Company Plans Gentry McDonald’s

RESTAURANT WILL BE CITY’S SECOND FAST FOOD CHAIN

Gentry, population 2,436, soon will get its first McDonald’s.

Springdale-based Mathews Management Co. will own the McDonald’s, which will break ground in February and open by summer, said Bill Mathews of the management company.

The restaurant will have 3,500 square feet and be similar to the McDonald’s in Pea Ridge, Mathews said. The new restaurant will have 40 employees with an average wage of about $10 an hour, Mathews said.

This is the fi rst McDonald’s that Mathews Management, owned by brothers Bill and Walter Mathews, will open in two years. They chose Gentry for its job base and highways.

“My brother and I have owned that property for a number of years. We have seen a lot of growth in that area,” Bill Mathews said.

Gentry has a steady job base with the McKee Foods Corp. plant, which makes Little Debbie snack cakes, and commuters who work at manufacturers in Siloam Springs, Mathews said.

However, Mathews Management waited to begin construction until Arkansas 59 was widened in Gentry.

The new McDonald’s will be at the southwest corner of Arkansas 59 and Arkansas 12.

Mathews noted that there is no McDonald’s in Decatur or Gravette, so the restaurant will serve customers in those communities, along with eastern Siloam Springs.

There is a McDonald’s along U.S. 412 and one inside Walmart Supercenter, both in Siloam Springs.

Mathews Management is investing about $1 million in the Gentry McDonald’s, including construction, buying equipment and signs, and furnishing the restaurant.

Gentry’s only other fast food chain restaurant is a Sonic Drive-In at 316 S. Gentry Blvd., also called Arkansas 12.

The McDonald’s will provide first jobs for high school students and increase the city’s employment base, said Gentry Mayor Wes Hogue.

“The economic impact is always a positive thing when you are creating jobs in a down economy like we have now,” Hogue said.

Mathews Management has 32 McDonald’s restaurants, most in Benton and Washington counties. The local franchise owner has more than 1,400 employees and about a $12 million annual payroll, Mathews said. The management company has been in business since 1983.

McDonald’s reported samestore sales at its U.S. restaurants increased by 2.5 percent in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Global same-store sales increased 3.8 percent, according to an earnings release.

McDonald’s reported $6 billion in third quarter revenue, a 4 percent decline from the $6.26 billion in revenue for the third quarter in 2008. McDonald’s is scheduled to release fourth quarter and full-year results on Jan. 22.

Shares of Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) closed Monday at $63.61, up 19 cents. The share price ranged from a $64.75 high to a $50.44 low in the past 52 weeks.

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