James W. McLamore ‘47

“I would have to say dad was a game changer in how they went about franchising the Burger King system.  To put it simply, it was his innovation! You must understand that in the early 1950’s there were very few franchise operators.  Dad and Dave made being a franchisee a success by implementing the systems and equipping them with everything they needed to open a new location.  They created two subsidiaries to accomplish this goal.  First, opening a commissary called Distron that supplied all the food and paper products needed to operate daily.  They also created Davmor that designed and built all the equipment needed to open a new location.  They would pack everything in one semi-trailer and deliver it to a new location all at once.  In this way they controlled the quality and uniformity throughout the brand which set them apart from other franchise concepts. Finally, they mandated that each franchisee attend Whopper College in Miami and work in one of the company locations prior to opening their first franchise location.” Whit McLamore ‘78

James W. McLamore was born May 30, 1926 and grew up in Central Valley, NY.  He attended Mount Herman Prep School in Northfield, MA.  In June of 1943 he “hit the road” hitchhiking his way to Cornell.  He was told Professor Herbert Whetzel, who was the current Chairman of the Department of Plant Pathology at the New York College of Agriculture, had written an article implying he had helped students find jobs that aided them paying for lodging and tuition.  Jim loved telling stories.  He described in his book, “The Burger King – Jim McLamore and the Building of an Empire” just how he came to the Hotel School.  The story has been shortened for brevity.

Professor Whetzel had taken in students who worked at his home and tended his garden.  He was currently in search of a student to assume such a role.  This was a way a student could earn money for room and board and hopefully earn enough extra money to pay for tuition and incidental expenses.  The tuition at Cornell was only $200.00 a trimester for a New York state resident, but I needed to pay it in advance before I could register for classes.  My immediate objective was to find that $200.00. 

The “Prof”, as I would come to call him, knew that I was interested in becoming his “student boy” and he talked to me at considerable length about that.  It piqued his interest when I told him that I had grown up on a farm.  He made a point of showing me his home and his garden which he was very proud of.  After the tour we sat down on the steps of his back porch.  It was a beautiful late afternoon with the sun coming in over the lawn and his garden.  He asked me a lot of questions, mostly about my home, family and experiences at school and on the farm.  Obviously, he was trying to decide whether or not to offer me the job. 

I remember his turning to me at one point and asking, “Do you know what mycelium is?”  I told him that I did and went on to explain that mycelium had some connection with fungi of various kinds including mushrooms and toadstools.  That answer was essentially correct, and it was right out of my biology studies at Mt. Hermon.  I am sure that my marginally acceptable response to his question had something to do with his offering me the job.  He simply turned to me and said, “Son, I think you will do!” 

I was delighted to have found a job in such a nice place with such a lovely family.  Earning my keep would enable me to get on with my college education.  Professor Whetzel explained the terms under which I would live and work at his home.  He would charge me $.50 a night for my lodging and $.50 for each meal that I ate in his home.  In return he would pay me $.50 an hour for every hour that I worked in his garden or around the house.  We would settle up once a week as to how much excess or deficiency I had based on this arrangement. 

The “Prof” threw the key question at me and asked how I was going to pay the tuition.  He reminded me that student registration was only three days off and asked, “How much money do you have, son?”  I reached in my pocket and placed all the money I had on the top step of the porch where we were both sitting.  We counted it together and it came to $11.34.  Turning to me he said, “Look son, I wasn’t talking about your pocket money, I was talking about how much money you have to pay your tuition.  You realize don’t you that it is due in a few days.”  I said, “Well, that’s all the money I have, Professor Whetzel.”  He seemed annoyed and impatient with that response and said, “Well, alright then, where are you going to get the tuition money.  How much does your family have?”  I said, “My father doesn’t have any money.”  A bit more annoyed, he said, “Goodness sakes, boy, how do you expect to get into this university?”  I said, “Well, I was told that boys you accepted could work their way through college, so I just assumed that somehow you would help me do that.”   He just couldn’t believe that I had come all the way to Ithaca without making arrangements to pay for my tuition.  

After thinking about the problem, he said, “Well, I know the Dean of the Hotel School, Professor Meek.  I’ll have a talk with him about a possible scholarship and tomorrow I’ll introduce you to the Treasurer of the University.  We can talk to him about the possibility of obtaining a student loan.”   The next day Professor Meek said he thought he might be able to get me a $50.00 scholarship from the American Hotel Association and Mr. Graham, representing the University, agreed to loan me $100.00.  Professor Whetzel made up the difference by loaning me $50.00, which gave me the needed $200.00 tuition and the start I needed. 

So that is how he became a Hotelie!  It’s also the reason he has supported so many educational institutions throughout his life and continues to support them through the McLamore Family Foundation today.

Jim met his wife, Nancy Nichol, while at school and they were married the spring of 1947 shortly before graduation.  Finding a job back then was difficult with all the returning servicemen looking for work too. Eventually he landed a job directing a YMCA Cafeteria in Wilmington, Delaware.  The leadership of the YMCA was pleasantly surprised at how successful Jim had made the cafeteria and its banquet facilities.

A local restaurant owner recruited him away, but their relationship didn’t last long.  He decided to open his own 14 seat restaurant “The Colonial Inn” shortly thereafter and made it a very successful operation earning $15,000 on sales of $90,000 in its first year. His success there gave him the confidence to open a second restaurant in Nancy’s hometown – Miami.  McLamore’s Brickell Bridge Restaurant was an eighty-seat restaurant on Brickell Avenue. Unfortunately, he committed to leasing space in February when Miami was booming and didn’t realize it was so seasonal.  Through perseverance he made it successful.

He met Dave Edgerton not long after moving to Miami.  Dave was the first franchisee of “Insta Burger King” out of Jacksonville, FL.  He had opened his first location in March of 1954 and wanted Jim to join him in the business.  Jim thought the concept was a good idea, so he sold his other two restaurants and matched his capital of $20,000 in June creating Burger King of Miami, Inc. which later became Burger King Corporation.  They quickly added three additional restaurants and fine-tuned the concept over the first two years.  Their limited menu consisted mostly of 19 cent burgers, 19 cent fries and 19 cent shakes.  Their success was limited but they continue to grow the concept.  It really took off with the invention of the Whopper and the flame broiler in 1957.  They eventually purchased the rights to the name Burger King from the Insta Burger King franchisor in Jacksonville and grew the company to 400 units when they sold to Pillsbury in 1967.