By Mike Finney

CAMDEN — Anyone who has visited a McDonald’s in Kent or Sussex counties or on Maryland’s Eastern Shore has probably had an encounter with Michael Meoli, whether they realized it or not.

That’s because Mr. Meoli owns the majority of the McDonald’s restaurants in downstate Delaware, as well as several others in Maryland, and the second-generation owner/operator has a direct impact on how all his properties function.

His latest venture began Aug. 16, at a groundbreaking for his newest McDonald’s, at 60 East St. in Camden, near the corner of U.S. 13 and Voshell Mill Road adjacent to Grotto Pizza.

“I’ve lived Downstate for 30 years, and now, this store in Camden will be the 25th in our organization,” said Mr. Meoli, a resident of Rehoboth Beach. “We’re proud here at McDonald’s. (The Meoli Companies) has 1,300 employees and managers. We expect here in Camden to add between 60 and 65 folks that we will employ here at this restaurant.

“Our first store was down in Rehoboth Beach in 1991, when I first moved down here, and it’s been a great process over all the years and now by growing the business here (in Camden).”

The new Camden McDonald’s is expected to open by the end of December. Venture Construction Co., out of Richmond, Virginia, is building the restaurant and “has done hundreds of McDonald’s restaurants over the years,” Mr. Meoli said.

“We can usually build these things in 116 to 120 days, so it’s pretty aggressive,” he said. “I can’t tell you how excited we are to be in this Camden-Wyoming area.”

He proudly looked out at the dirt piled at his future location and smiled.

“In this Camden area, I had the opportunity to look at the (former) McDonald’s in the Walmart and decide, ‘Is this the best place or should we be in both places?’” he said. “We decided that the best thing to do for us and for the community really was to be right here.

“This is a fabulous spot. It’s been a long time since I opened a restaurant that I believed ... was going to come out of the gate very strong. Sometimes, you just don’t know, especially in a very mature business like a McDonald’s, where you’re saturated, and you’re not quite sure, is it really going to take off?”

Judy Diogo, president of the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce, said the other businesses in Camden will benefit from a new McDonald’s, as will residents and those looking for employment.

“We are absolutely excited that they are expanding in the Camden area, and all you have to do is look around you. There is so much growth coming here,” she said. “So the more we can feed people and the more opportunities we have for good-paying jobs, the better off the entire community is going to be.

“Mike and his team know how to do it effectively and efficiently. McDonald’s is a national brand. Everyone knows McDonald’s, so they bring people. When you can have a brand that stands on its own, that is of high quality, it brings more people.”

Several local dignitaries, including state Rep. Lyndon Yearick, R-Magnolia, and Camden Mayor Tracy Torres, attended the store’s groundbreaking.

Mayor Torres said she is happy the company is bringing a standalone site to Camden after closing its location inside the nearby Walmart last spring.

Mr. Meoli’s McDonald’s restaurants in Kent and Sussex counties hire, train and develop more than 2,500 people a year.

“I think it’s going to be great,” said Mayor Torres. “Honestly, I frequent McDonald’s all the time with my 6-year-old. I’m going to be very pleased to have this so close to my home instead of driving a little bit, so I’m excited, and I think it will do well. I think it will do great, and it’s a good opportunity to add some jobs to the area.”

Adjusting to new challenges

Mr. Meoli began working in his father’s restaurants while in high school, starting in 1980. After college, he went full time into his family’s McDonald’s business, learning all aspects of operations, financial management and people development.

“Now, I’m the owner/operator of this restaurant (in Camden) and pretty much all of the McDonald’s restaurants in Sussex County and in Kent County,” he said. “I had the opportunity back in November (2020) to purchase the McDonald’s restaurants in Kent County, which was Milford and the stores in Dover, including the McDonald’s restaurant that was in the (Camden) Walmart.”

Mr. Meoli and his team have also had to adjust the way they do business throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“COVID has really changed the face of a lot of things, and McDonald’s is certainly no different,” he said. “So when we look at drive-thru innovation, it totally changed. Right now, at the McDonald’s in Dover, we’re averaging about 83% of the business ... going through drive-thrus now.

“Now, I think that number will come down a little bit over the next couple of years but not a lot. When you look at innovations like McDelivery … delivery is huge here in the Dover market. They deliver through organizations like Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub, and that business is really taking off.”

He added, “There’s mobile order pay where you can order on your phone. You place the order on your phone, and you can come grab it by picking it up curbside, or you can go into the restaurant and pick it up. These are all innovations that are moving McDonald’s forward and kind of bringing us into that next century.”

Still, he said McDonald’s is not immune to the effects COVID-19 has dealt out to retail stores and restaurants.

“I’m a second-generation (owner), which means I’ve grown up in this business,” he said. “For 50 years, my family’s been in this business, and 30 years down here (in Kent and Sussex counties), never, ever have I seen a (business) climate like we’re in now.

“If you’re in anything that has to do with any type of retail, restaurant, otherwise, staffing has been very challenging.”

Making connections

Mr. Meoli said one of the things he stresses with each of his locations is to reach out to the community with loyalty programs, so residents feel like they are part of something special.

“One of the things that was very important to us when I first got to (Camden) was to make the connection to the community — not just being in business here but to make a connection with the people and with the community itself,” he said.

He pointed to his Kent County franchises’ collaboration with Delaware State University.

“One of the things that we’re going to do is a fun thing, and it’s a little bit about technology and what technology can do,” he said. “We’re going to do something with DelState with the football team. We’re going to do a promotion called ‘Big Macs for Sacks.’

“So starting for all the home games (at DSU’s Alumni Stadium), every time one of the Delaware State Hornets’ members sacks the opposing team’s quarterback, the next day, anybody who comes within the geofence of any McDonald’s restaurant in Kent County, it will pop up on their cellphone, ‘Buy one Big Mac, get one free,’” he said.

“Those are some of the fun things we can do with some of the technology advancements that we’ve made.”

Mr. Meoli said he is proud that his restaurants are consistently recognized for their achievements in customer satisfaction, operations and employee and management development.

He has received numerous recognitions within the McDonald’s system, including a pair of regional Ronald Awards, as well as McDonald’s Corp.’s most prestigious owner/operator prize — the Golden Arch Award — which recognizes the achievements of the top 1% of owner/operators worldwide.

Mr. Meoli is also very active in his Rehoboth Beach community, serving on the board of directors for Beebe Healthcare in Lewes and the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on the board of The Dresher Foundation, a Maryland-based charitable group established by his grandfather in 1988.

Now, he can’t keep the grin off his face as he appears to have an ace up his sleeve in Camden.

“You look at an area like (Camden), and you pretty much know that this store is going to open out of the gates screaming, and I don’t expect a whole lot of impact on some of the other McDonald’s restaurants in the area, namely on the east side (of Dover) and right up (U.S. 13) on the south side.

“This should be a very good location for the local community — and for us, as well.”