Veteran franchisee of McDonald’s in Ohio compensated staff in the midst of closure: “I’ve been in their shoes”
Veteran franchisee of McDonald’s in Ohio compensated staff in the midst of closure: “I’ve been in their shoes”
The 90 employees of Philiou’s franchise, which is established in Ohio and is situated in the Cleveland neighborhood of Mayfield Heights, were paid on time for their labor.
He said, “I’ve been in their shoes.
“I was aware of what it would be like if they didn’t receive a check each week.”
Philiou, who is 90 years old, fled Greece as a young child and came to the United States.
He joined the American army and fought in the Korean War as an infantryman.
In 1962, he started working at McDonald’s in the same Mayfield Heights restaurant that he now owns.
He accepted the position while continuing to work full-time at the Cleveland-based TRW Valve Division business, which makes automotive and aerospace parts. Since then, it has been bought.
The proud Army veteran stayed 15 years at the fast food chain. In 1977, he purchased the Mayfield Heights eatery.
Philiou remarked, “I started from the bottom level up. It’s been a wonderful experience for me and many other folks that I’ve had the chance to work with and learn from.
After more than 40 years, Philiou has decided to concentrate on only one of the McDonald’s franchise outlets he later owned and operated in the neighborhood.
He and Mary and John Powers, his daughter and son-in-law, share ownership of the Mayfield Heights facility.
In late March, the property underwent refurbishment. The majority of more than three months were spent on the project.
According to Philiou, “We needed to bring it up to standard, both in terms of facilities and equipment, and [make it] a nicer location for the personnel to be working.”
“Right now, I’m quite proud of the store. And those who work in the stunning store we recently completed feel really proud of their work.”
According to Philiou, he presently employs 94 part-time employees that work a variety of shifts.
He wants to increase the squad size to 105 members.
“Our staff is really appreciative,” Philiou remarked. The people in this town, with whom I have the good fortune to work, have been incredibly kind to us.
They also appreciate what we did to establish a brand-new store and what we did to ensure that the staff were paid throughout the process, he stated.
While Philiou was unable to provide specific figures on payroll costs, he did state that the Mayfield Heights store would “need to sell a lot of cheeseburgers to make it up.”
But he is convinced that with the community’s help, they will succeed.
I’m fortunate to be able to do this, remarked Philiou.
And I did it because of what [my workers’] previous efforts had done to make the shop successful.
