Sallisaw, Oklahoma
At the six McDonald’s locations David Hadley maintains and operates, customers can expect to get the McFlurry they came for. McDonald’s is the largest restaurant chain in the world, serving nearly 70 million people per day. With less than 20% of restaurants owned and operated by McDonald’s itself, its success is due to the owners/operators who partner with McDonald’s as franchisees. David Hadley is one of these owners/operators for Hadmac Inc.
David grew up in Sallisaw, OK and played sports at both the high school and collegiate levels. He graduated with a degree in Finance, married his high school sweetheart, and now has two young boys to make up his beautiful family. David wears so many hats operating six McDonald’s franchises, being a father, and staying active by playing whatever sports he can.
His passion for athletics and education are obvious, as his franchises have donated over $100,000 to the community in product, time, or money. David is responsible for projects such as: McTeachers night, where all the profits from one night go back to schools; providing free meals to kids first enrolling in school; and sponsoring a new field and athletic complex. The donations they’ve made are hyper-local, working to support the community’s prosperity and growth.
David Hadley, thank you for everything you do. Your dedication to making a life-long impact in people’s lives every single day does not go unnoticed.
How did you get started in maintenance?
I’m a second generation operator. My dad started 35 years ago, and my great Uncle Leon before him. Uncle Leon got into McDonald’s in the early stages and managed 55 locations. He got my uncle to run some restaurants for him in Arkansas, where McDonald’s was brand new to the market. My uncle started owning his own restaurants and brought my dad down to be a manager for him after my dad graduated from college. My dad became a supervisor for a few of my uncle’s restaurants before he got to own a new one being built in Sallisaw. My dad opened it as a GM and shortly after purchased it as an operated. He bought another one down the road in Roland and that’s how it all started.
I started working for my dad as the Director of Operations. I was doing a lot of equipment maintenance and realized that a big barrier in our restaurants was equipment not working. I wanted to improve our systems and routines so I hired a maintenance supervisor to help out. I learned so much on the job – everything from painting to electrical.
I followed in my family’s footsteps and bought my first location just over two years ago now. I attend all of the Owner/Operator meetings and am the “tech guy” for our co-op. I oversee everything from hiring, equipment maintenance and uptime, labor and food costs, advertising, and merchandising.
What is one of your proudest achievements?
I completed the 2nd generation Owner/Operator program in 18 months and became an approved Owner/Operator at the age of 27.
What is one thing you wish people knew about your job?
McDonald’s Owner/Operators are very involved in their restaurants and communities. There’s a misconception that Owners live in skyscrapers hundreds of miles away from the locations they operate, when the reality is that we are independent franchisees living in the communities we do business in. We truly care about our employees and our customers and are invested in making their lives better.