Five Burger Kings & 200 Jobs In Miami
Dean S. Lautermilch© ²ºº³
Five Dade Burger Kings closed
A dispute between Burger King and a Miami-Dade franchisee leads to closings
and 200 layoffs. The case is headed to court.
BY ELAINE WALKER
Five Burger King restaurants in Liberty City and the urban core of
Miami-Dade County have closed, leaving 200 people out of work just before
Christmas. The problem: a dispute between Burger King's longest-tenured
black franchisee in Florida and the fast-food chain over unpaid bills
estimated as high as $1.7 million. Franchisee Willie Taylor and Burger King
are suing each other. While the cases play out in both Miami-Dade Circuit
Court and U.S. District Court, some black leaders argue it's unfair to close
the restaurants and lay off low-income residents already struggling to make
ends meet.
The Rev. Nathaniel Wilcox, executive director of People United to Lead
the Struggle for Equality, or PULSE, led a group of 100 of his members and
some of Taylor's employees in a protest Tuesday outside Burger King
headquarters. ''It's the poor people that are suffering,'' Wilcox said in a
phone interview after the protest and a meeting with Burger King executives.
``We don't want these people out on the street. We want to get the workers
back to work, while Mr. Taylor and Burger King negotiate.''
Taylor closed five of his six Burger King restaurants last week after
his suppliers refused to deliver him food and Burger King-branded paper
products, attorney Robert Zarco said.
''We had no choice,'' Zarco said. ``If a Burger King has no food, what am I
supposed to do? Burger King forced this closing. We did not abandon the
restaurants.'' Burger King spokesman Rob Doughty said the company has been
working with Taylor for a year to help him comply with his franchise
agreement and received no notice of his intent to close the restaurants.
''If someone is going to close restaurants, they need to tell us about it,''
Doughty said. ``We're in the same boat as these employees are.''
Burger King filed suit against Taylor on Nov. 26 in U.S. District Court
in Miami, alleging trademark infringement. The company sought to evict him
from the restaurants and regain control of the property, which the fast-food
chain owns. The Burger King suit was filed a day after Taylor sued Burger
King in Miami-Dade Circuit Court for alleged breach of contract, negligent
misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices. ''We don't have
the legal right to reopen these restaurants,'' Doughty said. ``Hopefully the
court will give us this right. Our intent is to get the restaurants reopened
as quickly as we can.''
At issue is whether Burger King is responsible for Taylor's financial
struggles. Taylor has been part of the Burger King system since 1957, when
he started at the Burger King commissary loading trucks, scrubbing floors
and cutting lettuce. After rising through the ranks to commissary manager,
Taylor decided in 1970 to pursue the ''American dream'' and become a
franchisee. On Feb. 5, 1970, he became Burger King's first African-American
franchisee in Florida.
But now Taylor is one of many Burger King franchisees struggling. At
least 20 percent of the system is in trouble due to the company's declining
sales and growing debts. Many franchisees have been forced to seek
protection in bankruptcy court, including AmeriKing, once Burger King's
largest franchisee. It's now in the process of liquidating its stores after
failing to reorganize. In addition to the general problems that have plagued
the Burger King system, Taylor's attorney claims his client's situation was
exacerbated by the fast-food chain's actions.
Taylor's suit argues that Burger King ''dumped'' on him a ''corporate dog''
restaurant at 13575 W. Dixie Hwy., North Miami, which he bought in September
1996. Taylor bought the restaurant because Burger King ''implied'' that his
''eligibility for future expansion'' was dependent on that move, according
to the complaint.
The suit also charges that Burger King ''cannibalized'' sales at
Taylor's restaurant at 5401 NW Seventh Ave. in Miami by allowing another
restaurant to open in 2000 about a mile away.
While Burger King attempted to buy out Taylor, Zarco says the offer wasn't
reasonable.
''Burger King wants to buy the restaurants at a steal,'' Zarco said. ``You
can't destroy a business and then try to buy it out at a depreciated
price.''But at least one independent group tried for more than a year to
help Taylor out of his jam and ensure that the 200 employees would retain
their jobs.
The Miami-Dade County Empowerment Trust had agreed to loan Taylor
$500,000 in Miami-Dade Community Development Block Grant funds. But after
the trust extended the loan commitment at least four times over a year,
Taylor failed to produce the documentation needed before the loan could be
issued. 'We made our best effort,'' said Rodney Carey, chief financial
officer of the Miami-Dade Empowerment Trust, which administers the grant
funds.
``After four commitment letters, that's bending over as far as we can. I had
other entrepreneurs that needed the funding. You can only go so far.''
PirateJohn
neighborhood closed recently, and we have another nearby Burger King that also
folded. Something's going on.
~~~
"Yeah, and that's why it's still a mystery to me
why some people live like they do.
So many nice things happenin' out there,
they never even seen the clues." -- Jimmy Buffett, "Migration"
Dean S. Lautermilch© ²ºº³
news:20031224113932...@mb-m01.aol.com...
> It may be a coincidence, but the Burger King in my northern Florida
> neighborhood closed recently, and we have another nearby Burger King that
also
> folded. Something's going on.
Fast food are high volume, low profit businesses. An unemployed or
underemployed person can no longer belly up the counter and plop down five
or six dollars for a meal. In addition to the economic downturn the 'dollar'
menu has been very damaging as they are losing money.
They can't take away the dollar menu since other franchises will still have
it.
I live in Fort Lauderdale and there are a number of Burger Kings, Checkers,
Brown's Chicken and other franchises that are closed. Not to forget a number
of upscale restaurants that are closed for the same reason: the economy.
Jasonjeffj
a better product or some of burger kings ideas(dollar menu) havent worked.
Hoodude
wrote:
>It may be a coincidence, but the Burger King in my northern Florida
>neighborhood closed recently, and we have another nearby Burger King that also
>folded. Something's going on.
Many BKs were closed - including three in small cities around my state
- due to this situation :
December 19, 2003
http://tinyurl.com/2l2y6
The Cypress Group Completes Sale of AmeriKing Burger King Operations
in Illinois, Wisconsin and Tennessee
WESTCHESTER, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 19, 2003--The Cypress Group,
an investment bank and advisory services firm, completed the sale of
AmeriKing's 131 Burger King restaurants located primarily in Illinois
and Wisconsin and 15 restaurants in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Prior to entering bankruptcy in December 2002, AmeriKing was the
second-largest independent Burger King franchisee. The Burger King
operations in Illinois were sold to Heartland Food Corporation, an
existing Burger King franchisee. The Tennessee restaurants were sold
to HomeTown Folks, LLC, a local Tennessee restaurant operating
company.
Early this month, Cypress also completed the sale of AmeriKing's Texas
and Colorado Burger King restaurants. AmeriKing anticipates completing
the sale of its remaining restaurants in Virginia, North Carolina and
Cincinnati by the end of January. All of AmeriKing's assets are being
sold as part of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
The Cypress Group acted as AmeriKing's exclusive financial advisor in
negotiating and structuring the sale of AmeriKing's assets. The
Cypress Group provides advisory and investment banking services to the
multi-unit and retail and restaurant industries. For more information,
please contact either...
- - -
Also in Alaska:
http://www.alaskastar.com/stories/121803/new_20031218027.shtml
Burger King closes
The Burger King franchise on the Old Glenn Highway in Eagle River
closed earlier this month. The local franchisee, Restaurants
Northwest, did not return calls as to the reason behind the closure.
An assistant manager said before the closing that the business had
trouble maintaining an adequate workforce.