K-Mac Opens Six
by June 23, 2003 12:00 am 118 views
K-Mac Enterprises Inc. of Fort Smith has opened five KFC restaurants and a new Taco Bell in Northwest Arkansas during the past 15 months.
Two of the new KFCs are in Rogers. K-Mac also opened KFCs in Fayetteville, Bentonville and Siloam Springs. The company’s new Taco Bell is in Bentonville. That brings the total for K-Mac in Benton and Washington counties combined to 11 Taco Bells and five KFCs.
Brent McGruder, president of K-Mac, said his company will bring in about $146 million in sales this year. That number includes revenue from four Golden Corral restaurants owned by a sister company named Golden Partners. Last year, K-Mac brought in about $137 million.
K-Mac is the nation’s second-largest Taco Bell franchisee. K-Mac currently has 124 Taco Bells and 37 KFC restaurants. All of K-Mac’s stores are located in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri.
Last year, McGruder told the Business Journal that same-store sales were up 7.1 percent at K-Mac’s Taco Bell restaurants and 2.9 percent at the company’s KFCs. But so far this year, same-store sales are up 3 percent at K-Mac’s Taco Bells and down 1 percent at its KFCs.
“Something’s always up while something else is always down,” McGruder said.
During the first week in June, K-Mac’s restaurants (including the Golden Corrals) sold 480,000 meals, McGruder said.
McGruder said K-Mac doesn’t have plans at the moment for expansion. He said the company will spend about $4 million this year to renovate existing restaurants.
The five KFCs K-Mac opened in Northwest Arkansas were among eight in the area closed by a former franchisee, Newmark Foods Inc. of New Mexico, which filed for bankruptcy in late 2001. As a result, KFC split the Northwest Arkansas franchising territory between K-Mac and BRM Foods Inc. of Searcy. BRM acquired the turf in Springdale and eastern Fayetteville, which included three stores (two in Springdale and one in Fayetteville).
Bob Mosesso, a partner with Billy Ball at BRM, said the company plans to build a KFC/Long John Silver’s on U.S. Highway 71B in Lowell but he doesn’t know when construction will begin.
KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken, although the company goes by KFC now. KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s, Pizza Hut and A&W International are all owned by YUM! Brands Inc. of Louisville, Ky.