Maid-Rite

Last updated
Maid-Rite Corporation
Company typePrivate
IndustryRestaurant
Founded1926
FounderFred 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, four franchises were granted; these four restaurants are still in operation.

Contents

Maid-Rite Corporation's CEO and president is Bradley L. Burt. The corporate headquarters are located in Des Moines, Iowa. As of August 2019, Maid-Rite had 32 locations in Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri. The Quincy, Illinois, location was featured in the Food Network show Feasting on Asphalt .

History

Fred 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 Maid-Rite, Macomb.JPG
Shuttered store in Macomb, Illinois
Maid-Rite store in Greenville, Ohio Maid-Rite Greenville.jpg
Maid-Rite store in Greenville, Ohio

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 had 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.)[ citation needed ]

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 the chain's ownership. After the Polk County District Court issued an injunction in 1992 that prohibited any new Maid-Rite franchises, the court awarded the Gillotti family ownership of the 138-store chain in 1995. Issues with franchise fees and product quality led to a number of restaurants closing, however, and 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 Maid-Rite food preparation to new franchise owners, and created a new uniform decor for its restaurants that retains the Maid-Rite brand's nostalgia. In 2006, Maid-Rite had 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]

As of January 2025, there are 19 locations in Iowa, and 11 locations in other states. [4]

Related Research Articles

Subway IP LLC, trading as Subway, is an American multinational fast food restaurant franchise that specializes in submarine sandwiches (subs) and wraps. It was founded by Fred DeLuca and financed by Peter Buck in 1965 as Pete's Super Submarines in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After several name changes, it was renamed Subway in 1972, and a franchise operation began in 1974 with a second restaurant in Wallingford, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hy-Vee</span> American supermarket chain

Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned chain of supermarkets in the Midwestern and Southern United States, with more than 280 locations in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, with stores planned in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. Hy-Vee was founded in 1930 by Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg in Beaconsfield, Iowa, in a small brick building known as the Beaconsfield Supply Store, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Eagle Food Centers was a chain of supermarkets that operated in Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois for several years. The company was based in Milan, Illinois. The company operated stores under many names, including BOGO'S, Eagle Country Market, Eagle Discount Centers, Eagle Discount Supermarkets, Eagle Food Centers, May's Drug and MEMCO. Eagle also operated stores in Houston known as Eagle Supermarkets until March 1985. The chain held a 6% market share and had 1,100 employees before leaving the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culver's</span> Restaurant chain in the United States

Culver Franchising System, LLC, doing business as Culver's, is an American fast-casual restaurant chain. The company was founded in 1984 by George, Ruth, Craig, and Lea Culver. The first location opened in Sauk City, Wisconsin, on July 18, 1984, under the name "Culver's Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers." The privately held company is headquartered in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. The chain operates primarily in the Midwestern United States, and had a total of 1000 restaurants in 26 states as of January 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cub (supermarket)</span> American supermarket chain owned by United Natural Foods

Cub is an American supermarket chain. It operates stores in Minnesota and Illinois. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Natural Foods, based in Providence, Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy John's</span> American sandwich chain

Jimmy John's Franchise, LLC, commonly referred to as Jimmy John's, is an American sandwich chain, headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The business was founded by Jimmy John Liautaud in 1983. After Liautaud graduated from high school, his father gave him a choice to either join the military or start a business. Liautaud decided to start a hot dog business, which changed to sandwiches due to costs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mazzio's</span> American restaurant chain

Mazzio's Italian Eatery is a restaurant specializing in pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, and occasionally other specialty items. Mazzio's began as a pizza parlor and is located throughout Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, and Illinois. The sole Mazzio's in Louisiana, located in Shreveport, closed in the mid-1990s. It was first founded in 1961, when a young school teacher named Ken Selby opened a restaurant named The Pizza Parlor at 3024 East 11th Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is still operating as a Mazzio's location today. In 1965, Selby opened a second location at 15th and Sheridan in Tulsa and changed the name to Ken's Pizza. By 1975, there were more than 100 franchise locations in and around Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blimpie</span> American submarine sandwich chain

Blimpie International, Inc. is an American submarine sandwich chain based in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was founded in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1964, by three friends, and has since endured three ownership changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fareway</span> American grocery store chain

Fareway Stores, Inc. is a Midwest grocery store chain based in Boone, Iowa. It operates 137 grocery store locations in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, and Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tavern sandwich</span> Sandwich

A tavern sandwich is a sandwich consisting of ground beef on a bun, sometimes mixed with sauteed onions, and sometimes topped with pickles, ketchup, mustard, raw onions, and/or cheese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olga's Kitchen</span>

Olga's Kitchen is an American chain of Greek-American family restaurants located primarily in the U.S. state of Michigan, founded by Olga Loizon in 1970. The company is based in Livonia, Michigan, and currently has 26 locations: one each in Illinois and Massachusetts, and the rest in Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy's</span> Former American restaurant chain

Sandy's was a chain of American fast-food restaurants begun in 1956 by four entrepreneurs from Kewanee, Illinois: Gus "Brick" Lundberg, Robert C. Wenger, Paul White and W. K. Davidson. Sandy's was the ancestor of the midwestern franchises of the Hardee's restaurant chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canteen Lunch in the Alley</span> Restaurant in Iowa, United States

Canteen Lunch in the Alley is a restaurant located in Ottumwa, Iowa. The original five-stool Canteen Lunch was opened in 1927 in a different location, and moved to its current address in 1936. The “Canteen Lunch” was originally established in 1927. In 1936, the business relocated to its present location under the second street parking ramp in Ottumwa, Iowa. It has since been a local institution known for its loose-meat sandwiches and homemade pies. The restaurant's design is a horseshoe-shaped counter-top surrounded by 16 stools. It remains an example of an early to mid-20th-century lunchroom. The Canteen Lunch reflects on this type of eating establishment that gained popularity in the 1920s and 1930s as social and economic challenges were felt by the Great Depression.

80/35 Music Festival is a multi-day music festival in Des Moines, Iowa. The name comes from two prominent interstates, I-80 and I-35, which intersect in Des Moines. The festival includes a stage for national touring bands and several smaller stages featuring regional and local supporting acts. In addition to music, there are booths for local organizations, interactive art, food and beverage sales, and resting places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">QuikTrip</span> American convenience store chain

The QuikTrip Corporation, more commonly known as QuikTrip (QT), is an American chain of convenience stores based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that operates in the Midwestern, Southern, and Western United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dahl's Foods</span> Grocery Store Chain

Dahl's Foods was a grocery store chain headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa that had multiple locations in central Iowa between its founding in 1931 and its demise in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Price Chopper (Midwestern United States)</span> Supermarket located in Kansas

Price Chopper is a group of four separate family-owned chains of grocery stores formed in 1979 in the Kansas City and Des Moines metropolitan areas that share a common brand name and unified marketing campaigns. The owners are the Ball, Cosentino, McKeever, and Queen families in Kansas City and Crestline Capital, a Bass Family of Texas entity, and DGS Foods in Des Moines. All ownership groups are members of Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), which allows Price Chopper to have the buying power of large chains and to share marketing costs. The five ownership groups own and operate 55 stores across Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa. Slogans for the chain include "Just Right" and "Fresher Ways to Save". In 2015 it was the largest grocery store chain in the Kansas City metropolitan area in terms of both sales and number of stores. Its biggest competitor in both Kansas City and Des Moines is Hy-Vee.

Strack & Van Til is a grocery store chain with locations in Northwest Indiana. Stores operate under the banners of Strack & Van Til and Town & Country Food Market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaconsfield Supply Store</span> Historic store in Iowa, United States

The Beaconsfield Supply Store is a one-story brick building in rural Ringgold County, Iowa, United States. Built in 1916, it became the birthplace of the Hy-Vee chain of stores when Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg opened a general store together in 1930. The building was later used for a variety of purposes, including a telephone exchange. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

College Square Mall is a shopping mall in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. Built in 1969, the mall features Ashley Furniture, Hy-Vee, Planet Fitness, and Von Maur as its anchor stores. It is owned and managed by Namdar Realty Group.

References

  1. "Maid-Rite Timeline". Des Moines Register. 2006-11-12.[ dead link ]
  2. Elbert, David (2006-11-12). "Maid-Rite Chain's Comeback Is Cooking". Des Moines Register.[ dead link ]
  3. 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.
  4. "Maid-Rite Corporation - Locations" . Retrieved 22 August 2023.

See also