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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Maid-Rite Has IdentifiedHarlingen, Texas as a PriorityCityfor Their 2008 Development Growth Plan
Maid-Rite, famous for its seasoned to perfection, fresh ground beef sandwiches which celebrated its 81stAnniversary since its founding on November 19th 1926 in Muscatine, Iowa has targeted Harlingen as a priority city for their 2008 Development Growth Plan,to open one of its franchisee owned Diners in.
“In our opinion, a Maid-Rite Dinerin Harlingenwould be very successful because of the city’s growingpopulation of approximately 64,000 residents,plus the students and faculty at the new medical school campus, Regional Academic Health Center, along with the traffic from U.S. Highways 77 and 83 and the presence of major employers such as the Valley Baptist Medical Center and the Harlingen Medical Center. The entire community would enjoy our famous sandwiches, thick Blue Bunny malts & shakes and our home made pies,” Bradley Burt, President & CEO of Maid-Rite pointed out.
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,” Burt of Maid-Rite further emphasized.
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 $6.50 range.
“We feel that customers want value and quality, but they also want affordability when going out to eat, especially families in Harlingen,” Burt of Maid-Rite stated.
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 like Harlingen where 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 Midwestwhom 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 like Harlingen, 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-RiteUniversity 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 brandthat 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 include 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 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 zero Cholesterol and zero 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.
“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 our customers’ health and wellbeing,” Bradley Burtpointed out.
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 Iowafoods 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 Statesin eight states consisting of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio andWisconsin, where it presently has its eighty-two franchise restaurants in operation. Maid-Rite will soon have a new franchise restaurant opening in Arlington, Texas.
Maid-Rite’s growth strategies involve opening new franchise restaurants centrically around the country, where Maid-Rite has tremendous brand strength, loyalty and menu identity, which also enables it to logistically supply, support and train its franchisees.
Maid-Rite Diners 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 Diner 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 Diner.
“Our customers love our delicious sandwiches, many of whom drive many miles to our MaidRite 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 81stAnniversary 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 and we hope to be doing that in Harlingen very soon,” Bradley Burt of Maid-Rite also mentioned.
“If we have the opportunity to have a franchisee owned and operated Maid-Rite in Harlingen, we want our customers 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 deliver 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-Ritesat any of our eighty-twolocations 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.
For additional information or for logos, historic photographs, floor plans and current store pictures, please contact:
Bradley Burt, President & CEOMaid-Rite Corporation
2951 86th Street
Des Moines, IA 50322
515-276-5448
Website: