A fast food entrepreneur employing thousands of McDonald's staff across the region told the ECHO he is "passionate" about developing his workforce as he prepares to open his latest branch.
Mark Blundell worked for the fast food giant in a number of operational and corporate roles for two decades, lastly as head of HR. He told the ECHO owning his own franchise was "always" his goal, starting out with a branch on Rice Lane ten years ago.
He now has a number of notable locations, including County Road in Kirkby, Aintree, Queens Drive, Ormskirk and on Great Homer Street, as well as Hey Road in Huyton, Walton Road, Bootle, Page Moss, Kensington, Skelmersdale and Formby. A new McDonalds, on the new service station at the side of the M58 in Maghull, is set to open next month (September 2022).
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The 12 outlets employ about 1,600 staff in total and the new restaurant will add another 100 recruits.
"I love working closely with the teams and building up the business developing many of the staff who are now managers in my other stores," he said. "All our managers, support staff and supervisors that operate my restaurants are home grown and have developed and grown with me over the past ten years."
Choosing a site for a new McDonald's is led by 'customers and convenience' Mark said, but "great food and hospitable staff" really help bring the restaurants to life. His team is a 'mix of full and part time, all types of people and from all different backgrounds and experiences'.
Mark told the ECHO he doesn't have a set growth target for the next five years, but will focus on 'people'.
"I’m passionate about what we do and the people in my teams and helping them to develop," he said. "It’s important to remember that we will only grow by developing our staff and by providing great tasting food and great service to our customers.
"All of our stores including the new Maghull one employ local people from the immediate area and our aim is to make it feel welcoming for all our customers - a local community hub."
His company also aims to help local communities in other ways, such as sponsoring local football teams and raising money for charity.
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