Burger King opens in Oxford with Miami alum on management team

A Miami University graduate has returned to Oxford as part of the management team of the recently-opened Burger King restaurant on College Corner Pike.

John Helinski is the district manager for Carrols Corporation, overseeing operations at Burger King locations throughout the Cincinnati area, including Northern Kentucky and now Oxford. He was on hand Oct. 5 for the formal ribbon-cutting hosted by the Oxford Chamber of Commerce.

Helinski and store manager Kyle Jones were on hand, along with others from the local management team, for the photo commemorating the opening of the restaurant at 5093 College Corner Pike with the Chamber’s ribbon-cutting welcome.

The store had actually already been open a month but the formal opening ceremony by the Chamber is scheduled at the convenience of the business.

Helinski said he was new to the store having just been assigned the Oxford location as part of his district two weeks earlier, and Jones had just arrived as manager from another Burger King location a week earlier.

“Two weeks ago, we realigned and my boss asked me to do this one because I went to school here,” Helinski said.

Helinski joined Burger King in 2015 after 21 years with Frisch’s, and in March of last year, Carrols Corp., based in Syracuse N.Y., bought the entire Cincinnati Burger King market with approximately 40 stores and more due to open in the near future. He said Carrols is the largest franchise owner in the Burger King system.

Although he is not based in Oxford, he said he tries to visit each of the restaurants in his district a couple times a week.

Those visits bring back memories of his days at Miami, he said.

“I was a math major and pre-dental. Organic chemistry is a weed-out course,” he said explaining dropping the pre-dental aspirations. “It worked out. I worked for the Weismans at Attractions and the Saloon. Lo and behold, I end up in the restaurant industry.”

He said his experience at Miami has served him well in his career.

“I enjoyed my years at Miami. I made connections with people. I had not known how to do that. I learned to make those connections,” he said.

Now, he hopes to use his visits to Oxford to renew acquaintance with some of those connections gained as a student.

On hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Mayor Kate Rousmaniere met Helinski and said she saw a lot of anticipation in the community for the opening.

She said in the time between final approvals and the opening, the first question she was often asked at events of Oxford Seniors was, “When is Burger King opening?” Now, that they are open, she said she hears from many how happy they are to have them in town.

“Business, so far, has been as expected. We are excited to come to Oxford and Oxford responded. We were wanted,” Helinski said. “We are glad to be here. We have seen a wide range of people, very neighborly.”

After the brief photo ceremony outside, everyone went back inside for lunch to find Helinski behind the counter, preparing food for the guests.

He said the business is all about the people, both employed there and the community where they are located.

“Working shoulder-to-shoulder with people is invaluable,” he said. He went on the explain a company program called Restaurant Employee Advancement Program, aimed at encouraging employee growth and advancement within the chain. “We like to work internal.”

He said they also look at their communities to find ways to contribute through a Carrols Cares program.

“We are looking for areas to grow the business and be part of the community,” he said. “We want to be a better neighbor.”

The Burger King is open 6 a.m. to midnight, although at the end of that time, only the drive-through is open while staff cleans the inside to be ready for the next day.

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