“I did everything. I made salads. I washed dishes. I mopped the floor,” a giddy Kapalczynski remembered one weekday morning recently.
To each new assignment, Kapalczynski gave the same reply: “That's fine.”
A decade and countless duty changes later, Kapalczynski just bought all four of Missoula's McDonald's restaurants.
Her story with the Golden Arches began with her marriage to Montana native Kenny Kapalczynski when he was in the U.S. Army stationed in South Korea.
In 1989, the couple was transferred to Maryland. Kyong wanted a job. She applied at McDonald's and worked two jobs until 1995, when her husband was again transferred - this time to Missoula, to be a recruiter.
When Kyong started looking for a job in Missoula, she went straight to McDonald's, owned then by James Brannum. She got a second job as a nurse's aide.
Again, Kyong started at the bottom of the restaurant's pecking order and slowly advanced her way up - to shift manager and assistant store manager.
McDonald's was perfect for her, she said. She liked the flexibility of the various shifts. It allowed her work life to revolve around her three children.
Then, in 1999, Kyong had a McDonald's breakthrough. Under Brannum's mentoring, she began her education at Hamburger University, an accredited corporate school based in a Chicago suburb. She loved it. They helped her improve her English skills and taught her how to manage a restaurant.
“I was educated by McDonald's,” Kyong said.
In 2000, the family moved on to Springfield, Ore.
Again, Kyong applied for work with McDonald's. Rejected at first, she returned again and again. Once more, she started at the bottom, as a crew member.
By this time, though, she was a pro. It didn't take long until she was a store manager and continuing her education at Hamburger U. She won numerous awards for Oregon and the Northwest. Eventually, she bought her first McDonald's restaurant.
Last year, Kyong began talking to Brannum, who was interested in selling his Missoula restaurants. Kyong's husband, who retired as a first sergeant, loved the idea of returning home to Montana.
McDonald's encourages rank-and-file employees who want to become owners, said spokeswoman Katie Lindstrom. The company has about 30,000 McDonald's restaurants in 119 countries and about 438,000 employees.
With help and some major loans, Kyong put together a business plan and bought the Missoula franchise.
It's no simple task to take over four restaurants with 165 employees, she said. Not all of her decisions have been popular or easy. Some of the problems are just nuts-and-bolts decisions: How many managers are needed to run the restaurants? How can the stores avoid losses from bad checks?
New signs posted at the front counters and the drive-through windows announced a “No checks” policy. It's a tough and unpopular policy, but unavoidable at the present, Kyong said.
Other aspects of owning the stores are more fun. Forever a student of good McDonald's policy, Kyong keeps in a bag in her office a photograph of a rugged outdoorsy themed New Hampshire store complete with a great stone fireplace and mantle.
“I'm going to make this beautiful,” she said. She plans to redecorate one store a year.
She has also taken out an additional loan to buy new equipment such as a beverage system, dishwashers and security cameras to keep her employees safe. She will personally get involved with Missoula's Ronald McDonald House.
In the middle of a busy morning at McDonald's, all she can do is smile.
“I love what I do,” she said.
In the backroom at the Brooks Street McDonald's, Kyong surveyed the tiny office, the signature brown floor tiles and the bustle of the kitchen, the fries in the fryer and the racks of burger buns and other foods.
“This is a huge opportunity for anybody. You can be an owner-operator. You can be a restaurant consultant. I see opportunity,” she said.
Reporter Robert Struckman can be reached at 523-5262 or rstruckman@missoulian.com
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)