Ex-McD Franchisee Kruger Signs On With Smashburger

Nation’s Restaurant News:

Irwin Kruger, a longtime McDonald’s franchisee in New York City who left the system earlier this year, said Wednesday he has inked a deal with fast-casual burger brand Smashburger.

A McDonald’s franchisee for 42 years, Kruger said his company, ISK Systems LLC, would open its first Smashburger restaurant later this year on New York’s Long Island, thus establishing the Denver-based brand’s presence in the New York area. He said he plans to open 20 stores in the area eventually.

Kruger sold his four New York McDonald’s locations — which included the high-grossing, 17,000-square-foot unit in Manhattan’s Times Square area — back to the Oak Brook, Ill.-based franchisor last February. He said under the terms of his noncompete agreement with McDonald’s he is restricted from opening a Smashburger restaurant within a 10-mile radius of his former restaurants for the next 16 months. As a result, he plans to focus on Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk counties for the near term.