Former McDonalds Executive and Investment Banker Expand Checkers® in South Florida
West Palm Beach, FL (PRWEB) September 17, 2013 -- Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. (Checkers), the largest double drive-thru chain in the United States, is excited to announce Corey Kipp and Rikki Vaughn have been approved to open new Checkers restaurants in the West Palm Beach market.
“South Florida is a large territory with incredible room for expansion. We’re excited to bring Corey and Rikki on board to grow the brand,” Jennifer Durham, Vice President of Franchise Development of Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. said. “Corey and Rikki have made tremendous progress in just a few short months on their 1209 North Dixie Highway restaurant which will open next month. This signing demonstrates further proof of our ability to attract new entrepreneurs and grow our system of franchisees.”
After a lucrative career on Wall Street, Kipp and his business partner Vaughn, a longtime McDonald’s executive, will be the driving force behind West Palm development. After winding down 20-plus years in investment banking, Kipp began looking for alternative opportunities to invest in his community. Vaughn, who will act as Director of Operations, is a 20-year veteran of the restaurant industry. He comes to Checkers with an extraordinary track record. The youngest Senior Vice President in McDonald’s history, Vaughn said that he will bring new energy to the growing Checkers brand. The two jointly founded Finishline Foods, the operating entity behind the development.
“We’re very proud to be the first franchisees approved to develop the South Florida territory in quite some time and are proud to assist the company with building the presence of Checkers in our community. My background in business, coupled with Rikki’s experience overseeing 34 McDonald’s locations and 800 employees, will allow us to grow exponentially,” Kipp said. “The West Palm Beach area provides plenty of room for expansion and offers us tremendous potential for growth.”
Checkers continues to add crave-able menu selections and introduce daring flavors to its fans. Options such as Loaded Potato Skins, Cold Creations and the original Big Buford® aim to bring the freshest ingredients and boldest flavors to hungry guests. The company continues to innovate, and remains true to its commitment to provide crazy good food at an exception value. To enhance the dining experience, the forthcoming West Palm Beach locations will be modeled in Checkers’ newest prototype. The new build-out includes LED screens, innovative column designs, equipment for increased staff productivity, new shake machines that deliver more flavor options and are, overall, better equipped to meet high-volume business demands.
“We’re consistently innovating our mouth-watering menu, our restaurant formats and our unique operating tools to allow us to improve both performance and guest satisfaction,” Durham said. “With Corey, Rikki and the team at Finishline Foods on board and prepared to open restaurants, we are well-positioned to expand in South Florida and other competitive markets.”
Checkers continues to grow nationally with opportunities for ownership available in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, New York and Washington D.C, among other cities.
ABOUT CHECKERS
Checkers/Rally’s Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. is the largest double drive-thru restaurant chain in the United States. The company develops, owns, operates and franchises both Checkers and Rally’s® restaurants. Based in Tampa, Fla., it has almost 800 restaurants open across the U.S. In recent years, the brand has been awarded several of the industry’s most prestigious awards including: “Best Drive-Thru in America” by QSR Magazine and the “Hot! Again Award” from Nation’s Restaurant News. For more information about Checkers, please visit http://www.checkers.com.
Greg Avdoian, No Limit Agency, http://www.nolimitagency.com, 312.526.3996, [email protected]
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