maid-Rite. Maid-Rite’s competitors serve burgers, most of which are frozen before being cooked. Maid-Rite serves a fresh ground beef, loose meat sandwich that comes from Midwest fed and raised fat cattle, which the Heartland of America is famous for, and that’s great tasting beef.

In serving fresh, great tasting ground beef with Maid-Rite’s special seasoning recipe is what our customers have come to expect when they go to a Maid-Rite in the quality of our fresh ground beef sandwiches, which are second to none.

Maid-Rite, in the pricing of its menu, wants to attract the majority of the restaurant industry market to visit to their franchise restaurants by having their average dollar ticket size being in the affordable $5.75 to $6.00 range.

“We feel that customers want value and quality, but they also want affordability when going out to eat, especially families,” emphasized Burt, President & CEO of Maid-Rite.

Maid-Rite franchisees are very proud to have had the opportunity to serve their customers with their delicious Maid-Rite menu for now eight decades, some franchises which have been in operation since the 1920s and 1930s. Maid-Rite has a history and roots in the communities their restaurants are located in that the franchisees take pride in as being an important part of the local business community.

“Our Maid-Rite familiar red and white stop sign logo is a beacon to our customers all across the Midwest whom we are proud to serve with our assorted menu, that has as its centerpiece, our signature item Maid-Rite fresh ground beef sandwich that is seasoned to perfection. In many cases, when people who have moved away and come back to visit their home towns, one of the first things they do is stop in and get a Maid-Rite,” Burt stated with pride.

Maid-Rite places a very high emphasis on the quality of service that their employees provide to their customers. At Maid-Rite, franchisee owners and managers are trained at Maid-Rite University through a curriculum of on the job training and in classroom participation. “All of our franchisee employees are trained to be very polite, very courteous and very nice to each and every customer that comes in the doors of our restaurants. Our restaurant employees are referred to as ‘Ambassadors of Hospitality’ in delivering friendly, hometown service to their customers day in and day out,” emphasized Tania M. Burt, Executive Vice President of Maid-Rite.

“It has been my pleasure to be associated with Maid-Rite as a respected brand that has served generations of families who enjoyed Maid-Rites originally as youngsters, who now are grown with families of their own and bring their children to our Maid-Rites, just as their parents did for them years ago,” Mrs. Burt stated enthusiastically.

Since Maid-Rite was purchased in 2002 by the Burts and their investor group, they have completely developed and implemented all new operating systems that also includes an all new attractive standard décor that reflects Maid-Rite’s history in having its unique diner-style counter stool and booth seating floor plan. This interior look is much like the diner look that was popular in Maid-Rite restaurants back in the 1920s and 1930s. The attractive Maid-Rite décor also features historic pictures of its vintage Maid-Rite restaurants that have been colorized, along with attractive red and silver wall treatments and furniture designs in their restaurants which make them a very pleasant and pleasing setting for customers to dine in.

Maid-Rite also places a very high emphasis for its customers’ satisfaction in just how clean, food safe and sanitary their restaurants are every day, every hour for each and every customer.

“In today’s competitive casual dining, quick serve restaurant market, customers will not go back or continue to be repeat customers if the restaurants they are frequenting are not clean are not sanitary and are not food safe for their customers,” Burt pointed out.

As an example of this, Maid-Rite, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, has been using a cooking oil since 2003 that has zero Cholesterol and zero Trans Fatty acids for the health and wellbeing of its customers. Maid-Rite, for the betterment of its customers, made this decision to cook with a no Cholesterol and no Trans Fatty oil three years ago, long before the government entered the picture in urging restaurants to stop using artery clogging Trans Fat cooking oil.

“I thought it was interesting to note in the article in the Des Moines Register on Tuesday, October 31st, in regard to Kentucky Fried Chicken starting to just now test zero Trans Fatty acid cooking oil in their restaurants and that Burger King hopes to begin testing fat free cooking in some of its restaurants within 90 days and McDonalds had announced that it intended to do so in 2003, but has yet to follow through.”

“At Maid-Rite, we just know that by using cooking oil that is Cholesterol and Trans Fat free, it is better for our customers, and we just did it. We didn’t need to form a committee to discuss this for a couple of years. You don’t get to be 80 years old in this business and in having thousands upon thousands of loyal customers without looking out for the best interests of your customers’ health and wellbeing,” Bradley Burt stated with pride.

During the months of November and December in celebration of Maid-Rite’s 80th Anniversary, many of our Maid-Rite franchise restaurants will be serving its customers with our 80th Anniversary Special, which includes a $1.99 Maid-Rite. “It’s our way of thanking our customers for their patronage and their loyalty as Maid-Rite customers,” Tania Burt, Executive Vice President of Maid-Rite wanted everyone to know.

Very few restaurants that are nationwide franchises have the notoriety and loyalty among their customers that Maid-Rite has. As an example of this, in a poll that was conducted by the Des Moines Register, Maid-Rite sandwiches were listed among respondents as one of their top favorite Iowa foods ranked along with such icons as corn on the cob, the Iowa pork chop and the Muscatine melon.

Maid-Rite has franchise restaurants located in the Heartland of the United States in eight states consisting of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin, where it presently has its seventy franchise restaurants in operation.

Maid-Rite’s growth strategies involve opening new franchise restaurants centrically around the Midwest, where Maid-Rite has tremendous brand strength, loyalty and menu identity, which also enables it to logistically supply, support and train its franchisees in the states surrounding the Midwest.

Maid-Rite is also looking into an Area Development Agreement for the State of Texas and also discussing Development Agreements in Florida and Arizona where Maid-Rite has a large following of individuals who have moved on a part-time and full-time basis from the Midwest to these warm weather states.

Maid-Rite Sandwich Shoppes are positioned to be affordable business opportunities for franchisees in the cost to open and operate their restaurants relating to equipment and furniture purchases.

According to Burt, President & CEO of Maid-Rite, “The standard equipment package for a Maid-Rite Sandwich Shoppe can be as low as $95,000 to $125,000 for a 1500 sq. ft. floor plan, plus with leasehold improvements, working capital and franchise fees, the total cost for a franchisee restaurant can be in the range of $175,000 to $250,000 to open and operate a Maid-Rite Sandwich Shoppe.

“Our customers love our delicious sandwiches, many of whom drive many miles to our Maid‑Rite restaurants just to have the opportunity to savor our one of a kind Maid-Rite loose meat sandwiches. It is most gratifying to have Maid-Rite now celebrating its 80th Anniversary in serving our customers all around the Midwest. We are looking forward to our next 80 years in satisfying new generations of loyal Maid-Rite customers,” Bradley Burt of Maid-Rite also mentioned.

The vision for Maid-Rite that the Burts have in growing their franchise brand is to have over 300 new successful Maid-Rite franchise restaurants opening in the next seven years dotting the landscape all across the United States and to have a thousand franchise restaurants in operation by 2020.

“Wherever people go, I want them to know that the Maid-Rite red and white stop sign logo, stands for quality, consistency and value in enjoying our delicious, great tasting sandwiches at an affordable price. Within our vision is to always have our Midwest, friendly hometown hospitality philosophy in serving our customers that is so important in all of our franchisee restaurants when customers visit us,” Tania Burt, stressed.

“We invite everyone to stop by our Maid-Rites at any of our seventy locations and taste our delicious menu so you will know why Maid-Rite’s slogan of, ‘Our Name Says It All,’ exemplifies what we are all about since we were founded in 1926,” Bradley Burt said with a smile.

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