March 5, 2008
Burger King Value Menu Sinks Local Franchisees
The owners of four Manhattan Burger King franchises are locked in a nasty legal battle with their royal overlord. Luan Sadik and his sister, Elizabeth Sadik, rebelled against the mandatory 99-cent menu and the recent dollar Value Menu because the prices couldn’t cover the obscene Manhattan rent and the fast food monarch roared.
According to the Daily News, their rent at a Fifth Avenue restaurant is $9,000/month and $18,000.month at a 47th Street location. The Sadiks also kick up a monthly royalty to the King based on gross sales.
The Sadiks appealed for an exemption from the Value Menu, which was granted to Burger King franchises in airports and rest stops, but not to the Sadiks. When they closed two of their restaurants last year without corporate approval, Burger King took them to court and, six weeks ago, Burger King shuttered the Sadiks’ last two midtown restaurants.
The siblings are now countersuing Burger King. The Sadiks have owned Burger Kings in Manhattan for over ten years, but since 2001 they’ve operated at a loss. According to court papers, “the 99-cent menu was a financial disaster as customers constantly purchased the low-cost food items, which further deteriorates the [Sadiks'] bottom line.” It's unclear what the franchisees at other BK locations think.
Photo: Peter Stanik
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I wonder, would Tonic East allow the Burger King entrance even with baggy clothes?
Fuck them. I'm glad they are closing. Less garbage.
One day they'll all have to close, because all their customers died. Or are too fat to leave the house.
It's good to be the king. I think the sadiks are full of shit. 9000 dollars a month is really cheap for a first floor retail space as big as a restaurant. considering a BK makes around ~50 bucks a minute. Either food or operating costs are too high but the rent is cheap.
suq my sadiks
Kinda sad that the BK character (pictured) looks to close to comfort like Dubya.
One day they'll all have to close, because all their customers died. Or are too fat to leave the house.
Right, because there's no such thing as healthy people enjoying the occasional Hangover Whopper.
Nothing wrong with the hangover or even the too-drunk-to-remember-what-the-fuck-I-did last night whopper. Thing is, those aren't the people buying the shit day after day and getting fat.
Hmm. I think it all depends on exercise.
Last summer, I ate Wendys almost everyday and I actually lost weight. I went from 108 pounds to a 100 pounds. I had a job where I was always running around. Go figure. xD
Burger King/fast food restaurants are like 1/8th of the problem. The rest of it is the fact that people work in shitty office jobs for 8-10 hours a day, then go home and go on the Internet or watch TV.
You can eat all the BK you want if you occasionally get off the couch. Politicians can't tell people to get off their asses, though, so they blame a scapegoat so people can be told it's not their fault.
99 cents but the rats eat for free!
I find this suit to be odd because if you go to any fast food place in Manhattan things always cost more. Most places with their .99 cent menu and dollar menu cost at least fifty cents more or have very few items on it.
Besides, if all the Burger Kings go out of business, the King will have to start robbing all those houses he lurks outside of.
If they haven't turned a profit since 2001, they I don't think the value menu is the problem!!
McDonalds explicitly says in their commercials that prices may be higher in Manhattan, it's weird that Burger King won't let their franchises do the same.
I used to go to the location in Rockefeller Center -- It could be busy or empty, but service was consistently slow. Is this one of the branches that closed?
I remember when the McDonalds there was shuttered and I wondered how such a high-traffic, high-profile store could be closing and if soon everyone working in Midtown would need to pack a lunch.
My one secret fast food pleasure is the Burger King value menu. Three Whopper Juniors (hold the mayo) with a small soda and either a small fries or a side salad, all for five bucks. So do I now have to feel guilty that I'm taking advantage of some poor franchisee who's at the mercy of a giant corporation which is dictating to him that he must lose money every time I eat there? Should I spend the extra buck and get the Whopper value meal instead, even though three Whopper Juniors are better and less expensive than one regular Whopper?
Nah!