TAMPA, Fla. — If you’ve eaten at a McDonald’s restaurant in the Tampa area sometime in say – the past six decades, then chances are it’s been at one of the more than 50 restaurants franchised by the Casper family.
But now the Caspers are planning to get out of the McDonald’s business, selling all 60 of their restaurants back to the McDonald’s corporation.
With them goes a part of Tampa history, too.
"I went as a little girl. And that was a real treat," Cheri Cary who lives in Tampa and is a frequent McDonald’s customer said.
Some of Cary’s first and fondest memories are times spent with her family at Tampa’s first McDonald’s restaurant when it opened back in 1958.
“And it had the beautiful golden arches,” she recalled. “That was very animated at the time.”
For decades, Cary’s family and others have watched those Golden Arches grow in number, brought to Tampa by the Casper family.
Great-grandpa Fritz Casper first met McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc in Chicago and brought the very first Mickey D’s restaurant to Tamp Bay.
It’s been redesigned – but is still standing on South Dale Mabry Highway.
“You ordered outside, and you sat down. It was only cheeseburgers and French fries and shakes,” Cary remembers. “And then they built it with the playground outside – which was really nice. Take your kids there and get a happy meal.”
But now, Tampa‘s first family of fast food has announced it’s hanging up its happy meals, selling all 60 of its franchise stores back to McDonald’s corporate.
“I think I’ve done a fantastic job,” Cary said.
In addition to innovations like the area’s first drive-through, the Caspers made local history in Tampa. Ronald McDonald made his national TV debut here. And President John F. Kennedy famously grabbed a meal from the Tampa restaurant when he visited just days before he was killed. There was a parade down what was then Tampa’s Lafayette Street.
“I was sitting on the curb,” Cary remembers. “I was in kindergarten and 5 years old – and I saw it.”
In their 64 years, the Caspers haven’t just served up burgers and fries, they’ve also changed lives by sending countless workers to school and donating millions to community charities including Ronald McDonald House locations in our area.
They also instilled in their workers – the value of treating customers right.
“With this McDonald’s, it’s the whole group that works together," Cary said. "Their manners are extraordinary. They’re always nice to the customers."
The Casper company didn’t say what influenced the decision, but a spokesman said it gives the family an opportunity to reimagine their future.
In recent years the Casper family has been investing in projects like Tampa’s Oxford Exchange, the Stovall House on Bayshore Boulevard, and the Current Hotel – a Marriott branded property at Rocky Point.
The Casper family is also invested in a drug and alcohol addiction center in the Tampa Bay area and plans to open a Mediterranean-themed restaurant in the Water Street district of downtown Tampa sometime next year.
The sale of their 60 McDonald’s restaurants back to McDonald’s corporate takes place on October 1.
Of the 60 restaurants, 51 are in the Tampa area and another 9 around Jacksonville.
A Spokesperson says the family will continue to be a staple in the community when it comes to charities and philanthropy.
“They’ll always be etched in stone,” Cary said. “Being part of Tampa.”