NEWS ARTICLE

Local Restaurant Owner featured speaker at Spring Entrepreneur's Forum

Hutchinson, Kan. – Hutchinson Community College and Commerce Bank are presenting a successful restauranteur and entrepreneur in a free entrepreneur’s forum on Thursday, March 1.  Chuck Vecchiarelli; the owner and franchisee of the four Hutchinson and South Hutchinson area McDonald’s, will speak at 7 p.m. in the Justice Theater of Shears Technology Center.

Mr. Charles Vecchiarelli is the owner-franchisee of the three Hutchinson/South Hutchinson area McDonald’s restaurants.

After graduation from Fort Hays State University in 1979, Vecchiarelli took his business marketing degree and started his career in the oil and gas industry.  His first job was with Armco Steel in North Dakota.

After two years with Armco, Vecchiarelli moved back closer to home, accepting a management position with an oil engineering company in Woodward, Oklahoma.  After a short time there, he transferred within the company to Liberal in 1985.

He worked for that company in Liberal for five years, and then decided to go into business for himself.  In 1990, he opened up his own company specializing in the purchase and sale of used oil field equipment.

After 10 years in the oil industry, Vecchiarelli decided it was time for a change, and in 1993, he entered into the highly-competitive McDonald’s Franchisee Training Program.  While training, he worked in Dodge City, Hugoton and Liberal, and still continued to run his oilfield company.

In 1995, Vecchiarelli purchased his first McDonald’s in Kingman.  He followed up that purchase with a second location in Wichita in 2001.

In 2005, Vecchiarelli had the opportunity to return to his Hutchinson roots, and sold his Kingman and Wichita locations to purchase the three Hutchinson and the South Hutchinson McDonald’s locations.  His locations employ several hundred individuals and serve thousands of customers each week.

HCC Business Management and Entrepreneurship program hosts an Entrepreneurs Forum every fall and spring semester at the main campus in Hutchinson.   The event is free and open to the public.