WAIPOULI — It is the quintessential American success story. Chinese immigrant arrives in Hawai‘i from Hong Kong, and over nearly three decades works from a McDonald’s restaurant crew member to owner of five McDonald’s restaurants. Along the way, it was
WAIPOULI — It is the quintessential American success story.
Chinese immigrant arrives in Hawai‘i from Hong Kong, and over nearly three decades works from a McDonald’s restaurant crew member to owner of five McDonald’s restaurants.
Along the way, it was also a boy-meets-girl story.
Frankie and Darlene Chung met while they were working as part-time managers at separate McDonald’s restaurants on O‘ahu. Both started their restaurant careers as entry-level crew members at McDonald’s.
Earlier this week they became owners of all five McDonald’s restaurants on Kaua‘i, Frankie Chung said Wednesday at the Waipouli Town Center McDonald’s restaurant.
The other restaurants they own are in ‘Ele‘ele Shopping Center, in Kukui Grove Center, on Kuhio Highway in Lihu‘e, and in the Walmart store in Lihu‘e.
The sale, for an undisclosed amount, closed at midnight Monday.
The Chungs now live in Lihu‘e. They have been impressed with the level of talent they’ve inherited in the employees at the stores and are eager to immediately set out to give back to the community, Frankie Chung said during an exclusive interview.
“We have great managers, outstanding crew, one big ‘ohana,” he said. “These folks are very committed. We’re very fortunate to have them.
“These folks, they know what they’re doing. I think we’ll make a great team.”
Having such a good in-place group of employees made the Chungs feel they could make ownership work, based on their experience, he said.
He has also been immediately impressed with many of the regular customers he has met during his short time on the island.
“My philosophy is no matter what they purchase, they are a valued guest,” he said. “They support us every single day. The regulars who support us are a wonderful, wonderful group,” and an instant resource for feedback on how things can be improved at each restaurant, said Chung.
“Our regulars know our managers very well. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
Frankie Chung was most recently operations manager for McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawai‘i, and Darlene Chung served as an operations consultant.
Frankie Chung has 29 years experience at McDonald’s, and Darlene Chung has 31 years experience.
He said that, many years ago, he expressed to his supervisors an interest in becoming an owner and operator of a McDonald’s restaurant.
After that expression, his focus quickly returned to doing his job, he said.
Somebody remembered his ownership comment, asked more recently if he was still interested, and in the conversations that followed it became clear that both the Chungs and their superiors felt it made good sense to sell all five Kaua‘i restaurants to one buyer.
Previously, they had been owned and operated by the McDonald’s corporation.
“I’m very thankful that I have this opportunity,” said Chung, adding that offering the five restaurants to the couple showed McDonald’s great trust in the couple.
“This company really taught me a lot,” Chung said, adding that he wouldn’t have today’s confidence without the 29 years of training and experience the company afforded him.
He likened the training he received over his years with McDonald’s to “almost like attending college.”
Along the way, there were ample opportunities to advance, and lots of training, development and support. The company values diversity, he said.
“They give everybody an equal chance out there.”
Along the way, he also learned how to work with and respect others. “There’s so much to learn in this business,” said Chung, who said he still gets a thrill from seeing the smile on a child’s face when she gets her Happy Meal.
While getting the Lihu‘e restaurant up and running after its current remodeling is taking a lot of his early time here, he said a big part of his job is also to support the 30 managers, making sure they have everything they need to do their jobs.
Getting involved in the Kaua‘i community is important too, he said.
“The community has been a great supporter of McDonald’s, so we need to be big supporters of the community,” he said.
He’ll also “try to grow the business, of course,” he said.
Chung, 48, has two sons, ages 29 and 10.
The ‘Ele‘ele and Waipouli restaurants recently made drive-through operations open 24 hours a day, and all five restaurants offer complimentary wireless Internet.
McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawai‘i has 84 restaurants and more than 4,000 employees in Hawai‘i, Guam and Saipan. The company spends approximately $240 million annually in Hawai‘i, the economic impact of which creates nearly 12,500 jobs in the community, according to a press release.
Most managers stay with the company approximately 18 years.
More than 80 percent of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by local franchisees like the Chungs.
For more information on McDonald’s, visit www.mcdonalds.com.
