By James Feichtner
For some, a drive-thru fast food joint is nothing more than a quick bite to eat. But for the recent acquirer of the Boone Village McDonald’s, John Liapes, the franchise is far more than just another set of golden arches.
Hailing from the suburbs of Chicago, John and his wife Mary Liapes purchased the McDonald’s in town on Nov. 6. Since he was a teenager John has always had an interest in the franchise. Starting at 17, John worked his way up from a McDonald’s crew member to a multi-management position. Later he became co-partner of a reputable steakhouse in Chicago and even spent some time in the consulting world.
John decided he wanted to get back to his interest in McDonald’s and with his wife’s support they moved to central Indiana to pursue ownership.
“I always had an interest in McDonald’s and my wife was, of course, very understanding knowing if we did embark on this [journey]we would have to relocate,” John said. “We saw the opportunity in this region.”
John bought his first McDonald’s in Whitestown located at the Love’s Travel station, before acquiring the near-Boone Village location. Both John and his wife are determined to make their Zionsville restaurant a part of the community.
“We take the business very seriously and we want to connect to the community that we’re in, get involved in the community at a deep level through sponsorship whether its through the local boosters or just getting involved in the schools and the communities in a lot of different levels,” John said.
John and Mary have big plans for their newest restaurant. They aim to work with the current design while making changes in the appearance, which may involve revamping the store’s playground.
“We’re not 100 percent sure what’s going to happen with [the playground]. The playground as it is, is kind of a dinosaur,” John said. “The newer [playgrounds]are enclosed and more seasonal where you can use them year-round so we’re going to have McDonald’s do a demographic study for us and really look into the community’s needs. Some of the options that come up if we don’t do that would be a park and more landscape style, possibly have people bring their dogs over, that kind of thing. We want to get the best utilization of the space.”
As for the design aspect, John plans on having Mary help with the process.
“My wife has a lot of skills and one of them is in the design world. We feel that the building lends itself much to a Cape Cod and Nantucket styling,” John said. “We’re going to work with that framework in terms of color selection. The outdoor seating we’ll change with umbrellas, a little of the more cottagey, Nantucket feel.”
Despite the current weather delaying the start of their remodeling, John and Mary are eager to make their restaurant project a friendly, neighborhood atmosphere.
“Our challenge is to our management team to get to know people on a first name basis because we believe that’s the way we build the business,” John said. “By connecting with the community and by connecting with the individuals we’re able to build their confidence level and be their first choice of food experience in the town.”
