Maid-Rite

Maid-Rite Corporation

Type	Private
Industry	Restaurant
Founded	1926
Founder	Fred Angell
Headquarters	Urbandale, Iowa
Website	maid-rite.com

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, Arkansas, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri. The Quincy, Illinois, location was featured in the Food Network show Feasting on Asphalt.

History

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 without the tomato-based sauce.

Restaurants

Shuttered store in Macomb, Illinois

Angell opened his first restaurant in Muscatine, which was strictly walk-up. Later, a new eat-in building was opened. He and his son, Francis Angell, opened a second restaurant, featuring a "car hop" or drive-in service. This was the first such service of this kind in the United States; A&W Restaurants and White Castle Restaurants replicated this 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.

Sale

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

In November 2007, Maid-Rite announced an agreement with Hy-Vee Food Stores, a Midwest-based grocer, to operate restaurants in their stores.^[3]

References

↑ "Maid-Rite Timeline". Des Moines Register. 2006-11-12.
↑ Elbert, David (2006-11-12). "Maid-Rite Chain's Comeback Is Cooking". Des Moines Register.
↑ Local News (27 November 2007). "Sandwich Chain Maid-Rite Joins Hy-Vee in Gas Station Venture". KCRG-TV9 Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2016.

External links

Fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in the United States

Chicken chains Coffeehouse chains Pizza chains

Hamburgers	A&W Back Yard Big Boy Burger King Carl's Jr. Checkers/Rally's Cook Out Fatburger Five Guys Freddy's Fuddruckers The Habit Hardee's Hwy 55 In-N-Out Jack in the Box Johnny Rockets Krystal McDonald's Roy Rogers Shake Shack Smashburger Sonic Steak 'n Shake Wayback Wendy's Whataburger White Castle

Asian	L&L Hawaiian Barbecue Manchu Wok Panda Express Pei Wei Asian Diner P. F. Chang's China Bistro Pick Up Stix Sarku

Baked goods	Au Bon Pain Auntie Anne's Bruegger's Cinnabon Corner Bakery Cafe Dunkin' Donuts Einstein Bros. Great American Cookies Honey Dew Donuts Krispy Kreme Mrs. Fields Nestlé Toll House Panera Bread Pretzelmaker/Pretzel Time Shipley Do-Nuts Tim Hortons T.J. Cinnamons Wetzel's Winchell's

Beverages	Argo Tea Biggby Coffee Caribou Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Coffee Beanery Dunn Bros Gloria Jean's Jamba Juice Juice It Up! Orange Julius Peet's Planet Smoothie Robeks Seattle's Best Coffee Smoothie King Starbucks Teavana Tropical Smoothie Cafe Tully's

Frozen desserts	Baskin-Robbins Ben & Jerry's Braum's Bruster's Carvel Cold Stone Culver's Dairy Queen Dippin' Dots Fosters Freeze Friendly's Golden Spoon Graeter's Häagen-Dazs Handel's Kiwi Yogurt MaggieMoo's Marble Slab Menchie's Pinkberry Red Mango Rita's Sweet Frog Tastee-Freez TCBY Tropical Sno Tutti Frutti Yogen Früz Yogurtland

Hot dogs	Hot Dog on a Stick Nathan's Famous Portillo's Wienerschnitzel

Mexican-style / Tex-Mex	Baja Fresh Cafe Rio Chipotle Del Taco El Pollo Loco Freebirds Green/Red Burrito Moe's Pancheros Qdoba Rubio's Taco Bell Taco Bueno Taco Cabana Taco del Mar Taco John's Tijuana Flats Taco Mayo Taco Time Wahoo's Fish Taco

Noodles	Fazoli's Noodles & Company

Sandwiches	Arby's Atlanta Bread Blimpie Capriotti's Charley's Così Cousins D'Angelo Daphne's Erbert & Gerbert's Firehouse Subs Great Wraps Jason's Jerry's Subs Jersey Mike's Jimmy John's Lenny's Sub McAlister's Deli Miami Subs Mr. Hero Newk's Eatery Penn Station Port of Subs PDQ Potbelly Quiznos Rax Runza Sandella's Schlotzsky's Steak Escape Subway Togo's Tubby's Tudor's Biscuit World Which Wich?

Seafood	Arthur Treacher's Captain D's H. Salt Esquire Ivar's Long John Silver's Skippers Seafood & Chowder House

Defunct	Bresler's Ice Cream Brigham's Burger Chef Carrols D'Lites Druther's Henry's Hamburgers Hot 'n Now Hot Sam Pretzels Naugles Red Barn Sandy's Zantigo

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