Krystal's new franchisee: a man of many careers

Nation's Restaurant News, June 21, 1993

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Krystal Co. has signed up a franchisee who was at various times an FBI agent, a lawyer and even chancellor of a university in the South.

A life-long love of Krystal's burgers made Jim Drinnon, 54, add to his varied career background the role of fast-food franchisee.

"I always thought I would like to open a business of my own," Drinnon said, "and I always thought that Krystal was a successful business with a unique product people loved."

As an East Tennesseean, Drinnon grew up eating Krystal's trademark item, a square-shaped beef patty with pickle and mustard on a small, steamed bun.

During a seven-year stint as chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, he thought about owning and operating a Krystal unit, but the company had no franchise operations at the time.

Even when he was a member of the law firm of Baker, Worthington, Crossley, Stansberry & Woolf, Drinnon never let go of his dream. His inspiration to ultimately become a Krystal franchisee grew when his law partner, former Senate Minority Leader and White House Chief of Staff Howard Baker -- a fellow Krystal devotee -- used to carry caseloads of the small burgers back to Washington, microwaving them aboard Air Force One.

After 58 years of running company-only operations, Krystal entered the franchise market in 1990.

Although Drinnon's background sets him apart from most Krystal franchisees, his lack of restaurant experience does not, according to Tom Adams, Krystal's director of franchise development.

"It's not unusual for people with no restaurant experience to purchase a fast-food franchise," Drinnon said. "The franchisor's responsibility is to give these people the knowledge they need to successfully operate their business."

For Drinnon, as is the case for all new franchisees, that meant receiving another intensive classroom instruction at the home office in downtown Chattanooga, combined with hands-on management experience at a Krystal Kwik training site.

"Krystal believes you have to know how things work before you can manage, and their training is excellent," said Drinnon, an authority at assessing curricula. "We were taught everything from inventory and cash control to the nature of the ingredients and the exact methods of food preparation.

"Service standards and quality were stressed throughout."