Father & Son Duo of Thornton Enterprises Expand McDonald’s Footprint by Three Stores Despite the Current Climate

Birmingham, AL – (December 16, 2020) Thornton Enterprises announces the acquisition of three additional McDonald’s franchises.  In the midst of unprecedented times, a pivot and growth mindset can prove well for positioning for greater impact.  That is exactly what this father-son duo is doing.  On December 16, 2020, Larry D. Thornton, Sr. and his son, Larry D. Thornton, Jr. (Dale) added three local McDonald’s restaurants to their Thornton Enterprises, LLC portfolio.  These additions follow the recent 2019 addition of two stores, giving them total ownership of seven McDonald’s restaurants in and around Birmingham, AL. Larry made history in July of 1992 when he opened his first McDonald’s restaurant Dale, who was 10 years old at the time as appropriately appointed “Playground Manager.” Over the years, Dale rose through the ranks and has learned to manage all positions of the McDonald’s day to day operations, and subsequently became one of the youngest 100% approved McDonald’s Owner/Operators at only twenty-five years of age, in May of 2006 when he purchased his first McDonald’s restaurant.

The McDonald’s business model values consistency in service, product quality and customer experience.  That is what one gets in the Thornton Enterprises owned facilities, however, the new additions carry a particular and unique resonance for both Larry and Dale.

“My first experience of stepping behind the front counter of a McDonald’s was at Roebuck McDonald’s (218 Gadsden Highway) where I started my training to become a McDonald’s franchisee,” said Larry.  At the time he was the Advertising Manager at Coca-Cola Bottling United.  He was asked to maintain confidentiality of his eighteen-month, McDonald’s Registered Applicant Training Program. However, on his very first day of training, in walks three of his Coca-Cola department head colleagues. “There I was wearing a headset pushing Cokes, fries and Big Macs through the drive-thru window,” said Larry. “I honestly cannot recall what meandering and cockamamie story I came up with…but as I can recall, it worked.”

The next store is the Claremont McDonald’s (2733 Eight Avenue South).   Ironically, Dale was born at nearby St. Vincent’s Hospital located less than a block away from the Claremont McDonald’s.

Another personal story surrounds the Midfield McDonald’s (11 Philips Drive).  “For four years, I regularly frequented this store as it was the closest McDonald’s to my Alma Mater – Miles College,” said Dale. “My father often reminds me of the ministerial aspects of how we do business.  I am really looking forward to partnering with Miles College and the surrounding community for any appropriate opportunities for giving back,” said Dale.

With Thornton Enterprises, LLC. having grown by five McDonald’s restaurants in less than two years, Dale said “we have significantly adjusted our operations approach.” He is extremely proud of their long-term associate and Director of Operations of twenty-one years, Tracey Twyman. “Tracey and his team are more than prepared to meet and exceed these additional challenges.”

Dale went on to say “our plans are to move swiftly on getting these restaurants modernized as quickly as possible…once they’ve undergone a Major Reinvestment Project (MRP), we are quite confident about the growth and sales potential of each restaurant.”

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About Thornton Enterprises, LLC

Thornton Enterprises, LLC was founded in 1992 by Larry D. Thornton. Larry was a long-time employee at Coca-Cola Bottling Company United and currently serves as a member of their Board of Directors as well as the Board of Directors of Synovus Bank.  Larry has held numerous positions of community leadership to include being the first African-American President of The Club and currently the president of the world’s largest membership – Kiwanis Club of Birmingham. In 2019, Larry was named CEO of the Year by Birmingham Business Journal.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Larry Thornton – lthornton@thorntonent.com | 205-910-1059

Athletes undergo rigorous training their entire lives for that one career moment. That game-changing moment was October 28, 2018, for Arkansas Tech University linebacker, C.J. Johnson.

With 46.5 seconds remaining on the clock, Johnson broke the pass to the receiver, and the Wonder Boys’ were well on their way to victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State – a first road victory since 1992.

That first down would have typically had the entire stadium on their feet in celebration but unbeknownst to Johnson that would be the last play of his football career.  That final hit won the game but left Johnson with a fracture to his fifth cervical vertebrae.

He was immediately flown to Little Rock and within eight hours began receiving care. Doctors indicated that his injury was pushing backward onto his spinal cord and could lead to paralysis.

However, the tenacity and faith that was instilled in Johnson early in Hattiesburg, Miss. invigorated him to beat all odds and allowed him to place that green and gold uniform on once more. In the final home game of 2018, just a week after the near paralyzing incident, Johnson wheeled his chair onto Buerkle Field and was able to walk the final 20 yards. Johnson continued working on his recovery and graduated this spring with an electrical engineering degree.

Johnson described his situation in one word… “Blessed,” he said.

Congratulations, C.J. on your winning moment….we see many more in your future. 

When I think of Chandrel Wright-Richardson, I reflect on a quote from my book that states – “No matter how many opportunities or accolades you receive, or whether your beginnings are humbled or privileged, you can never give too much to others in genuine need.

I became acquainted with Chandrel as she serves as the executive director for the Harbert Center which hosts the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham weekly chapter meetings. She greets me and each Kiwanian with a warm smile and ensures that we have a great meeting. Over the last few years, we have fostered a great relationship and I was amazed when I discovered her recent involvement in the community… providing a meal to those in need.

As a child growing up in Birmingham’s Wylam community, Chandrel learned how to take care of others. She watched earnestly as her grandmother took care of their village. There was not a day that Chandrel returned home from school, where she did not see a neighbor in their home being helped by her grandmother.

Those moments were engrained in Chandrel and after leaving work one day, she saw an opportunity to pay it forward. She noticed that her “downtown friends” were searching in dumpsters looking for a meal. This is something that she has never seen within the downtown homeless community but with the rapid changes due to COVID-19, downtown businesses had temporarily closed due, leaving little to no food source for this group.

That is when she immediately jumped into action. She spoke with her brother and mother and together they formed the M.O.M. (Multiplication of Meals) Group. They agreed to prepare 24 meals three times a week and deliver them to their downtown friends.

So, on March 31 as the world was still in a chaotic state due to the pandemic, Chandrel and her family delivered the first meals to this community.

After the experience, Chandrel went to social media, just to post her thoughts which spawned the creation of a 50+ group of community members wanting to get involved. I was impressed to learn that for four months this grassroots organization fed the homeless community weekly and currently distributes monthly. As Chandrel has now taken the organizer role, she creates the menu, goes grocery shopping, coordinates volunteers, manages the donations, and communicates consistently with the Facebook group on how they can be further engaged. To date, this group has served over 800 meals between Linn and Kelly Ingram Parks with the combined efforts of Bonus M.O.M. Group.

The relationship between M.O.M. Group members and the Downtown Friends has been great and continues to grow. Now members are on a first name basis and have created a friendship that will last forever.

It has been a great partnership and continues to grow. This winning moment shows how one person can create a movement. It all starts with one.

To whom much is given, much is required…

Today, I’m so excited to introduce you to my new friend, Carter and his mother Davida.

In June 2019, while on a family vacation in New York, Davida Jackson and her family discovered her three-year-old son, Carter had leukemia. The hospital staff wanted to begin treatment immediately in New York, but they returned to Children’s of Alabama to begin the long journey ahead.

While at Children’s, Davida and Carter have received exceptional service during their cancer treatment. Through his adversity, Carter is full of joy. He loves the outdoors and playing with bubbles. Even when he is hurting, you can see his beautiful smile confirming that everything will be ok. His favorite meal is -McDonald’s French fries, which he has every day.

During one of their daily McDonald’s run, I noticed Davida and Carter waiting in line. As I normally interact with guests when I enter one of my stores, I engaged in a conversation and learned about this charming, little man and his daily fight. As a father, I cannot imagine the anguish that Davida could be feeling but all I saw were smiles of joy. I felt compelled to leave Carter with a memory that he could cherish for years to come and offered one of my paintings. Carter selected “Blue Halo”. I had the painting matted and framed and we scheduled a time for me to meet. Unbeknownst to me, when I entered the store, I saw a group of supporters rallying around Davida and Carter for this occasion.

From my conversation with Davida, this is nothing unusual, her family is always there cheering her along. It is moments like these that encourage Davida to keep going. Her faith and family fuel her to press towards the mark during this three-year journey. As a mother of six children, ranging in age from 3 to 17, sometimes it is challenging balancing between homework, basketball games, and Carter. Davida points out that “If I didn’t have family – I would be lost.”

Her family provides support and is the cheerleader for her children when she cannot make it. She reminds herself to “Keep God first and he will give you a sign that things will be ok.” She recently created a Facebook Page called Carter Conquering Childhood Cancer C4. This page is designed to serve as support for others who may be experiencing something similar and to provide encouragement during this tedious process.

#anotherwinningmoment