Photo by GARY JUNG
John Melton, the general contractor of the project, planes the concrete floor which will be painted blue next week. Construction continues on the first Gyrene Burger restaurant off Tamiami Trail in Naples. The restaurant is expected to be open in two weeks. With a second location near Vanderbuilt being planned too.
NAPLES — Thomas Monaghan's dream is about to be delivered.
The founder of Domino's Pizza and Ave Maria University soon will open his first hamburger delivery business in Naples. The store — at 51 Ninth St. S. a few blocks north of Fifth Avenue South — is expected to open in mid-December.
Another store is in the works at 93rd Avenue North and U.S. 41, near Joe's Diner in North Naples.
"We want to get these two perfected before we sign any more leases," said Monaghan, 74.
His latest venture goes by the name Gyrene Burger. He hopes to build it into a hamburger empire and sell franchises one day. His idea is simple: To bring gourmet hamburgers to the doorstep. He won't deliver any sides or drinks, just burgers.
"Nothing like this has ever been done before," Monaghan said.
Last week, the first Gyrene burgers were served at a Marine Corps Birthday Ball held at Ave Maria University. More than 150 attended the annual event.
The new fast-food concept will offer two types of burgers, with no substitutions: The classic with ketchup, mustard and pickle and the deluxe with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Each will cost about $6. Both burgers will have double Angus beef patties, plus cheese and bacon.
"The product is the very best product we know how to make," Monaghan said.
Monaghan's protege, Adrian Martinez, who will be the manager of the first store, said the concept is constantly evolving.
"No good idea is dismissed," he said.
Photo by LEXEY SWALL
Tom Monaghan, right, the founder of Domino's Pizza and Ave Maria University, will be opening Gyrene Burger on the corner of Central Avenue and U.S. 41 in Naples. Adrian Martinez, left, will be the manager of the business that will offer two types of gourmet hamburgers and will focus on delivery and have no seating. Lexey Swall/Staff
Martinez, 24, a student at Ave Maria University, has worked closely with Monaghan on developing the burger business. One of their latest ideas is to put the delivery drivers on scooters to ensure they don't speed. The scooters will be rugged-looking to match Gyrene Burger's military theme.
Deliveries will only be made 1.5 miles from the store and drivers will carry only one order at a time.
Through the new chain, Monaghan hopes to help veterans and military families, as well as giving some of the profits to his young Catholic university east of Naples.
The success of the business will determine how much money there will be to donate and how many people it can help.
Work on the first store began about three weeks ago. The general contractor is Integral Building Corp., headquartered in Naples.
The company specializes in food service construction.
"Right now we are ahead of schedule by probably 10 days or more," said John Melton, the company's president.
The work started with a demolition crew. Underground wiring and piping is in and interior walls have been framed. Next week, the exhaust hood will be hung and the ceiling will be completed. The restaurant equipment will soon arrive.
The restaurant should be ready to open by Dec. 12, Melton said.
He's worked closely with the architects and others involved in the project to meet Monaghan's tight schedule. The permit for the job was issued less than three weeks after it was submitted to the city of Naples, which is unusually fast, Melton said.
"We have all been team players," he said.
Melton is glad to be involved in such a project because it could benefit military families.
"The good intention is something I am extremely proud of being associated with," he said.
In the 1950s, Monaghan spent three years in the Marine Corps. Gyrene is a slang word for Marine, thought to have come from a combination of "GI" and "Marine."
His employees will wear camouflage uniforms and his hamburger stores, he promises, will be as spotless as barracks.
There will be an extensive employee training program, called the burger boot camp."All delivery employees will have to run a mile in 10 minutes," Monaghan said.
Each store will have about 20 employees, most of them part-time.
"There is little doubt as to whether these first couple of stores will succeed," Martinez said.
How much they succeed will dictate the growth of Gyrene Burger, he said.
Fast facts
Tom Monaghan thinks the hamburger business could be even bigger than Domino's one day, with 6,000 stores in the U.S. alone, and that many or more in the rest of the world.
Monaghan wants to open corporate stores in large cities, in clusters of eight to 12. Franchises would be offered in smaller towns and cities, with populations under 500,000.
"The sky is the limit right now," Martinez said. "There is huge potential, but there are also very real obstacles to overcome."
As word has spread about his new venture, Monaghan said some have questioned him about whether it will work, especially with only two choices on the menu.
"We'll make it work," he said, adding that an accountant once told him he couldn't make any money in the pizza delivery business.
Monaghan thinks the hamburger business could be even bigger than Domino's one day, with 6,000 stores in the U.S. alone, and that many or more in the rest of the world.
"If we get repeat customers, that is the key," Monaghan said. "That's what will tell you whether it's a winner or not."
__ Connect with Laura Layden at www.naplesnews.com/staff/laura_layden.
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Comments » 73
MisterK writes:
I'm sorry to say, but Gyrene burger sounds gross. I see there sign is up at the store by Central Ave. on 41. Good luck, Mr. Monaghan.
dab writes:
It better be better than Five Guys burgers......a very tough thing to do.
crazyjoedivola writes:
Will they be closed on Fridays during Lent? Or for the whole 40 days?
crazyjoedivola writes:
Or will he be requesting a papal dispensation?
IMSufrin writes:
Gyno burger?
foreclosure_agent writes:
In about six months Tim will be doing an "In the know" article about what happened to it.
justgetoverit writes:
He thinks it could be bigger then Dominos? I wonder how big Dominos would have become if they only offered 2 types of pizza with no substitutions?
"What do you mean you want sausage on your pizza??? We got pepperoni and we got mushrooms. Take it or leave it.
No Substitutions!!"
I don't see it working. I know I won't use them.
light writes:
No fish. Closed on Fridays.
np writes:
'Tis way to go, by dreaming big.
Naplestango writes:
This kind of stuff you can't make up!!!
676 writes:
No way, Jose.
Hog writes:
I think he has the right to do what he wants and has done a pretty good job with his ideas so far.
RobinofLocksley writes:
the Monaghan Gyrene Burger rugged looking military scooters
are a way of indoctrinating the citizens of Naples
exporting the Ave Maria religious lifestyle
cozyboy writes:
Dumbest name and concept of all time.
donsense writes:
No bacon or cheese on mine please. Pickle on the side.
donsense writes:
Also Bermuda Onion
flamom73 writes:
Yeah!, More heart attack food and dead end jobs.
big_peach_e writes:
How appropriate for a right to lifer to open a burger joint with no choices. He's your burger buddy....
Talk about being anti-choice!
Francisco writes:
Yes, that's exactly right, how did you guess? Everyone in Ave Maria drives around on military scooters. Here we come, indoctrinating everyone into our military-scooter-riding religious lifestyle! Vroom, vroom.
babbas writes:
First of all, Dominoes sucks. Secondly, Americans eat up Dominoes pizzas like they ARE good. In conclusion, Americans eat things that suck. Gyrene will be a hit!
Naplestango writes:
Makes perfect sense!:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/3533/saturd...
WinfriedK writes:
All your smart guys and Ave Maria haters out there..... it's Tom's business, money and dreams, nothing else. Wasn't he successful with Dominos ?
Good luck Tom and God bless
cozyboy writes:
I'm a stupid guy and an Ave Maria Lover ok. But this concept is about as smart as a chevy volt.
voltihs writes:
The delivery policy alone will sink this idea like a lead weight.
tucknrun3 writes:
It isn't always as easy as it looks for NDN to write such terrible articles. They really have to concentrate to come across so challenged.
First we have this hamburger delivery service concept, which might work in Detroit because those yankees would eat cardboard if hungry enough. Proof is Dominos. But downtown Naples....zero Tommy. This is a slow ticking disaster bomb. But heck stay with me on this....
Now take one of those 2 types of burgers we will call Gryene (I am guessing no PR or marketing person was hired to stop Tommy from any of this....horrible name. Awful.) , with no fries or chips or even something to drink for God's sake (notice the tie in back to AMU)and put them on a SCOOTER to be SLOWLY delivered to one of the few hundred residences inside the magic 1.5 mile delivery radius for the slophouse they make these gems in. One order at a time. Either you have 20 SCOOTERS running around or delivery is going to be drop dead slow.
But heck at least this storefront location, with NO SEATING, is being renovated by a GC that has restaurant building experience. You can see it in the pic with Johnny boy "grinding" the floors (aka Tommy M is too cheap to buy new flooring or pay anyone to take care of it). Thank the Lord Tommy found Johnny to pull this off. Whew! Next up for this restaurant buildng king is to remodel the hot dog serving area at 7-11.
Let's recap: Over the Top Dumb Idea coming from 1 old and 1 young RC to open a business that offers 2.....yep make that TWO choices only, to be slowly delivered on SCOOTERS that no self-respecting military person would be caught dead on, in Naples Florida, and should you chance by this "gee it looks like a mini Ritz Carlton cafe with stained concrete floors" restaurant, you will discover you can't sit down because there are no tables.
The good news is Panera is only a few minutes north of this future "gone out of business" location.
Tommy....back to the brandy baby. This one is DOA before burger one is delivered.....slowly....cold...with no chips or drinks. "Choke on the darn thing for all I care and God Bless".
streetrodder writes:
Mr Monaghan what were you thinking. A Cholesterol Burger?? In this day and age most people are eating healthy especially in Naples. Look at the success of Food and Thought..Wikipedia will soon have to add the Gyrene Burger to the market research firm YouGov's BrandIndex report...a cancer research group's list of most unhealthy fast food gourmet along with Wendy’s Bacon Deluxe Triple Burger with 1,140 calories, 71 grams of fat, 31 grams of saturated fat, 290 milligrams of cholesterol, and 2,470 milligrams of sodium, beating out the Carl’s Jr. Guacamole Bacon Six-Dollar Burger with 1,040 calories, 70 grams of fat, 25 grams of saturated fat, 145 milligrams of cholesterol and 2,240 milligrams of sodium; Burger King’s Steakhouse XT Burger with 970 calories, 61 grams of fat, 23 grams of saturated fat, 135 milligrams of cholesterol and 1,930 milligrams of sodium; Jack in the Box’s Sirloin Cheeseburger with 941 calories, 59 grams of fat, 18 grams of saturated fat, 143 milligrams of cholesterol and 1,890 milligrams of sodium; and McDonald’s Angus Bacon and Cheese Burger with 790 calories, 39 grams.
Good Luck......
Hollywoody writes:
Stupid, obiesity is a huge epidemic. Now you don't even need to leave your home. Fat delivered.
Catholics and Jews are always trying to make more money. Maybe they think they can buy their way into some kind of afterlife.
It wont succeed just like ave Maria...
TheLissack writes:
Remember every burger will be blessed.
Beachtowel writes:
It's funny how everyone on here is an expert. This guy has a proven track record. You shouldn't be so quick to dismiss an idea from a man who's had his level of success. We should be happy a business is actually opening in Naples instead of closing. I'm looking forward to the opening. Tom Monaghan has tried and succeeded in doing good for the community. That's more than can be said for anyone posting comments on this article.
JoeAmerican writes:
For all you disbelievers out there, you would only hope to have the opportunity in your life to start up a business concept and the experience and net worth to execute it.
Opportunities are created from thoughtful minds with the know how to execute a business model. That is what makes America what it is, freedom however you choose to exercise it.
The success of Domino's was risk reward situation, look where it is. Gyrene Burger is the same. At least someone is thinking out of the box and creating financial opportunities for the military families that protect our freedom every day. What do you disbelievers do to thank the young men and women whom protect your freedom?
Go Tom and Adrian, and thank you for allowing Naples to be the starting point of your soon to be successful restaurant concept.
marcari writes:
I enjoy reading comments in response to articles in the NDN. I often fall into the trap of thinking that because I am happy with my life, my friends are bright and upbeat, and that by hard work I have a small measure of security, that there should be few problems in the world. Then I read these comments and get jolted back into reality. Negative, hate filled people do exist and ya'll prove it to me daily. A guy, and I don't care who he is, wants to open a business and give some of the profits to military families and that engenders an outpouring of hateful, disparaging comments. Take a walk in the sunshine, watch a beautiful sunset, make plans to do something positive, and top it off with a hamburger, any hamburger, and enjoy what time you have left. You'll live a lot longer eating an occasional hamburger than you will living a life filled with envy, negativity, and prejudice.
AM_Johnny writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Jaimee writes:
There hasn't been a gyrene (or a GI) in the military since 1975. Most potential customers won't even know what a gyrene is or was. 1/2 the men I went in with were "Welcomed" to the USMC, just about the last gyrenes to serve.
bana writes:
Hey Tom,
I've gotta location for you. Give me a call,you have my number.
marcari writes:
Thanks for making my point. Happy Thanksgiving!
fredtalbott#236818 writes:
You report they will only deliver within 1.5 miles of the store. Are there enough people in that tiny area to support the store, even if they are ordering and eating hamburgers round the clock? And you report they will only deliver one burger order at a time. If three orders come in from the same condo, will the driver go back and forth three times? With the price of gas, what will this do to the margin? I've reviewed more than 5,000 business plans, and I worry about this one.
YPoulaki writes:
I'm going to try it! Thanks for employing people mr. m ! If only more of our local millionaires would keep putting their money to the benefit of our local economy!
Maggotbrain writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
mewillandale writes:
I personally can't understand how the business can work. If the business is dependent on reciprocal business, the location is very questionable. 1.5 mile radius in a transient neighborhood with the larger percentage of that population being above 55 years old (data from the city) definitely makes you question the validity of the plan. sounds like an expensive marketing campaign to sell a non-traditional item (not that it has to be) in a location where the population is either too expensive to get to or not a viable prospect.
Food quality? that is a huge question. 1.5 mile radius sounds small but the holdover on the burger can destroy it if it takes too long. Send it out under cooked, and now you put people at risk of disease. "safe" hamburger is considered 165 internal. the rare hamburger is a danger and especially to the elderly sensitive GI tracts. And then there is the fat content of a burger and it's sauces.
Plan sounds complicated but, my money is bet on a failure. i certainly would not order a burger like that.
General Mills tried a similar plan with a bit more extensive menu and the invested heavily (much more than this place) and after 3 years of trying to make it work, they closed it down. they had over 500 people working on it and a much more realistic plan.
good luck but, i think a failure is in the future. Sorry........
lwm writes:
Good luck, doesn't sound like a place I would order from.
tazman9916 writes:
This doesn't sound like a successful business plan to me. That is the nicest possible way I could say that!
Shaawe writes:
The 1.5 mile radius for delivery would work if it was to deliver mainly to Ave Maria. Maybe that is part of his plan, who knows. Incidentally, the Edsel was a great idea too...for a while.
justright writes:
Wow what a bunch of haters! What are your bid accomplishments? Have you built a nationwide pizza chain or a university or a city?
That's why he's rich and you're poor. You have no sense of vision or ability to take risks to fulfill your dreams. I think it's a great idea and can't wait to place an order. I wish Gyrene all the best.
American_by_Choice writes:
I apologize in advance...
But you're thinking of the basic burger, with Ketchup and Mayo only...
(Again... Sorry, but it was out there and something had to be done about!)
Dilbert writes:
Wonder how FAST his delivery drivers can go...I was HIT by one if his sleazy Dominoes employees..still have the broken wrist to prove it.
Of course Dominoes lawyers won that round.
My advice...stop making a millionaire richer.
teazle writes:
Are there any idiots out there that can top this post?
American_by_Choice writes:
Huh... So you've run the numbers?
Let us in on your analysis...
How many potential clients are passing the store front on a daily basis?
How many potential buyers live within the initial AO?
What are the projected breakdowns of total overhead required to maximize potential profits?
Or did ya not consider any of that?
My guess is that Monahan likely took the time to scribble some projections on a napkin down at the club; likely even Googling a few things prior to deciding to spend a small fortune to see how it all works out.
He likely figured out how many folks within the AO are on long-term, chronic unemployment and discovered that there's a small, but long term chronic fortune to be made if he can produce and deliver a $6 burger to their lazy asces.
"He who finds a way to capitalize on the lower end of human nature stands to reap the windfall of simple genius." České Budějovice (Budweis)
username writes:
Mafia storefront?
American_by_Choice writes:
Man, you can't hide a Marxist.
Be sure to be there when one of those scooter drivers are run down by a $40K Prius.
If you try to remain consistent, it should be HYSTERICAL!
CTinFL writes:
It doesn't matter what he's done in the past. The point is, this is a dumb idea for a number of reasons already mentioned. I seriously wonder whether he's lost his marbles. In any case, it's his money, and he can blow it however he wants. Maybe a few years from now we'll all be eating crow, but I highly doubt it. Then again, he's got the cash to blanket the country with "Gyrene Burger" stores and keep them running at a loss for a lifetime, so we may never know whether they are truly successful or not.
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