Tony Philiou has been one of Ohio’s most successful McDonald’s franchise owners since 1978. And lucky for me, one of his franchise locations (Mayfield Heights, Ohio) sits a mere 1.75 miles from my Castle.
But what makes Philiou extraordinary?
Is it the fact that he’s 90 years old?
Nope.
Some McDonald’s Franchise Owners Are Extraordinary
There was a time Tony owned 7 McDonald’s franchises. Can you imagine the revenue from 7 McDonald’s franchise businesses?
Suffice to say, Philiou did quite well. And he’s never been shy about passing it around. I like that in a person. And he takes good care of his employees, too.
37-year McDonald’s Worker Gets Surprise Of A Lifetime
Sep 17, 2014- Mary Conti has been working at the Mayfield Heights McDonald’s for more than 37 years. Here’s what her boss, McDonald’s franchise owner, Tony Philiou, did, to honor her service. It gets better.
Headline: Mayfield Heights McDonald’s To Close For 3 Months
Recently, Philiou decided to renovate his wildly-successful fast-food restaurant.
Pictures of his newly renovated restaurant
That meant he would need to close it completely…for a period of 3 months. Which he did. Can you imagine how much revenue he lost? And what about his team of extremely loyal employees? What were they supposed to do?
In an extraordinary move, Philoiu decided to pay his employees while renovations were going on.
From WKYC-TV:
“I have people here that make a living here and go from week-to-week pay,” he told us. “How can I tolerate for them to not have a paycheck?”
That meant his valued employees didn’t have to stand in the unemployment line.
But more importantly, they didn’t need to lose sleep over how they would pay their bills.
“That was the thing to do,” Philiou said. “That was the thing to do.”
It sure was.
New! Photo of McDonald’s New Interior Design 2023
Here’s a photo I took of Tony’s new interior at his Mayfield Heights, Ohio McDonald’s location.
Would You Like To Be The Next “Tony?”
If you’d like to become a franchisee of McDonald’s, here’s some important information from their franchise application.
Investment Criteria
We require our franchisees to devote full time and best efforts to operating the business, including exhibiting personal management, financial management, fiscal responsibility to reinvest, and leadership in the restaurant business. We do not permit investors or partnerships. This opportunity is a significant investment. You will need a minimum of $100,000 in unencumbered funds to begin the application process to be considered as a potential franchisee candidate.
If you were a successful franchise owner, would you do what Tony Philiou did?
Would you pay your employees while you renovated?
P.S. I can verify the fact that Tony’s employees are loyal. I can also verify that Tony is good people, as I’ve talked to him several times.
That’s because The same ladies have collected my money from the drive-thru window for the past two decades!
Do you think McDonald’s franchise owners like Tony are one in a million?