The McDonald’s Corporation has been good to the Draves family.

Like so many others, Renee and Chris Draves started on the work crew at McDonald’s, preparing food and taking orders. Now they own and operate three franchises in the Greater Lansing area and were named the 2009 entrepreneur of the year in the franchise category.

“We really appreciate this, and we’re very surprised,” Renee said when accepting the award. “When you’re an entrepreneur, you think about the financial risk; but when you’re entrepreneur, and you go into business with your spouse, that’s when you’re really taking the risk.”

The Draves have owned the three franchises since 2004, and despite a downed economy, business has been good. “Our business is thriving,” Renee states.

Chris attributes their success to the company’s employees. “We’re very honored,” he says of the award. “It’s due to a lot of hard work from the people on the front lines every day in the restaurant. We’re humbled to represent them.”
He also points to the philosophy of the McDonald’s Corporation that consistency is key. “It’s almost worse going to a restaurant and having a great experience, but [then] when you go back the next time, you don’t. People want consistency. We like to follow McDonald’s day-in and day-out basics, looking at consistency, and that’s what has [customers]     coming back.”

But that doesn’t mean nothing ever changes. Renee noted that one of the largest growth areas has been the McCafe product line. “That’s the specialty coffees, the smoothies, and frappuccinos,” she said. If you mention how McDonald’s might compare to the big name coffeehouses, Renee replies, “I’d say it’s a better product at a better price. [McDonald’s founder] Ray Kroc didn’t know what we’d be selling in 2010, but he knew we’d be selling more than anybody else.”

But the Draves’ success is not just due to owning an internationally known franchise. In discussing one Lansing McDonald’s restaurant which closed, reopened, and then recently closed again, Chris notes, “It’s not a guarantee. It takes diligent work by lots of people, proper planning and proper training.”

The couple works six-day weeks and spends a lot of time in its three restaurants. “As the owner/operators, we’re the supervisors,” says Chris. “We don’t have any in-between layer [of management]. The employees deal directly with us. We are the communication link, the coaches and the guides for the vision of what we want to accomplish.” Currently, their three restaurants have more than 150 employees.

After starting on the McDonald’s crew, both Chris and Renee Draves eventually became store managers in the Saginaw area. The couple married in 1990 and relocated to the Detroit area to take middle-management positions with the corporation. In 1999, they relocated to Nashville, Tenn. where they both eventually became department heads. Renee was the training manager and Chris was the operations manager for the area’s company-owned restaurants. When McDonald’s went through restructuring in the early 2000s, the Draves relocated to the Kansas City market.

As parents, the couple had already decided before moving to Kansas City that they wanted to eventually move back home to Michigan. In October 2004, they were offered the opportunity to own and operate the three Lansing-area franchises.

The Draves put their life’s savings into purchasing the restaurants. The risk was great since the franchises were priced on projected sales and cash flow, rather than actual value, while their physical condition was below operational standards. The Draves said this led to a negative image of the company as an employer. Their first year, the couple did not take any salary, opting instead to put the money back into operations.

The dining rooms were remodeled, the equipment and landscaping were upgraded, and the exteriors were painted. Over the first four years, the couple invested almost a half-million dollars in their restaurants completely from their cash flow.
But their hard work has paid off. Since becoming owner/operators, the Draves have been recognized several times by the McDonald’s Corporation. In 2006, their Grand Ledge restaurant was named one of the top 100 McDonald’s restaurants in the country; the West Saginaw/Canal Road restaurant received the Outstanding Restaurant Award in both 2006 and 2007; and the Draves Family Restaurants, LLC won the People First Award for its strong people skills in both 2006 and 2007.

The Draves’ philosophy is based on “McDonald’s founding principles of developing people; delivering superior quality, service, and cleanliness; and giving back to the community.” The couple serves on the Grand Ledge Chamber of Commerce, the board for the Lansing Ronald McDonald House, McDonald’s Women’s Network, a local CEO group, and the DeWitt Boy Scouts. They say they have nurtured a “McFamily,” allowing the employees to interact with the people who sign their checks. Renee’s license plate reads MCMOM, while Chris wears a name tag showing his title as “started as crew.”

Also, with two teenagers of their own, the Draves understand that many of their young employees are balancing work with school and other activities, and the couple tries to accommodate that balance. The Draves are especially proud that one of the high school employees they nominated as Employee of the Year was selected by the corporation among 534 restaurants in Michigan. It was the first time a high school student had won.

Since taking over in 2004, the Draves have seen a 16 percent increase in transactions. The couple intends to grow its current restaurant business and to increase the number of restaurants they own in the area. That decision, though, ultimately lies with the McDonald’s Corporation.

In her acceptance of the entrepreneurial award, Renee acknowledged the staff and remarked, “We’d like to dedicate this award to all of the tremendous people who work in our restaurants every day, and please stop by and spend some money.”