ESTEVAN - After nearly a quarter century in the restaurant business, Tim and Chris Jenish are looking forward to the next chapter in their lives.
The Jenishes have sold the Estevan McDonald's restaurant to Sam Bakhtbolland, effective Nov. 20, ending more than 24 years of ownership.
"The opportunity came along to move on, so we took hold of that opportunity and made the deal with Sam," said Tim Jenish in an interview with the Mercury and SaskToday.
Bakhtbolland owns two McDonald's restaurants in Regina and one in Weyburn. The Jenishes met him through the functions that McDonald's has for franchisees, and Bakhtbolland expressed an interest in buying the business. They started negotiating and submitted a request for approval, which McDonald's granted. Other documents also needed to be ratified.
"We mentioned to McDonald's almost two years ago that we were interested in selling, and so from there, it was in their hands to find a registered applicant or somebody who would be interested in purchasing our market," said Chris.
Tim recalled they purchased the business following a chance meeting on a golf course. He was playing with two he knew. The other, Ray Gaborik, was a stranger to Tim at the time. Tim was between jobs after working in the mining sector, and the Jenishes were contemplating purchasing a franchise so they could stay in Estevan – a community they love.
"He [Gaborik] said 'I own the McDonald's in Estevan. How would you like to buy the McDonald's here? And I said yeah, you bet. So, the process started there, and it was almost a one-year process that had to happen. We had to be interviewed by McDonald's. They had to be satisfied that financially we could handle it. And then we went through a detailed training regime."
They became the official owners on June 1, 2000.
Bakhtbolland believes this was the right opportunity for him. When he came to Estevan previously, he always found the people to be very friendly.
"I'm even thinking of moving to Estevan … it's a beautiful city. I like everything about it. I'm already looking at renting a place there and then staying there for a couple of days a week."
Bakhtbolland said he enjoys interacting with the customers and staff daily. The Estevan store has great employees and he's pleased to see their community involvement. He expects the business will continue to help local non-profits.
He believes it helps that he already has three other locations in southern Saskatchewan, and he has had some dealings with the Estevan store.
"If I ran out of product, I would go to Estevan and grab it for Weyburn, and then if Tim ran out of some products, he or his staff would come to Weyburn to get the products," said Bakhtbolland.
When Bakhtbolland was in Estevan for a few hours last week, people were eager to come and meet him.
"I had two guests come in and they asked if they could talk to the new owner. They came and shook hands with me, and welcomed me to the town, and told me that if I need anything or any help, to let them know. They would help me out."
The Jenishes said engaging the community was the highlight of having their own business.
"We got to see young people develop skills, lifelong skills that would help them over the course of their life," said Tim.
Chris added they realized it was time to consider retirement when they started hiring the children of former employees.
They also loved supporting the community. Each year McHappy Day was a highlight because it raised money for Ronald McDonald House in Saskatoon through the support of the community. They held a year-long promotion in 2020-21 to raise funds for the St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation, which allowed for the construction of a family room.
They held the Nickle a McNugget fundraiser for the United Way Estevan, supported the Estevan Bruins and the Estevan Minor Hockey Association, and it was the starting point for the annual Ride for Ronald McDonald House fundraising motorcycle ride.
"That was a very gratifying part of owning the business where we could contribute to the community and really help them out financially and in other cases with support," said Tim.
Chris added they were pleased to work with local suppliers as much as possible because these businesses supported them.
The business has gone through some changes. There have been multiple renovations to both the interior and exterior. The point-of-sale system has evolved a lot since 2000. Changes used to be cumbersome; now they occur almost instantly. The menu has also expanded over the years.
The Jenishes said they will miss the people. They have developed relationships with the staff, particularly the long-term employees, and there are workers who started with McDonald's before the Jenishes were the owners. Many five-year and 10-year employees are among the roughly 55 staff members.
"The toughest part of the decision was to leave them," said Tim.
"You do develop these relationships, and they touch a part of your life, and you want to make sure that when you're leaving, they're going to be taken care of and still have a job," added Chris.
The business also has loyal customers who come in every day for breakfast, lunch or coffee.
The Jenishes believe Bakhtbolland was the right person to purchase the business. They expect he'll have some different ideas and approaches that Tim hopes will improve the overall customer experience, and they look forward to seeing him grow the business.
