Milan Road BK owner promises upgrades

PERKINS TWP. — Local Burger King patrons can expect some royal upgrades now that a new owner will oversee the restaurant at Milan and Strub roads. When the original owners went bankrupt, Burger King corporate turned to one of its most successful franchise owners, TOMS King. The Illinois-based company operates hundreds of restaurants across the country and has thousands of people in its employ."Our restaurants are run better than any other franchisees," TOMS King CEO Matt Carpenter said.The average Burger King has 20 full-time employees, but TOMS King's restaurants employ double the amount of people.An increased profit margin has also enabled the company to pay its employees above minimum wage in many of the states in which it operates.TOMS King has plans to make improvements to the Perkins restaurant to fit its high standard."Part of our agreement when we took over this restaurant was to invest a significant amount of capital to improve it," Carpenter said.The company plans on to begin remodeling the restaurant within the next year and they hope to increase the number of full-time employees to 40 when it's done.TOMS King, however, won't wait for the remodel to begin to make improvements. New landscaping, employee uniforms and better service are all in the works for their newest restaurant.The company is proud of to be able to increase employment for the restaurant and any other benefits it may provide for the community, but they're expecting to make a profit, Capenter said.The franchise owner was enticed by the economic opportunity in an area and believes it has the expertise to run a restaurant during Cedar Point's tourism season."We run restaurants across the street from amusement parks. We know there's a huge business opportunity," Carpenter said. "We are as excited about this restaurant as any we acquired."Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterThe Burger King on Milan Road has a new owner who plans on making improvements in the near future.