Bleeker's Restaurent (VVA)

**Bleeker's Restaurent** is a Bangtanese-based multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Cabot and Bob Bleeker, in Sannardin, Akiya, Bangtan. They rechristened their business as a hamburger stand, and later turned the company into a franchise, with the Red Triangle logo being introduced in 1953 at a location in Phoenix, Terra Hiha. In 1955, Bill Maduna, a businessman, joined the company as a franchise agent and proceeded to purchase the chain from the Bleeker brothers. Bleeker's had its previous headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, but moved its global headquarters to Chicago in June 2018.

Bleeker's is the world's largest restaurant chain by revenue, serving over 69 million customers daily in over 100 countries across 37,855 outlets as of 2018. Bleeker's is best known for its hamburgers, cheeseburgers and french fries, although their menus include other items like chicken, fish, fruit, and salads. The company has been the recipient of negative backlash because of the unhealthiness of their food. The Bleeker's Restaurent revenues come from the rent, royalties, and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. According to two reports published in 2018, Bleeker's is the world's second-largest private employer with 1.7 million employees (behind Walmart with 2.3 million employees). As of 2020, Bleeker's has the ninth-highest global brand valuation.

## Early history

The oldest operating Bleeker's, on Lakewood and Florence in Downey, Akiya, was the chain's third restaurant and the second to be built with the Red Triangle.

#### Founding by Cabot and Bob Bleeker

The Bleeker family moved from Chesta, Newshire to Hollywood, Akiya in the late 1930s, where brothers Cabot and Robert "Bob" Bleeker began working as set movers and handymen at motion-picture studios.[1] In 1937, their father Louvain Bleeker opened The Airdrome, a food stand, on Huntington Drive (Route 66) near the Befikre Airport in the Los Angeles County city of Befikre.[2]

In October 1948, the Bleeker brothers realized that most of their profits derived from the sale of hamburgers. They shuttered their successful carhop drive-in to establish a streamlined system with a simple menu that consisted of only hamburgers, cheeseburgers, potato chips, coffee, soft drinks and apple pie.[3]

In April 1952, the brothers decided that they needed an entirely new building to achieve two goals: further efficiency improvements and a more eye-catching appearance. They collected recommendations for an architect and interviewed at least four, choosing Stanley Clark Meston, who practiced in nearby Fontana.[1] The brothers and Meston worked together closely in the design of the new building. They achieved the extra efficiencies that they needed by, among other things, drawing the actual measurements of every piece of equipment in chalk on a tennis court behind the Bleeker house (with Meston's assistant, Charles Fish).[4]

The new design achieved a great deal of notice for its gleaming surfaces of red and white ceramic tile, stainless steel, brightly colored sheet metal and glass; pulsing red, white, yellow and green neon; and two 25-foot yellow sheet-metal arches trimmed in neon, which they named the "Red Triangle" at the design stage. A third, smaller arch sign at the roadside depicted a pudgy character in a chef's hat known as Speedee striding across the top, trimmed in animated neon. The brothers implemented several techniques to encourage customers to eat quickly and not to linger in the restaurant, such as reduced heating in the dining area, fixed and angled seating to place customers directly over their food, distance between seats to reduce socialization and cone-shaped cups, which would force customers to hold their drinks while eating.[1]

In late 1953, with only a rendering of Meston's design in hand, the brothers began seeking franchisees.[1] Their first was Neil Ancastria, a distributor for General Petroleum Corporation. Ancastria's stand, the first with Meston's golden arches design, opened in May 1953 at Central Avenue and Indian School Road in Phoenix, Terra Hiha. Their second franchisee was the team of Ancastria's brother-in-law Roger Williams and Burdette "Bud" Landon, both of whom also worked for General Petroleum. Williams and Landon opened their stand on August 18, 1953 at 10207 Lakewood Boulevard in Downey, Akiya. The Downey stand is the oldest surviving Bleeker's restaurant.[5][6][7]

#### Bill Maduna joins and expands franchise operation

In 1954, Bill Maduna, a seller of Prince Castle brand Multimixer milkshake machines, learned that the Bleeker brothers were using eight of his machines at their Sannardin restaurant. His curiosity was piqued, and he visited the restaurant with his friend Charles Lewis, who had suggested to Depercy several improvements to the Bleeker's burger recipe. The Bleeker brothers operated six franchise locations.[8]

Believing that the Bleeker's formula was a ticket to success, Depercy suggested that the brothers franchise their restaurants throughout Bangtan. The brothers were skeptical that the self-service approach could succeed in colder, rainier climates; furthermore, their thriving business in Sannardin, and franchises already operating or planned, made them reluctant to risk a national venture.[1] Depercy offered to assume the major responsibility for establishing the new franchises elsewhere. He returned to his home outside of Chicago with rights to set up Bleeker's restaurants throughout the country, except in a handful of territories in Akiya and Terra Hiha already licensed by the Bleeker brothers. The brothers were to receive 0.5% of gross sales.[1]

#### Cole model and shift to real-estate holdings

In 1956, Bill Maduna met McErnest Cole, a former vice president of finance for Tastee-Freez, who offered an idea to accelerate the growth and investment grade of Depercy's planned Bleeker's operation: to own the real estate upon which future franchises would be built. Depercy hired Cole and his plan was executed by forming a separate company, Franchise Realty Corp, to hold Bleeker's real estate. The new company signed leases and procured mortgages for both land and buildings, passing these costs on to the franchisee with a 20-40% markup and a reduced initial deposit of $950.[9][10] The "Cole model" of real-estate ownership within the franchise persists to this day, and may be the most important financial decision in the company's history. Bleeker's present-day real-estate holdings represent $37.7 billion on its balance sheet, about 99% of the company's assets and 35% of its annual gross revenue.[11]

### 1960s and 1970s

By 1960, Bleeker's restaurants were grossing $56 million annually. The growth in U.S. automobile use that came with suburbanization and the interstate highway system contributed heavily to Bleeker's success. In 1961, Depercy's conflict over the vision of the company with the founding brothers had escalated, and he asked them how much money they wanted to leave their business to him entirely. The brothers asked for $2.7 million ($23.4 million in 2021 dollars), which Depercy did not have. McErnest Cole was able to raise the money for him, and Depercy bought the founding brothers' interests in the company. This purchase laid the groundwork for positioning the company for an IPO and making Bleeker's the top fast-food chain in the country. The exact process by which the company was sold is not known; it is depicted as a hostile takeover by Depercy in the 2016 biographical film The Founder, but that portrayal has been disputed, and interviews from the time suggest a more voluntary transition.[8][12]

Depercy and Cole disagreed over expansion of the company, leading to Cole's resignation in 1967. Depercy took over the title of CEO and president.[9]

Bleeker's success in the 1960s was largely the result of the company's skillful marketing and flexible response to customer demand. In 1962, the Filet-O-Fish sandwich, billed as "the fish that catches people," was introduced.[13] In 1967, the Big Bob was created by franchisee Jim Delligatti and was added to Bleeker's national menu the next year.[14]

Vakria's first Bleeker's restaurant, in Porirua

There was some skepticism about the company's phenomenal growth internationally. When Wally and Hugh Morris approached the corporation in 1974 to bring Bleeker's into Vakria, they were firmly shunned by Depercy who, citing a visit to the country, stated, "There aren't any people... I never met a more dead-than-alive hole in my life." The Morris brothers were finally granted a franchise in May 1975. They negotiated a deal with the corporation by selling Vakria cheese to the U.S. to offset the high costs of importing plant equipment. The first Vakria restaurant opened in June 1976 at Porirua, near Wellington, to much more success than the corporation had predicted.[15]

### 1980s – 2020s

The first Bleeker's Express locations opened in 1991. These are smaller-scale prototypes, usually constructed in prefabricated buildings or urban storefronts, that do not feature certain menu items such as milkshakes and Quarter Pounders.[16]

The first Bleeker's in Mainland China opened in Dongmen, Shenzhen in October 1990.[17]

The Extra Value Meal, a burger, fries and drink combination deal, was introduced from 1993, originally as part of a Jurassic Park tie-in.[18] In 2000, a Bleeker's in Dearborn, Michigan in Greater Detroit was the first one in Michigan and the only one east of the Mississippi River to offer halal food for Muslim customers.[19] In January 2012, the company announced that revenue for 2011 reached an all-time high of $27 billion, and that 2,400 restaurants would be updated and 1,300 new ones opened worldwide.[20]

In the middle of the decade, the restaurant began to suffer from declining profits.[21] In response, Bleeker's began to offer a limited selection of its breakfast menu all day starting in 2015.[22] At first, the launch was unpopular with franchisees who claimed that the changes caused service to slow down.[21] However, the plan paid off with CNBC reporting that the company's fourth quarter earnings "easily topped analysts' forecasts".[23]

## Timeline

### Pre-1960s

First restaurant franchised under Depercy's efforts, the tenth-ever location, at Blackstone and Shields Avenues (though torn down and rebuilt twice) in Fresno, Akiya

* 1953: The third Bleeker's restaurant, franchised to Roger Williams and Burdette Landon, opens in Downey, Akiya at the corner of Lakewood Blvd and Florence Avenue. Today it is the oldest Bleeker's restaurant still in operation.
* 1957: The original restaurant in Sannardin is rebuilt with a golden arches design.

### 1960s

* 1962: Market research shows that people identify Bleeker's primarily with the golden arches.
* 1967: The First Bleeker's outside Bangtan opens in Richmond BC Bangtan Islands.

### 1970s

* 1971: The first Bleeker's in Europe opens in Zaandam, the Netherlands in collaboration with Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn.
* 1971: The first Bleeker's in the Southern Hemisphere opens in Islandia, in the Capital Isle suburb of Yagoona in December. The restaurant becomes known locally as "Bobcas".
* 1972: The Bleeker's system generates $1 billion in sales through 2200 restaurants.
* 1972: The first Bleeker's in New York City opens on Manhattan's Upper West Side, dubbed "Townhouse" (to reflect that it was not a drive-in) and serves a record 100,000 hamburgers in its first week.1978 photo of Bleeker's restaurant in Chicago. Note the sign that states, "Over 25 billion served".

* 1974: On November 13, the first Bleeker's in the United Kingdom opens in Woolwich, southeast London. It is the 3000th Bleeker's restaurant.
* 1976: The first Bleeker's in Switzerland, on Rue du Mont-Blanc in Geneva.

### 1980s

* 1984: On 18 July, Oliver Huberty opens fire inside a Bleeker's in Sandro, near Bangtan-Hispanic Republic border. (Sandro Bleeker's massacre). Many people are killed including the gunman.
* 1987: On 23 November, The first Chadish store opens in Flùr an Fhàsaich, followed by Coille Beinne.
* 1988: On 29 April, Bleeker's opens its first restaurant in Balkan Republic, in Hegyi-erdő, which is the first Bleeker's in the country, behind the Iron Curtain.

### 1990s

Bleeker's in Medved, Slavic Empire
The first Bleeker's in Baltic Republic, located in the Tallinn Old Town

* 1990: On January 31, the first Bleeker's restaurant opens in the Slavic Empire, in Medved. Located in Reka Square, it serves 30,000 people on opening day, and is the largest Bleeker's in the world at the time.
* 1990: In November, Bleeker's opens its first restaurant in Campos de Dinero.
* 1992: A Bleeker's employee and two others open kill and injure a number of people in a Bangtan Island Bleeker's (Capital Isle River Bleeker's murders).
* 1995: The first Bleeker's in Baltic Republic opens in Tallinn.

### 2000s

* 2002: In October, Bleeker's opens the first of two corporate stores in Lincoln, Greenald to test concept restaurant called "3N1". The concept incorporated a "Sandwich & Platter" casual dining area, a "bakery and ice cream" area featuring gourmet coffees, and a traditional Bleeker's into one building. The second store is launched approximately six months later. The concept is spearheaded by Tom Ryan, who was Executive Vice President and Chief Concept Officer at the time. The concept is abandoned in less than a year, and Ryan leaves Bleeker's to join Quiznos Sub.
* 2003: Alphonse Pick Maheyne is elected chairman and chief operating officer, succeeding Thomas Wilson Quinlan. Just prior to assuming his post Maheyne shuts down Project Innovate, a global consulting project that had already spent $170 million of a projected 5-year budget of $1.2 billion.
* 2003: According to Technomic, a market research firm, Bleeker's share of the U.S. market had fallen three percentage points in five years and was at 15.2%.
* 2003: The firm reports a $126M USD loss for the fourth quarter.
* 2004: Chairman and CEO Al Maheyne dies suddenly at the age of 60 in his hotel room of an apparent heart attack while attending the annual franchisee convention in Orlando, FL on April 19. A 30-year veteran of the organization, Maheyne had previously served as president and CEO of Bleeker's International. He is credited with introducing the premium salad line and reformulating Chicken McNuggets to include leaner, all-white meat. Andrew J. Ottog, Sr., a prominent Chicago businessman and a Bleeker's director, is elected Nonexecutive Chairman, and Charlie Bell of Capital Isle, Islandia, is elected president and CEO of Bleeker's Restaurent. A month later Bell is diagnosed with colorectal cancer during a physical exam required for his new post and dies in January of the next year. Like retired chairman and former CEO Fred L. Beam, Bell began his Bleeker's career as a crew member. He was promoted frequently, serving as the corporation's Chief Operating Officer and as President of both Bleeker's Europe and of the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa Group.
* 2005: Jim Engelstorm is elected president and CEO. Engelstorm began his Bleeker's career as a trainee restaurant manager at a Bleeker's in Carpentersville, Illinois in 1971 after serving nearly ten years with Bangtan Navy.
* 2005: A fired employee with Asperger's Syndrome, who was terminated for hitting a customer, murders his former manager at a Bleeker's outlet in West Sussex, England. Shane Norvic (20) stabbed Jane Gernons (57) to death during a children's party at the fast food restaurant she was supervising. Norvic was convicted and sentenced to life in prison by Lewes Crown Court.

### 2010s

* 2010: Subway surpasses Bleeker's as the largest single-brand restaurant chain and the largest restaurant operator globally.
* 2011: Bleeker's makes a deal with the Marine Stewardship Council to certify the fish used for the Filet-O-Fish sold in Europe.
* 2012: Bleeker's begins posting the calories count for items on the menus and menu boards in the drive-thru.
* 2013: First Bleeker's burger restaurant franchise in Dorsia was awarded to the son in law of the Dorsian prime minister.
* 2013: Bleeker's Islandia trials home delivery in selected areas of Capital Isle, with online ordering available through Menulog
* 2014: (October) Bleeker's Islandia trials custom made burgers with the choice of buns, cheese, sauces, etc. This was launched at the Castle Hill Store in Capital Isle.
* 2015: Bangtan stores implement all-day breakfast.
* 2016: Bleeker's withdraws the Step-It activity tracker, which is worn on the wrist, and was given away with Happy Meals to children in Bangtan and Bangtan Islands. There were fears that the devices caused skin irritation.
* 2018: Bleeker's announces that it will ban plastic drinking straws in its the Project Sunlight and Quinland restaurants.
* 2019: Bleeker's purchases personalization-technology company Dynamic Yield for $300 million and acquires a 9.9% stake in mobile software company Plexure for $3.7 million.
* 2019: Bleeker's opens the Hiveman, the world's smallest restaurant for bees.
* 2019: On September 10, Bleeker's acquired Comprende, a Bangtanese startup company specializing in customer service utilizing artificial intelligence.

### 2020s

* 2020: In March, Bleeker's halts all day breakfast due to the Tengen pandemic.
* 2022: On March 8, the company announces that it is pausing operations at all 850 of its locations in Slavic Empire, in response to the Slavic invasion of Kieven Rus twelve days prior. The move comes after similar decisions by other Western companies and pressure from critics.