Saturday, July 2, 2005

Twin City Burger Kings bought

By Scott Miller
scottmiller@pantagraph.com

Three Twin City Burger Kings have a new owner and eventually will have a new look.

"Everything the eye sees we improve," said Jeff Rogers, CEO of Heartland Food Corp. in Downers Grove. "Our goal is to train and give people the tools they need."

On June 24, Heartland purchased seven Burger King franchises in Peoria, Pekin, Morton, Canton, Bloomington and Normal from Drury Management Inc. and Drury-Illinois Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

The Bloomington restaurants are at 1601 Clearwater Ave. and 1801 S. Veterans Parkway. The Normal location is 1617 N. Main St.

Rogers plans to spend about $170,000 improving each Burger King. Work will include replacing worn-out equipment, such as registers and grills, as well as painting and landscaping the restaurants' exteriors.

"The landscaping will probably be finished in 60 days or less," he said.

After the initial renovation, Rogers expects the Burger Kings to serve more people faster, and then he may consider a larger renovation.

"We plan on doing a couple stages of remodeling. First, we get them up to speed in sales. We want to get a little money going before we do a complete remodeling," Rogers said.

Heartland operates 220 Burger Kings in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina.

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