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Who made hot fries9/1/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() One of the last Hot 'n Now restaurants, located in Bay City, shut down on Labor Day 2016. His obituary posted on the Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes website said he sold Hot 'n Now in 1990 "to focus his time and energy on blessing others." Several videos, blogs and food restaurant review websites have paid tribute to Hot 'n Now and its business model created by founder William Van Domelen. "We stuck to our guns and decided to give good, quality service and cleanliness," Van Zelst said of his philosophy since 1990. The same website had a seller offering a T-shirt for $50. Van Zelst said he feels "really, really great" to know people still believe in his business.Įarly Thursday afternoon, a Hot 'n Now bumper sticker was available on eBay for $14.99. ![]() Van Zelst sells bumper stickers for $1.50 and shirts for $15. Nostalgia for Hot 'n Now prompted Van Zelst to start selling T-shirts and bumper stickers a few years ago. "I absolutely miss it," Franke exclaimed. Ron Levondosky, of Holt, was vice president of operations at the time.ĭavis bought Hot 'n Now in 1997 from Taco Bell, a subsidiary of PepsiCo Inc., after the chain struggled to take off nationally.įranke is convinced Hot 'n Now would be successful if it came back as a chain. The mushroom burger stemmed from an idea shared among staff, she said.įranke worked at the Hot 'n Now headquarters when the company was owned by Ron Davis, a Connecticut investor. Management mixed with restaurant workers well and often participated in training exercises, including taste tests, she said. She was Hot 'n Now's human resources manager at its Holt headquarters.įranke recalls that her position covered 1,300 employees spread out at about 40 stores. In Sturgis, Van Zelst and his staff try to stick with what made Hot 'n Now work during the chain's prime. At that time, the franchise had 14 locations throughout Michigan. Hot 'n Now filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2004.įourteen months later, a Minneapolis company acquired Hot 'n Now for $175,000. "When everybody was in charge, nobody was in charge," Van Zelst said. Van Zelst said the chain's profitability went south in the mid to late 1990s because the company couldn't withstand the ownership changes and micromanaging. The Lansing region's position as one of the brand's top markets and its Michigan ties were among reasons why company officials decided to call Holt home. Eventually, its corporate headquarters moved to Holt. Hot 'n Now changed ownership several times and was once owned by Taco Bell Inc. Without dining areas, Hot 'n Now restaurants across the country kept overhead low and lured customers with low prices.įounder William Van Domelen, of Kalamazoo, created the concept in 1984 and experienced explosive growth with his business model until about 1990. It's been open since 1990 and draws about 300 customers daily, he said. Van Zelst said he still enjoys running the Sturgis restaurant with a crew of about 25 employees. “They don’t bother me, and I don’t bother them. “I don’t know who that is and I will not bring that up," Van Zelst said of the trademark owner. Messages left with Minneapolis-based Theodore Magee, listed as the trademark's "correspondent," weren't returned. A State Journal reporter, with help from a Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs official, found filings online that indicate the trademark is owned by BTND LLC of West Fargo, N.D., which renewed it in 2016. ![]()
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