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Burger King trying to mount a turnaround in fast-food lane

By Marisa Dorazio
Special to The Seattle Times

	GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES Joe Hartman, manager of the remodeled Burger King on Rainier Avenue South, tries to maintain that like-new look. The addition of forest green gives the restaurant a more Northwest feel.
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Several restaurants around Puget Sound have closed — some temporarily, others for good. Some restaurants are being moved; others are being refurbished. A few franchisees have filed for bankruptcy.

But after years of struggles, the fast-food chain is trying to turn itself around. Nationally, Burger King has restructured to provide more support to restaurant operators. Regionally, new franchisees have moved in, hoping to succeed where others have failed.

Flynn Olympic, owner of Seattle-based World Wrapps, bought nine Burger Kings, most in the Olympia-Lacey area, earlier this year. The company owns three Burger Kings in the San Francisco area and wants to bring their success here.

"We have an excellent relationship with Burger King," Flynn Olympic co-owner and managing director Mark Escamilla said. "We wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for that relationship that we've grown over the years with our San Francisco restaurants."

Flynn Olympic is remodeling several of the stores it bought, including the one on Rainier Avenue South, which got a face-lift inside and out. Forest green has replaced primary interior colors, giving the restaurant a more Northwest feel. Contemporary pendant lighting hangs over booths. A new logo adorns the outside. And the roof, once brown, is now blue with a band of red light.

Flynn Olympic and Burger King hope the changes boost sales and the company's image.

In recent years, owners of Burger King franchises across the country have complained of inadequate support from the company, said Rob Doughty, vice president of strategic communications for the chain. Some — including one of the chain's largest franchisees, AmeriKing of Westchester, Ill., which owns more than 300 restaurants — have filed for bankruptcy as Burger King's sales have declined.

In the Seattle area, some franchise owners also ran into financial trouble. At least one filed for bankruptcy reorganization. One sued Burger King. Others simply shut down.

In April 2002, franchisee Great Northwest Foods closed its nine Puget Sound restaurants. It owned three in Seattle, three in Tacoma and one each in Bellevue and Everett.

Earlier this year, 13 South Puget Sound-area restaurants closed when franchise owner Westwind ALWA ran into financial trouble, Doughty said. Most of those restaurants have been sold to other franchise owners — eight to Flynn.

Phone numbers for Great Northwest were disconnected, and no one affiliated with the company could be reached. Westwind officials did not return phone calls.

In the next 18 months, nine of the closed restaurants — three in Seattle, one in Kirkland, one in Lynnwood, two in Tacoma and two in Olympia — are to be renovated by the various franchise owners and reopened, said Tracy Peters, franchise business leader of Burger King for the Seattle market.

For Whopper fans, the changes are welcome, especially if those changes make it easier to get the fast food they sometimes crave.

When Jim and Mel Stacey found their Burger King in Ballard dark and empty one night, they drove to a store on Elliott Avenue to get their Whopper fix. But it, too, was closed.

"All five (Burger King) outlets within five miles of us have closed in the last couple of years, with four of those closing in the last couple of months," Jim Stacey said.

Burger King hopes the restructuring and added support will help business and keep stores from closing. The changes began after the chain's former owner, London-based Diageo, sold the restaurants last year to a group of U.S. investors. The chain, based in Miami, has more than 11,300 locations worldwide but has seen its market share drop since 1998.

"We have reorganized the entire company," said Todd Bartmess, vice president of the Northwest Division.

The company has hired a new chief executive and a new president, both with years of restaurant-management experience.

Under new CEO Brad Blum, the company has set up a financial restructuring program to help struggling franchisees and implemented advertising and marketing campaigns to promote the benefits of grilled food.

Bob Nilsen, the new president, brings fast-food experience that includes leading Taco Bell's turnaround team.

Newly appointed division officers are trying to increase sales and improve service through management training conferences that will focus on team building and reducing turnover.

"It's been a good boost to the system," said Dan Gettemy, president of Northsound Restaurants, which has owned eight Burger Kings for seven years. "It's really helped focus their management teams."

Marisa Dorazio: 206-464-2291 or mdorazio@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company