Jobs lost as Palmer fast-food eatery shuts doors

February 4, 2007

By Russell Stigall/Frontiersman

PALMER - Sometimes a person can't have it his way.

If it were up to James Hinkle, managing owner of Franchise Foods, he wouldn't have to shut down Palmer's only Burger King.

Hinkle bought the Palmer Burger King franchise, along with five others, out of bankruptcy in 2004. One franchise is in Wasilla, one is in Fairbanks and three are in Anchorage.

&#8220Those five (and not Palmer) have been real healthy,” Hinkle said.

The failure of his Palmer location surprised and disappointed Hinkle, he said. The restaurant was housed in the nicest building and had the nicest equipment.

&#8220And it was located in my wife's hometown,” Hinkle said.

Hinkle said he thought it was a shame he had to shut down his Palmer franchise, since last year was its best year ever. They overcame past management issues.

&#8220We had a great manager last year, a local gal, and she really pulled things together,” Hinkle said.

With a tighter team, the Palmer store beefed up its market by about $200,000 last year. Hinkle said.

But it wasn't enough. With strict franchise requirements set by Burger King corporate, and rising fuel and food costs, Hinkle said he wasn't able to make a profit.

Because he purchased the franchise out of bankruptcy, &#8220we took too big of a loss trying to rebuild the business from before,” Hinkle said. &#8220I'm a franchise owner. I can't support a restaurant that isn't making money.”

Hinkle also hinted that Palmer may not be the right market for late-night Whopper shoppers.

&#8220Palmer's a great community, but everything shuts down around 8 p.m.,” Hinkle said. &#8220Even McDonald's isn't 24 hours anymore.”

Hinkle took an opportunity this year to get out of the building lease and his franchise agreement with Burger King. The empty building is now listed with a real estate broker.

With the Burger King gone, Palmer families will have one less choice for quick dinners, said Dusty Silva, president of the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce.

But she said she hopes another business occupies the building soon.

&#8220I don't know why Burger King didn't survive in Palmer,” Silva said, &#8220McDonald's has been here quite a while.”

Burger King leaving is probably not a harbinger of a greater Palmer collapse.

&#8220Palmer is growing and will continue to grow,” Silva said. An example of Palmer's growth is the downtown Sims building, she said. The owner plans to remodel half of the building to accommodate five new businesses.

Palmer lost several jobs when Burger King closed. The restaurant employed an average of two managers and 12 to 14 &#8220crew members” at a time, Hinkle said. Some of Hinkle's Palmer employees decided to transfer to his Wasilla and Anchorage franchises. Others, he had to let go.

It could have been worse for Palmer, though. The Palmer McDonald's was able to hire some of Hinkle's employees who wanted to stay in town.

Other than an influx of new workers, Wasilla's Burger King also will benefit from Palmer's closure with new interior décor. Hinkle and Franchise Foods wanted to shake things up at their other restaurants, but were held back by Palmer.

&#8220We can't afford a loss when we're taking on debt to refurbish other locations,” Hinkle said.

Contact Russell Stigall at

352-2267 or russell.stigall@ frontiersman.com