Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
SERVING IT YOUR WAY — The staff at the Houlton Burger King carry on the tradition of serving hot and tasty food cooked to order. Members of the local team include, from left, store manager Kristi McAtee, Ben Snowman, Sandra Sanders, Kenny Hall, Sonya Haney, Tyson Cofske and Katie Bickford.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HOULTON — For 30 years, residents of southern Aroostook County and western New Brunswick have been able to have things their way at the Houlton Burger King.
And for 17 of those years, store manager Kristi McAtee has worked for the company in some capacity. McAtee got her start with the restaurant in 1996, working her way from an entry-level crew person to a management position first in Calais and then in Houlton. She has been the general store manager in Houlton since November 2007,
“I’m at the highest position I am going to get unless I buy into the franchise,” she said. “It was my goal to be the store manager here in Houlton because Houlton is home.”
Houlton’s Burger King opened its doors with great fanfare in November, 1984. After all, prior to its opening, the Shiretown had been a one fast-food town with only a McDonalds restaurant offering people a choice for a quick meal.
“At the time Burger King opened, the Houlton Shopping Center was the place to go,” McAttee said. “The Ames and Laverdiere’s stores were there at the time and the location was perfect since everyone shopped at those two stores.”
The Huck family of Caribou opened the Houlton Burger King, expanding their franchise base from Caribou and Presque Isle. The Hucks ran the business until retiring in 1998. Since then, Steve Wegner of Bangor has owned the franchise. Wegner owns eight Burger King franchises from Caribou to Rockland.
Burger King was founded in 1954 and is the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world, according to the company’s corporate website.
The “Burger King” was first introduced in 1955 and has gone through several variations over the years to include both an animated and live actor portraying the icon in the 1970s and ‘80s. The king reappeared in 2004 as the company’s primary marketing mascot. In 2010, the corporation was purchased by 3G Capital, a global, multi-million dollar investment firm based out of Miami.
Much has changed in terms of foods offered over the years, McAtee said.
“Today it’s all about higher quality food,” she said. “We have always had very good food in my opinion, only now, we are trying to make it more upscale. Healthier options are coming out all the time. Fast food is trying to upscale.”
New and seasonal menu items are always being introduced. One of the current promotions is a crinkle cut French fry dubbed “satisfries.”
“Many people don’t realize that our ‘satisfries’ are made from Aroostook County potatoes,” McAtee said. “They come from County farmers and are processed right up in Easton. They are very good.”
Consumer’s tastes have remained fairly consistent over the years, but chicken sandwiches have become more and more popular in recent years. The “Whopper,” “Whopper Jr.” and the original chicken sandwich remain the top sellers.
The building itself has remained relatively the same over the past 30 years. At one time, there was a salad bar for customers, but that was removed sometime in the late 1990s.
“We were one of the only Burger Kings left on the Eastern Seaboard that still had a salad bar when I started there in 1996,” she said.
The Houlton restaurant employs 25 full- and part-time employees. It is also known for its unusual drive up window.
“I tell people you have to take our drive thru like a truck driver,” McAtee said. “You have to jog it wide and cut it hard.”
McAtee said she was unsure if the Houlton Burger King would be able to do any sort of celebration to mark their 30th anniversary.
For more information on the Houlton Burger King, call 532-9468.
