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BUSINESS THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, JANUARY 17-23, 2019 • Page 12 Developers of the Year include DeKalb in their plans BY KATHY MITCHELL Freelance Reporter When a growing chain of quick-serve restaurants announced its annual national awards near the end of 2018, among those recognized were developers with significant investments in DeKalb County. Omer Casurluk, Erdem Aydin and Mike Tillis were named the Developers of the Year throughout the nationwide Checkers & Rally’s system. During 2017 and 2018, Casurluk, Aydin and Tillis acquired 26 restaurants in the Atlanta, Augusta and Charleston markets. The team currently has agreements to acquire two additional restaurants in the Atlanta area, bringing them closer to their goal of 40 restaurants. “We strongly believe in the Checkers and Rally’s business model and the Atlanta metro area, including DeKalb County, is an excellent match for it,” commented Tillis, who with his partners owns 30 restaurants in the chain, including five in DeKalb County, specifically Decatur, Stone Mountain, Tucker and Doraville. Tillis is chief operating officer with Star Chain Inc., a Georgia-based company that owns Checkers and Rally’s restaurants as well as other quick serve food franchises. Casurluk is CEO of Star Chain. Aydin is a financial partner who, according to his biography, owns one of the largest construction companies in Turkey and has relocated to the United States. Tillis who has more than 30 years of experience in both the corporate and franchise sides of the food business, said he is impressed with not only Checkers/Rally’s products, but also with the strong support corporate provides its franchisees, its training initiatives, use of technology and marketing promotions. He said he also likes its corporate culture. “Checkers/ Rally’s executives believe in treating everyone the way they would like to be treated— employees, customers, vendors. Their success is a strong indicator that the approach works,” he said. Before becoming a founding executive with Star Chain, Tillis had nine years of business consulting experience with Checkers/ Rally’s. Checkers and Rally’s are identical restaurants operating under different names depending on the region, Tillis said, adding that the brands overlap in some markets. The restaurants specialize in hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken wings, shakes and the company’s signature seasoned fries. Most of its restaurants are double side, drive-throughs, he said, noting that the food and the service model are designed to appeal to young consumers. “The food is bold flavored and a good value—you get a lot of Meet Racer (ID# 37869042)! This gray beauty will zoom right into your heart. Racer is very active and would love a yard to run around in! He has great listening skills and will show you how well he can sit whenever you ask! Play fetch with him and he will love you forever. Are you In? Meet Racer at LifeLine's DeKalb Animal Services at 3280 Chamblee Dunwoody Road. All adoptions include your new pet's spay or neuter, vaccinations, microchip, and more! For more information about adopting your new best friend email adoption@ dekalbanimalservices.com or call (404) 294-2165. All potential adopters will be screened to ensure Racer goes to a good home. Hours: Mon-Fri; 11am-7pm / Sat-Sun; 11am-6pm Mike Tillis food for your money,” he said. “Those features are popular with our target customer base.” Several factors go into choosing a location, Tillis said. “We look at such area demographics as income and average age living and working in the area as well as traffic count and drill down on details such as ease of access and visibility.” Tillis and his partners bring restaurants under their umbrella through both acquisition and new construction. “When we find a location that we feel is a good match for our business model, we pursue the possibility of building a store. When there is an existing store that the owner is looking to sell, that also could be an opportunity for us. “People give up a franchise store for a number of reasons. The owner may decide to retire, move out of the area, go into a different line of work. If there is a thriving store at a good location, we may look into taking it over,” Tillis said. Checkers and Rally’s started in the 1980s as separate restaurant chains, but merged in 1999, blending systems, best practices and ultimately menus. “The only difference,” Tillis said, “is that Checkers offers a Checkerburger and Rally’s has a Rallyburger. The sandwiches are identical.” The Checkers and Rally’s organization reached a national milestone of 900 restaurants in December 2018 and, according to Jennifer Durham, chief development officer, is well on its way to achieving the company goal of 1,200 restaurants by 2020. She said that 91 percent of the restaurants are owned by multi-unit franchisees such as Casurluk, Aydin and Tillis. PUBLIC NOTICE CITY OF CHAMBLEE, GA NOTICE OF MUNICIPAL OFFICE QUALIFYING DATES The date of Municipal Election for the office of Councilmember District 2 (two), Councilmember District 3 (three) and Councilmember At-Large is Tuesday, No vember 5, 2019. The qualifying fee for offices of Councilmember District 2 (two), Councilmember 3 (three) and Councilmember At-Large is $360.00, which is 3% of the total gross salary of the preceding year (O.C.G.A. 21-1-131 (a)(1)(A)). Each candidate shall file a notice of candidacy in the office of the City Clerk of Chamblee, 5468 Peachtree Road, Georgia between Tuesday, August 20, 2019 and Thursday, August 22, 2019, between the hours of 8:30 am and 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm ana 4:30 pm (O.C.G.A. 21-2-132(d)(4)). Each candidate must meet the qualifications of the Charter and Code of the City of Chamblee, as well as applicable State laws. Emmie Niethammer, CMC City Clerk/Election Superintendent DC DeKalb County GEORGIA DeKalb County Special Purpose Home Repair Program Application Period Opens The DeKalb County Community Development Department will offer deferred pay ment, forgivable loans to assist senior and disabled homeowners with critical repairs to plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and roofing. To be eligible, applicants must be at least 62 years of age or disabled and at least 21 years of age, own DeKalb County prop erty that serves as their primary residence, and satisfy income and other eligibility requirements. The DeKalb County Community Development Department will accept preliminary applications for the Special Purpose Home Repair program on January 17 - February 1,2019. Preliminary applications and instructions for submission are available on the DeKalb County website (https://www.dekalbcountvqa.qov/communitv-development/ public-notices) or at the DeKalb County Senior Centers shown below: DeKalb Atlanta Senior Center 25 Warren Street Atlanta, GA30317 Lithonia Senior Center 2484 Bruce Street Lithonia, GA 30058 South DeKalb Senior/Community Center 1931 Candler Road Decatur, GA 30032 Lou Walker Senior Center 2358 Panola Road Lithonia, GA 30058 North DeKalb Senior/Community Center 3393 Malone Drive Chamblee, GA 30341 Central DeKalb Senior Center 1346 McConnell Dr. Decatur, GA 30033 For further information, please call 404-371-2727.
