MEIJER PLANS TO ADD MORE MCDONALD'S FRANCHISES

EILEEN COURTER

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (FNS) -- Meijer Inc. here will team up with McDonald's Corp. in at least a dozen more stores, following nine months of what company officials consider a successful trial in Grand Rapids and Muskegon, Mich.

McDonald's franchises have just opened in Royal Oak and Taylor, and others are slated for three Grand Rapids stores, three in Lansing and one each in Flint, Kalamazoo, Ypsilanti and Burton, all in Michigan.

Company officials hint that the list could continue growing.

John Zimmerman, Meijer's director of communications, said the idea occurred to both parties at about the same time.

"It was a mutual thing -- we called each other and discussed getting together," Zimmerman said.

Stores targeted for a McDonald's are those with existing traditional cafeterias, rather than the food courts Meijer has introduced into some new or remodeled stores that offer Chinese, pizza and hamburger restaurants which are run in-house.

Where cafeterias are closed to make way for McDonald's outlets, employees will be offered other jobs at the same pay and seniority.

Leasing to McDonald's will allow Meijer to focus on its core business, Zimmerman said. Meijer operates 86 stores in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The McDonald's outlets, which run about 20,000 square feet, are targeted for stores that are about 180,000 square feet, Zimmerman said.

The arrangement is a straight lease, he said. The outlets are run by various local franchisees, and some are operated by McDonald's corporate arm. Zimmerman said it is not a profit-sharing arrangement.