A supersized recognition for a small town fast food manager

From running the show under the golden arches to bringing home some real life hardware, a small town restaurant manager in southwestern Ontario is getting some international recognition.

Jordan Bucht manages the McDonalds in St. Marys and has been named by the fast food giant as one of its best 15 restaurant managers in Canada.

McDonald’s is recognizing Bucht out of thousands with the Ray Kroc Award, which is given to the top one per cent of restaurant managers in the world.

“To be recognized and to receive the award kind of let me reflect on the work I’ve done and feel good about it,” Bucht told CTV News.

The nomination came from Kerry Prober, who operates the St. Marys locations along with four others.

“He had the opportunity to accept the award in Barcelona, which was huge,” Prober said. “And the global president of McDonald’s Chris Kempczinski was able to present it to him, which was a huge honour.”

Part of the reason Bucht was named the winner was his ability to open a new location, hire and retain staff through one of the hardest periods of time for the restaurant business: the pandemic.

For his team member, B.J. Rogers, he’s ‘lovin’ it!’

“He treats us like people. We’re not just a number or an employee,” Rogers said. “He knows us and treats us like humans and he cares about us, and that’s why we want to keep coming back.”

Bucht was able to hire 50 team members from the St. Marys community.

“I definitely like the ability to develop and maintain relationships with the community,” he said.

All the while, he aims to inspire career growth for himself and those who work with him.

“Working here for Jordan has been some of the best, I think, four years of my life. This is a career for me now, not just a job and that’s because of Jordan.” Rogers said.

So, what’s next for Bucht and his team at McDonald’s in St. Marys? He says he’s settling into his new role in his latest promotion, but he hopes to be a part of the team that opens a potential sixth store in the future.

“I like the ability to grow so if we can grow our organization by one more store in the next five years, I think that’d be pretty cool,” Bucht said.

“He’s definitely the dream team for opening new restaurants and that sounds like an exciting opportunity for all of us, for sure,” Prober added.

As for now, it’s all about savouring this win, and his recipe for success.