OUR HISTORY
Tom and Marilyn purchased their first McDonald’s franchise on November 1, 1981. They moved from Chicago to Leavenworth to take over the store. After a few years, their small company expanded to Atchison, then Bonner Springs. They purchased two McDonald’s restaurants in Lawrence in 1988. In 1991, they opened the De Soto restaurant. In 1995, they built the restaurant at 6th & Wakarusa in Lawrence. In 1998, Tom and Marilyn took on a huge challenge, purchasing 4 restaurants in Topeka. In 2000, they built the restaurant on South Iowa Street in Lawrence. Two years later, in November 2002, they opened a McDonald’s just east of Lawrence on the Kansas Turnpike. In October of 2005, Tom & Marilyn opened a McDonald’s restaurant on Shawnee Mission Parkway, near K-7 Highway.
But they were not finished growing their organization. In 2015, they acquired four
additional restaurants in Topeka from Steve & Karen Tyler.
Tom and Marilyn are very active in the community of Lawrence as well as the other cities in which they do business. Marilyn has served on the Board of Directors for the Kansas City Ronald McDonald House as well as the Topeka Ronald McDonald House.
Some of the other boards to which she has donated her time include: the Women’s Operator Network Board of Directors, The US Bank Community Advisory Board, The Lawrence Business/Education Partnership, The Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, and the KU Natural History Museum Board of Directors, and the Board of Directors of the Lawrence
Arts Center.
Tom and Marilyn have three sons Michael, Kevin, and Brian.
Their oldest son, Michael, operates four restaurants: Atchison, Bonner Springs, De Soto, and Shawnee. Their middle son, Kevin, operates four restaurants in Topeka: N. Topeka
Blvd, Hunters Ridge, 29th & Wanamaker, and the new restaurant on the Kansas Turnpike-Topeka Service Area.
Their youngest son, Brian lives and works in Las Vegas.
