McDonald's

Three McDonald's in Alabama go High Voltage

Not too long ago, if you lived in Winston or Marion counties and craved a Big Mac, you had to go pretty far to find one.

In mid-1992, Jim and Melanie Gill saved the day for Egg McMuffin-hungry citizens by opening McDonald's restaurants in Hamilton and Winfield. A year later, they opened one in Haleyville. Nowadays, workers from nearby plants and students from area schools consume mountains of buns at three locations. "Information on our exact volume has exceeded our projections."

They're electric!

The Gills decided to go all-electric at all three locations. They're glad they made that decision. "Going all-electric helped me operate more economically and give customers higher-quality products," Jim Gill said. He said that he saved initially on rebates given by Alabama Power for installing all-electric equipment. During the winter heating months, he receives about a 40-percent discount on the demand rates established during peak capacity periods. Perhaps most importantly, Gill is able to maintain and repair commercial-grade appliances more easily and quickly than gas units.

Quick and easy repair.

"Something's always breaking down in the restaurant business, so I have to consider maintenance and repair," Gill said. A gas fryer, for instance, isn't an efficient piece of equipment."

"You've got to have the proper air and gas mixture to consider and heat targets that have to be cleaned and replaced often. If the fryer breaks down, I have to call the nearest service center. That's 100 miles away in Birmingham. But electric equipment either works or doesn't work. If it doesn't, I can call a local service technician, who'll get on the phone with the manufacturer and get directions for fixing the problem. If he needs a part, it can be shipped out by the next day."

Gill estimates that the real payoff on his all-electric appliances is still to come. "Most maintenance and repair problems on gas equipment occur after the fifth year of use," he pointed out.

Quality is top priority.

"Electric cooking equipment also is less likely to malfunction and affect the quality of the product," Gill added. "We definitely need to make sure meat is properly cooked, considering potential problems for e.coli bacteria and other food hazards. That's a major issue with all restaurant chains."

Hot water and cool air.

Appliance maintenance and heating costs aren't the only areas where the Gills are saving money. Each of their restaurants is equipped with a 120-gallon electric heat pump water heater. These devices extract waste heat from the air with a refrigeration compressor and transfer this heat to the water. This not only provides plenty of the hot, 140-degree water needed for the Gills' busy kitchens, but also cools the otherwise steamy air.

"We have the option of turning on heating elements if the heat pump doesn't supply enough hot water," Gill said. "But I've never had to do that."

"The Gills' restaurants are the newer Series 2000 buildings designed for smaller communities, and the kitchens are smaller than those in older McDonald's restaurants," said Mary Sue Gann, Alabama Power Company's marketing representative in Hamilton. "The buildings are new so we don't have previous operations to compare results with. "But I'm convinced the kitchens are far more comfortable for employees than they would be with conventional air-conditioning alone. And we know that heat pump water heaters reduce water heating costs."

They're seeing the light.

In addition to interior appliances, lighting, heating and air conditioning, the Gills' three restaurants also make good use of outside electricity. All locations have six 1,000-watt halide lot lights. Each light provides 100,000 lumens - roughly the light of 100,000 candles.

"The lights give our customers and employees more security, especially late at night," Gill said. "Also, those lights serve as a beacon. People can see McDonald's from far down the road."

Big city roots --- small town hearts.

Much of the Gill's background is in big cities. Jim Gill started working for McDonalds in Tampa after earning a graduate degree from Florida International, Miami. He later transferred to McDonald's corporate headquarters in Chicago and also owned a company franchise in metropolitan Atlanta. Melanie Gill is a former airline flight attendant. Both have taken to small-town life like ants to a picnic. "Housing is affordable and people have a strong work ethic. In fact, most fast food chains have a turnover rate of 300 percent and mine is only 50-60 percent. One nice thing about working with Alabama Power is the relationship with their employees. Their company has the same philosophy as McDonald's - to give something back to the communities you work in. Using this philosophy, everybody benefits."