By the end of next week, eight area McDonald’s restaurants will be under new franchisees as the Burris family retires.

Ed and Jamie Burris have owned and operated the Waterloo and Columbia McDonald’s locations since 1993, but their McStory starts long before that in Tipton, Ind., where they started as crew members and gradually moved up the ranks of the fast-food chain.

“We worked for an operator (in Indiana) for 15 years and got the opportunity to buy our first restaurant in Eureka Springs, Ark. That was February 1990, and then McDonald’s offered us their franchises here in Waterloo and Columbia in February 1993.” 

With this opportunity, Ed and Jamie moved to Monroe County with their two daughters, who later grew to own and operate two of the family’s eventual eight locations. 

Ed and Jamie bought the Columbia and Waterloo locations from Bill and Rita Fitzgibbons. 

“They ran excellent operations here and we were able to wean a little from that and grow,” Ed said. “Bill’s major emphasis was on operations … so he set a good example for us here for sure.” 

The couple was pleased to find their new home was not much different from their hometown. 

“We’re basically small-town people,” Ed said. “Tipton was a town of about 5,000 – and still is a town of about 5,000 as it hasn’t grown much – so a lot of the same values that you experience in the people who work in the stores is inherent here in Waterloo and Columbia also. It’s small-town values.” 

By 2014, the Burris family owned and operated eight local McDonald’s: Waterloo, Columbia, Red Bud, Cahokia, Sparta and three Belleville locations, with Heather Hubler, one of their daughters, owning the Cahokia location and their other daughter, Amber Osterhage, owning the McDonald’s in Red Bud. 

With the whole family retiring, all eight locations are undergoing new ownership. 

On Tuesday, the Waterloo and Columbia restaurants will change hands to Francis Ruiz. For the Ruizes, McDonalds is also in the family blood. 

“He currently owns two (McDonald’s) restaurants in West County. I guess he’s a lot like we were: He’s in his mid-30s, a younger guy, and his brother is also an operator in St. Louis County,” Ed said. 

In total, the Burrises’ eight locations are being sold to three different owner/operators. Jimmy Williams, who Ed said is the largest operator in St. Louis, is taking on the Belleville locations Wednesday, while Sparta and Red Bud will change hands to another owner/operator the following week. 

“Honestly, it was just time,” Ed said of the family’s retirement. “Staffing has been difficult, COVID has been difficult, we haven’t been able to see our customers as much … and, in our case, 47 years is a long time.” 

But leaving their franchises will not be easy, they said. Both agreed the hardest part will be missing their employees and customers. 

“My favorite part is our people, and when I say ‘our people,’ I’m talking about our guests that we used to have sit in our lobbies with coffee groups in the morning. They were just wonderful. You’d have teacher nights, and those were just wonderful because you got to talk to the teachers and all the guests,” Jamie reminisced. 

Through Christmas cards, birthday greetings and more, the Burrises plan to keep in touch with their valued longtime customers and team.

“We’re a McFamily, and we always will be,” Jamie said, with Ed later adding, “We’ve created a lot of lifelong friends inside and outside McDonald’s since we’ve been here, and we’ll have those forever.”

While they cannot speak for their children, Ed and Jamie plan to spend retired life traveling. 

From the moment they stepped foot in Monroe County, the family has felt welcome, and this has continued through the years.

It’s only fitting that their farewell message is a big “thank you.” 

“We will miss the community,” Jamie said. “I want to thank the community for everything they’ve done. They’ve been great to our family.”