Maid-Rite
Encyclopedia
Maid-Rite is an American casual dining franchise
restaurant chain. Before it became a restaurant chain, it was a single restaurant, opened in 1926 by Fred Angell. By the end of the 1920s, there were four franchises granted; these four restaurants are still in operation.
Maid-Rite Corporation's CEO and president is Bradley L. Burt. The corporate headquarters are located in Des Moines, Iowa
. As of April 2006, Maid-Rite had over 70 locations, located in Iowa
, Nebraska
, Illinois
, Minnesota
, Missouri
, and Ohio
. The Quincy, Illinois
, location was featured in the Food Network
show Feasting on Asphalt
.
Angell was a butcher
in Muscatine, Iowa
, who combined a special cut and grind of meat with a selected set of spices and created the Maid-Rite sandwich, which is not a traditional hamburger
. Rather, it is called a "loose meat" sandwich. While the component meat is similar, the Maid-Rite sandwich's meat is not formed into a patty, making it similar to a sloppy joe
only without the tomato-based sauce.
Angell opened his first restaurant in Muscatine, which was a walk-up restaurant. Later, a new eat-in building was opened. Along with his son Francis Angell, a second restaurant was opened that featured a "car hop" or drive-in service
. This was the first such service of this kind in the United States, with A&W Restaurants
and White Castle Restaurants
following this type of service shortly thereafter.
The first franchise
was opened in Durant, Iowa
, which still maintains a Maid-Rite restaurant. Maid-Rite began to grow in the number of franchises throughout the United States under the direction of William Angell, the grandson of the founder.
The Angell family would have controlling interest in the franchise until 1984, when it was sold to a partnership of Clayton Blue, a farmer from Russell, Iowa
, and John Gillotti, a contractor from Des Moines
.(The original Maid-Rite restaurants in Muscatine were sold to Gary Kopf, a local businessman who also operated vending companies, family restaurants and bakeries.)
Blue had plans to expand the chain into a worldwide operation and sell stock
to the public; however, after Blue defaulted
on the contract to buy Maid-Rite, Gillotti purchased the chain outright in 1988. Gillotti died in 1991, prompting a legal battle between Blue's family and Gillotti's heirs over ownership of the chain. After an injunction was issued by the Polk County
District Court in 1992 that prohibited any new Maid-Rite franchises, the Gillotti family was awarded ownership of the 138-store chain in 1995. However, issues with franchise fees and product quality led to a number of restaurants closing; by 2002 the number of Maid-Rite stores had dropped to 83.
In 2002, an investor group led by former Des Moines banker Bradley Burt purchased a majority interest in the Maid-Rite chain, with the Gillotti family retaining an interest. While up to 20 longtime franchisees left Maid-Rite during the first two years of its new ownership, Maid-Rite began to use computerized systems to control expenses, started offering ten-day courses on how to prepare Maid-Rite food to new franchise owners, and created a new uniform decor for its restaurants that retains the nostalgia
of the Maid-Rite brand. According to the Des Moines Register
, Maid-Rite has a ten-year plan to open more than 1,000 restaurants throughout the United States
.
In November 2007, Maid-Rite announced an agreement with Hy-Vee
Food Stores, a midwestern-based grocer to operate restaurants in their grocery stores.
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
restaurant chain. Before it became a restaurant chain, it was a single restaurant, opened in 1926 by Fred Angell. By the end of the 1920s, there were four franchises granted; these four restaurants are still in operation.
Maid-Rite Corporation's CEO and president is Bradley L. Burt. The corporate headquarters are located in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. As of April 2006, Maid-Rite had over 70 locations, located in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, and Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. The Quincy, Illinois
Quincy, Illinois
Quincy, known as Illinois' "Gem City," is a river city along the Mississippi River and the county seat of Adams County. As of the 2010 census the city held a population of 40,633. The city anchors its own micropolitan area and is the economic and regional hub of West-central Illinois, catering a...
, location was featured in the Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
show Feasting on Asphalt
Feasting on Asphalt
Feasting on Asphalt is a television series starring Alton Brown of the Food Network programs Good Eats and Iron Chef America.Brown's third series, Feasting on Asphalt explores "road food" in the historical and present-day United States, with an emphasis on unique restaurants and regional cuisine...
.
Sandwich
Butcher
A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...
in Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 22,886 in the 2010 census, an increase from 22,697 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Muscatine County...
, who combined a special cut and grind of meat with a selected set of spices and created the Maid-Rite sandwich, which is not a traditional hamburger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
. Rather, it is called a "loose meat" sandwich. While the component meat is similar, the Maid-Rite sandwich's meat is not formed into a patty, making it similar to a sloppy joe
Sloppy joe
A sloppy joe is an American dish of ground beef, onions, sweetened tomato sauce or ketchup and other seasonings, served on a hamburger bun. Commercially made sauces are also available. Textured vegetable protein may be used as a vegetarian substitute for the meat...
only without the tomato-based sauce.
Restaurants
Drive-in
A drive-in is a facility such as a bank, restaurant, or movie theater where one can literally drive in with an automobile for service. It is usually distinguished from a drive-through. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk out...
. This was the first such service of this kind in the United States, with A&W Restaurants
A&W Restaurants
A&W Restaurants, Inc., is a chain of fast-food restaurants, distinguished by its draft root beer and root beer floats. A&W was arguably the first successful food franchise company, starting franchises in 1921 in California. Today it has franchise locations throughout the world, serving a typical...
and White Castle Restaurants
White Castle (restaurant)
White Castle is an American regional fast food hamburger restaurant chain in the Midwestern United States and in the New York metropolitan area, and the first of its kind in the US. It is known for its small, square hamburgers. Sometimes referred to as "sliders", the burgers were priced at five...
following this type of service shortly thereafter.
The first franchise
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
was opened in Durant, Iowa
Durant, Iowa
Durant is a city in Cedar, Muscatine, and Scott counties in the US state of Iowa. The population was 1,677 at the 2000 census. The community is named in honor of Thomas C...
, which still maintains a Maid-Rite restaurant. Maid-Rite began to grow in the number of franchises throughout the United States under the direction of William Angell, the grandson of the founder.
The Angell family would have controlling interest in the franchise until 1984, when it was sold to a partnership of Clayton Blue, a farmer from Russell, Iowa
Russell, Iowa
Russell is a city in Lucas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 554 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 559 population in the 2000 census...
, and John Gillotti, a contractor from Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
.(The original Maid-Rite restaurants in Muscatine were sold to Gary Kopf, a local businessman who also operated vending companies, family restaurants and bakeries.)
Blue had plans to expand the chain into a worldwide operation and sell stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
to the public; however, after Blue defaulted
Default (finance)
In finance, default occurs when a debtor has not met his or her legal obligations according to the debt contract, e.g. has not made a scheduled payment, or has violated a loan covenant of the debt contract. A default is the failure to pay back a loan. Default may occur if the debtor is either...
on the contract to buy Maid-Rite, Gillotti purchased the chain outright in 1988. Gillotti died in 1991, prompting a legal battle between Blue's family and Gillotti's heirs over ownership of the chain. After an injunction was issued by the Polk County
Polk County, Iowa
Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 430,640 in the 2010 census, an increase from 374,601 in the 2000 census. The county seat is Des Moines, which is also the capital city of Iowa...
District Court in 1992 that prohibited any new Maid-Rite franchises, the Gillotti family was awarded ownership of the 138-store chain in 1995. However, issues with franchise fees and product quality led to a number of restaurants closing; by 2002 the number of Maid-Rite stores had dropped to 83.
In 2002, an investor group led by former Des Moines banker Bradley Burt purchased a majority interest in the Maid-Rite chain, with the Gillotti family retaining an interest. While up to 20 longtime franchisees left Maid-Rite during the first two years of its new ownership, Maid-Rite began to use computerized systems to control expenses, started offering ten-day courses on how to prepare Maid-Rite food to new franchise owners, and created a new uniform decor for its restaurants that retains the nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
of the Maid-Rite brand. According to the Des Moines Register
Des Moines Register
The Des Moines Register is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. A separate edition of the Register is sold throughout much of Iowa.-History:...
, Maid-Rite has a ten-year plan to open more than 1,000 restaurants throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In November 2007, Maid-Rite announced an agreement with Hy-Vee
Hy-Vee
Hy-Vee is an employee-owned chain of supermarkets located in the Midwestern United States. Over 100 of its supermarkets are located in Iowa, with additional stores in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and now Madison, Wisconsin...
Food Stores, a midwestern-based grocer to operate restaurants in their grocery stores.
External links
- Official website
- Franchise information
- Official website for one of the original franchises, Taylor's Maid-Rite in Marshalltown, IowaMarshalltown, IowaMarshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,552 in the 2010 census, an increase from the 26,009 population in the 2000 census. -History:...
.
See also
- Maid-Rite Sandwich ShopMaid-Rite Sandwich ShopThe Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop in Springfield, Illinois is one of the few remaining early Maid-Rite franchises in the United States. This specific shop claims to have the first drive-thru window in the U.S. The building, along historic U.S. Route 66, was added to the National Register of Historic...
- Canteen Lunch in the AlleyCanteen Lunch in the AlleyCanteen Lunch in the Alley is a restaurant located at 112 East 2nd Street in Ottumwa, Iowa. It opened in the 1930s and has been a local institution famous for their loose-meat sandwiches and homemade pies...
(Ottumwa, IowaOttumwa, IowaOttumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, and the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River....
)