Local BK Owner Named Franchisee of the Year
January 2016
By David Zaslawsky
Photography by Robert Fouts
The boss of about 3,700 employees in three states recently won a slew of awards from Burger King and that slew was four trophies, green jacket, Rolex and a 2016 Corvette.
Even after hauling in all that hardware, Patrick Sidhu, president and CEO of Premier Kings Inc., which owns 81 restaurants, said “we were the winner” of the 2015 Burger King Franchisee of the Year.”
The Corvette, which will be white or blue, is not a one-year use of vehicle. It’s Sidhu’s car, but won’t be for long. He planned to drive it for 30 to 40 days and “then pass it on to the team. I’ll let my directors and VPs in different markets drive it around.”
He helped design the company’s franchisee excellence program in 2014, which included the criteria of operations, marketing, sales and development, image and growth and profitability. Sidhu was the overall winner in the category of owning 20-plus stores. Other categories were franchisee owners with one to five restaurants and six to 19 restaurants.
In addition to being named the Franchisee of the Year, he also received trophies for Southeast Operator of the Year for the second year in a row; segment winner for the 20-plus restaurant category; and won the marketing excellence award. The green jacket represents the three winners from each of three categories.
“I’ve been in the Burger King system for less than five years and started with six restaurants and now we’re going to be close to 90 restaurants by the end of (2015),” Sidhu said. “For a new person to come into the system and excel at the pace that we have is unheard of in the BK system.”
He has come a long way in a short time after buying what he described as a “very depressed” Montgomery portfolio of four Burger King restaurants. He credits operational changes as well as a re-imaging approach that “has really helped us take market share from competitors.” Sidhu now has eight locations in Montgomery, including Hope Hull and about 320 employees.
His sales have shown a steady 10 percent increase over last year and he mirrors the company’s six straight quarters of positive sales growth. His annual revenue from 81 restaurants is $140 million-plus.
When asked again what the awards meant to him, Sidhu said, “I’m very happy for myself and my team and thank my family for putting up with me for all the days that I spend away from home.”
0Fast Food Fortune
January 2016
By David Zaslawsky
Photography by Robert Fouts
It was just two years ago, but in the life of a Burger King magnate – two years is a long, long time.
Patrick Sidhu, president and CEO of Premier Kings Inc., which owns the Burger Kings in the Montgomery area, recalled his goal two years ago of owning 100 units. Now that goal is so two years ago. He is looking at owning 200-plus units in the next three to four years. Two years ago, Sidhu owned 38 Burger King restaurants and expected to have 89 stores at the end of 2015. At 40 to 45 employees per restaurant, he will have 8,000-plus employees.
That serious expansion mode includes the Montgomery area. He has a contract to purchase land on the northern bypass by WOW! Cable company. He has interests on Fairview Avenue and is looking at sites in Pike Road. He could have another three to four locations in the region by the end of 2016.
His looking is not limited to the Montgomery area or even Alabama, although he has 31 Burger King sites in the Huntsville area and another 22 in the greater Birmingham area.
Sidhu, who opened two Burger King restaurants in Tennessee last October, wants to expand in the southern section of the state. He has holdings in Georgia and now is looking at acquisitions in Mississippi and Florida. His company builds about 10 restaurants a year.
“We are very, very, very mindful of staying in the Southeast,” said Sidhu, who is notified about potential deals throughout the country. “What I have been doing is very aggressively building and acquiring. We’ve done more than six acquisitions in the last two years in different markets.”
He acquired 27 stores from a franchisee owner in Huntsville, who had worked for Burger King for 40-plus years and was looking to retire.
Sidhu opened his eighth Burger King in Montgomery in September on Taylor Road just past the intersection with Vaughn Road. The restaurant features the company’s new look, called “garden grill.” First of all, the seating capacity has grown from the traditional store’s 60 to 80 in a much more open setting without divider walls. It’s a “more earthy look,” Sidhu said. There are even open trusses on the ceiling. He also
has close to 70 employees instead of the traditional
40 to 45.
And speaking of ceilings, Sidhu said that being a franchisee owner of 200-plus units is his ceiling.
