Eau Claire (Press Release) - The two Wendy's in Eau Claire and the one in Chippewa Falls will be closing November 21 , 2012. This is a three store franchisee, the closing of which represents the dissolution of our company, H & S Bullock, Inc.
Information from the owners Steve and Diane Bullock:
It has been 32 years since Howard and Steve Bullock bought a troubled Wendy's franchise on Hastings Way for the assumption of debt, forming H & S Bullock. Steve, an Eau Claire native and Memorial graduate, was Supervising 3 Wendy's in Eugene, Oregon. Howard, a local baseball legend and Sears Manager for 34 years, put his credit on the line. He just passed away September 21. Diane Bullock (Schiefelbein) of Fall Creek joined Wendy's in 1982. Diane has worked tirelessly running operations for many years. Today Steve & Diane are the Franchisees.
What went wrong? Highway bypasses plus too much debt. In 2005, the Hwy 29 bypass in Chippewa Falls put us on Business 29. The next year the Hwy 53 bypass put our top store Hastings Way on Business 53. The Hastings Way Construction last year put us in a financial hole from which we could not recover.
Earlier optimism resulted in taking on too much debt by building additions and putting Superbars in, only to remove them a few years later.
Our 70 employees. There are many great people working at Wendy's - both managers and crew including a few 15-20 year veterans.
A special Thank You to our many customers in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls and to the over 4,000 people that have worked in our restaurants in the 32 years.
