An unlikely series of events Thursday afternoon lead to coast-to-coast news coverage of Rod Blagojevich’s final meal as a free man and his choice was Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers.
“Typically, a company would cringe at the news of its brand associated in any way with a convicted criminal. However, this is brand complementary. This is a high profile person headed to 14 years of confinement in federal prison who had the opportunity for one more meal as a free man and he chose to eat at Freddy’s,” commented Freddy’s President Bill Simon. “It’s difficult to imagine a better testimonial than that.”
After arriving in Denver on a flight from Chicago, the former Governor and his police detail drove to Englewood Federal Penitentiary and circled the parking lot twice before leaving again. A few minutes later, the entourage headed for Freddy’s newest location on South Kipling Parkway where Blagojevich exited his vehicle on his cell phone, then entered the restaurant and ordered two Freddy’s Original Patty Melts. Blagojevich signed autographs, posed for pictures and talked with reporters while he ate.
“When the initial reports came in, we just couldn’t believe it, and then the story and the coverage just kept growing. We certainly appreciate Mr. Blagojevich’s choice of restaurants for his last meal,” said COO Scott Redler. “I just wish he would have turned his cup to have the logo facing out while he posed for pictures.”
Co-founded by Scott Redler and Bill, Randy and Freddy Simon, Freddy’s opened its first location on west 21st Street in Wichita during 2002, offering a unique combination of cooked-to-order steakburgers, Chicago dogs, and other savory items along with its signature desserts prepared with premium frozen custard made fresh throughout the day in each store. Freddy’s founders operate six locations in the Wichita Metro area, two in the Kansas City market, and one in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Fifty-two franchise units serve other areas of Kansas and Oklahoma as well as Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas. An additional 35 locations are in various stages of construction. Freddy’s was listed as the Fifth Fastest Growing Chain Restaurant in the United States and Canada in 2010 by Chain Store Guide, a sister publication to Nation’s Restaurant News. More recently, Freddy’s was recognized by Technomics as the 5th fastest growing burger concept in the country. In the local community of the company’s founding, Freddy’s is a recipient of the 2011 Best in Business Award from the Wichita Business Journal. In 2011, Freddy’s was also named one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500® and #4 on the Franchise Chatter list of ‘Under the Radar Franchises’ for 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.freddysusa.com.
