Tom Burrell and his six siblings grew up in the progressive college town of Ypsilanti, Michigan – home to Eastern Michigan University. When Tom was a teenager, his father, James (Jim), had an opportunity to become a franchisee in what would become one of the world’s largest quick service restaurant franchises.
In 1974, Tom’s parents moved the family to Franklin, Kentucky, where they purchased their first McDonald’s restaurant. Tom (and five of his siblings) worked at the restaurant throughout high school and college. Recognizing the potential at McDonald’s, he became more and more interested in learning everything he could about the restaurant’s operations.
This was an exciting time for the Burrell family! His dad began to expand the business, purchasing existing restaurants in neighboring communities and building new ones throughout Kentucky. Tom also met and married his wife Kathy as well as became the General Manager of the Glasgow, KY, restaurant.
In the late 1980s, after successfully completing McDonald’s next generation program, Tom purchased several of his dad’s restaurants and became a second generation McDonald’s franchise owner/operator. His brother Paul and sister Linda also became owner/operators, taking ownership of some of their parents’ other restaurants. Throughout this transition, Tom began working with CTM Partner Scott Weingart with whom he has become great friends.
“Scott taught me a lot about the financial aspects of growing my business, such as valuing potential restaurants,” noted Tom. “He has good business sense and helped me evaluate different ideas for my organization. He’s also a good guy to be around!”
Today, Tom’s organization is 16 restaurants strong. Tom attributes his success to the people around him. “You are only as good as the people you work with,” commented Tom. “And you should treat them the way you want to be treated.”
To that end, Tom and Kathy have focused on developing their employees by providing them with educational as well as career growth opportunities. Kathy established many of the educational and marketing programs, such as “Pay for Grades,” which are still used to this day. As a result, several of their staff members have come back to work in management roles at their McDonald’s restaurants after graduating from college.
Although he sees the industry as more competitive than ever, he still thinks McDonald’s is a great business to be in. After 43 years in the McDonald’s system, his advice to the next generation of owner/operators is:
- Learn as much as you can from family and others;
- Work hard, but be humble;
- Maintain a positive attitude;
- Collaborate with people, and use all of the resources you have;
- Be compassionate;
- Be prepared for change; and
- Get involved – serve on a committee.
Tom has embraced this philosophy with his McDonald’s family as well as his personal family. Tom and Kathy are blessed with two children, Audrey and Chris as well as their son-in-law Scott and two grandsons Dylan (4 years old) and Austin (2 years old).
Although he has an active lifestyle (Tom enjoys hiking, kayaking and swimming), he is never too busy to lend an ear or a hand in times of need. True to his beliefs, he has participated in mission trips traveling to nearby Appalachia, Kentucky and as far away as Haiti to install a clean water system.
