Three decades after starting at McDonald's and 25 years after opening Griffith's own store, Darryn Savage has called time on his career.
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"I've decided to have a crack at retirement," Mr Savage said.
A former Newcastle Knights player and club CEO, Matt Gidley, will take over as the second licensee of Griffith McDonald's.
When Griffith's McDonald's first opened, Mr Savage would often be at the store working to ensure its success, often working over 80 hours a week.
While he's wound that back since, he said there was still a lot of time which needed to be invested - even with the famous Golden Arches on the building.
Mr Savage first started as a crew person before slowly working his way up to management, and at one point managed four McDonald's restaurants in Canberra.
"I'm born and bred in Griffith, when McDonald's bought the land (here), I rang the CEO and asked to run the franchise," he said.
"I was told I was too young at first."
However, a week later serious conversations began to happen, he faced a review board and eight months later in 1994 - Griffith McDonald's opened.
"That's the beauty of McDonald's system, you can start as a cook and end up owning the restaurant," Mr Savage said.
"There's not many businesses you can do that in, especially successful businesses."
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Mr Savage said it was people he worked with that he would miss the most.
"I feel like I've been a good employer because I have a lot of loyal staff with 10 years service," he said.
Leading a team, training younger employees and giving them a chance to succeed is one of the things which attracted Mr Gidley to McDonald's.
"After 20 years in sport, I went looking for new opportunities," Mr Gidley said.
He's since spent a year learning the secrets of Big Macs, French Fries and McCafe coffee, firstly in Newcastle, then four months in the Cowra McDonald's.
"It was challenging. There's lots to learn," Mr Gidley said.
"McDonald's do a lot of things really well, the training of their people is one of them, the training has been exceptional.
"Darryn has built a really good team here. They're a high-performing team and there's plenty to learn from them."
Mr Gidley said he was going to take his experience of running the Knights as a community club and would be fully-involved with the community with charities, sponsorships and the business community.
"With the support of the community and the our existing team, I'm confident we can build on the business that Darryn has started."
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Declan Rurenga
Declan Rurenga was the editor of Griffith's Area News and Leeton's Irrigator until September 2023. Before landing at the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, he reported news in Junee, Wagga Wagga, Orange and Cootamundra.
Declan Rurenga was the editor of Griffith's Area News and Leeton's Irrigator until September 2023. Before landing at the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, he reported news in Junee, Wagga Wagga, Orange and Cootamundra.
