Shannon Davis: McDonald's owner says super-sized job keeps him satisfied

As Shannon Davis puts it, McDonald's is in his blood.

Davis' father, Jerry Davis, started the first McDonald's in Cape Girardeau nearly 40 years ago, so the 38-year-old Davis grew up around Big Mac's, apple pies and french fries.

"It was cool," Davis said recently. "I didn't know any other life. I've just kind of been around it forever."

But when Jerry Davis died in 2003 in a tragic plane crash, the reigns were handed over to Shannon. Now, he oversees 11 McDonald's across Southeast Missouri, which employ more than 600 people.

But his father is never far from his thoughts.

"Since Dad passed away, I wonder what he would think about this decision or that decision," Davis said. "Dad's not here, but I still want to make him proud. I think he would be."

Davis took time recently to sit down with Business Today to talk about the life of a McDonald's man, his father, and the responsibility of owning one of America's most iconic fast-food restaurants.

Business Today: OK, let's get this question out of the way first. What did you think of "Super Size Me," the documentary about the man who lived only on McDonald's for food for 30 days?

Davis (laughing): OK, I saw the movie and it was interesting. But I have a major problem with the way the study was done. This guy lived with a vegan chef and never ate meat. He was a very active fellow. Then he stops exercising and starts eating 6,000 calories a day. That's three times the normal amount. Of course it wasn't good for him. But if he'd eaten our salads or some of our other healthy choices, he would have been fine.

BT: How many McDonald's cheeseburgers have you eaten in your life?

Davis: When I was young, it was cool to ride our bikes around and just wander into McDonald's and eat. But I don't know how many total. (Laughs.) Too many, I guess.

BT: Does McDonald's get a bad rap as far as being unhealthy?

Davis: We're the No. 1 fast-food restaurant in the country, so we take the brunt of that abuse. But our menu has nutritious and healthy choices. Life's all about moderation. You have a glass a wine twice a week and it's good for you. You probably didn't know this, but with our apple dippers, McDonald's is the No. 1 supplier of apples for children in the United States. We served 300 million salads last year. McDonald's is unjustly targeted. If you eat 6,000 calories a day of anything, you're going to put weight on.

BT: Much is being made of the minimum wage, with the move to increase it going before voters on Nov. 7. (Prior to BT going to press.) McDonald's pays some employees minimum wage. Do you think it should be raised?

Davis: I'm against it. If it happens, all we can do is pass it on to the consumer. We can't cut back on our employees. If we do, our service goes to heck. So we adjust our pricing. You can't just absorb that. We work in large volume, small margins.

BT: Most people think of a McDonald's job as one for high-schoolers. It can be more than that, can't it?

Davis: A McDonald's job is what you put into it. The guy who runs McDonald's North America started out as a crew person. It's not a one-way deal. There are career possibilities. There's no ceiling.

BT: It seems like a lot of your competition is located close to your restaurants. Why do competing restaurants want to be right next to McDonald's?

Davis: McDonald's does a ton of research before it builds a store. It does traffic counts, all kinds of stuff, to get that 1,000 percent location. So other restaurants know that McDonald's did the math. Competition saves a lot of money that way.

BT: A lot was made of the fact that White Castle was coming to Cape Girardeau by your McDonald's by I-55. Did it hurt your store out there?

Davis: I don't know, my sales out there increased every month we've been there. Could you make an argument that they would have increased more if White Castle hadn't been there? I guess you could. But I've done more volume than we did the year before.

BT: What was the most important lesson your dad taught you?

Davis: The work ethic. An honest day's work. He taught us you've got to work hard. It sounds like a cliché, but it's true.

---

Meet Shannon Davis

Age: 38

Position: Owner/operator of 11 McDonald's restaurants in Southeast Missouri -- two in Cape Girardeau, and one each in Jackson, Charleston, Sikeston, Marble Hill, Miner, Benton, Dexter, Malden and Advance.

Experience: Davis' father, Jerry Davis, opened the city's first McDonald's in 1967, meaning Shannon Davis basically has a life-long experience with the company.

Education: Degree in general studies from Southeast Missouri State University in 1990

Personal: Wife of 13 years, London; three children, Graeme, 9, Emery, 4, and Carson, 11 months