Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, November 21, 1993                   TAG: 9311210125
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAVE SCHLECK THE NEWS & ADVANCE
DATELINE: AMHERST (AP)                                LENGTH: Medium

TOWN LOVES ITS NO. 1 AND ONLY BURGERS

After 10 months of rigorous inspections, Amherst Hardee's won the National Championship of Service this month by having the best food, service and cleanliness of any Hardee's in the country.

Amherst's first and only major burger chain, Hardee's has won the support of most town residents, general manager Barry Mutispaugh said.

"The community knew what was going on," Mutispaugh said. "When the inspectors were here, a lot of the customers came up and told the people this is the best Hardee's there is."

When employees and customers heard the good news, the restaurant erupted with cheers, shift supervisor Florence Duff said.

"Everybody was screaming, jumping up and hollering," Duff said. "The customers were more excited than we were. There must have been 40 or 50 people here."

And the celebration continued.

Hardee's Chief Executive Officer Bob Autry came to Lynchburg on Nov. 10 to throw a party for the 35 restaurant employees at the Radisson Hotel. Each employee received a $700 reward check.

Amherst Town Council passed a resolution congratulating the restaurant and assigning the town attorney to draw up a plaque of recognition of excellence.

"I think it's a big feather in their cap to be recognized nationally as No. 1 in the whole Hardee's organization," Mayor N. Roger Beidler said.

After the Amherst County newspaper led with the Hardee's victory in its election issue, store billboards along U.S. 29 Business praised Hardee's first-place finish.

"I think everybody in the community is proud that Hardee's is out here," said Harold Wilson, manager of Pearson's Drug in Ambriar Shopping Center. "They promised to come out and run a first-class restaurant, and they've done so."

Hardee's moved into town in August 1991 and is one of the only places open early Sunday for breakfast, Beidler said.

"Sunday morning, you can go in there and get pancakes and stuff like that," Beidler said. "If you go to early church service, breakfast at Hardee's kind of rounds out your Sunday morning."

With its easily recognizable orange and blue sign, Hardee's is the only Amherst restaurant motorists can see while driving on U.S. 29. It has become the center of several community activities.

The restaurant holds bingo on Tuesday mornings, when residents at Johnson Senior Center in Amherst can win Hardee's food. On Wednesday night, Amherst County High School football coach Mickey Crouch broadcasts a radio show from Hardee's dining room on a local AM station.

When the first round of the Hardee's contest started in January, mystery shoppers evaluated product quality, hospitality and cleanliness for 349 outlets operated by Boddie-Noell Enterprises of Rocky Mount, N.C.

Amherst Hardee's scored best in the region and was chosen to compete with 10 others in the national contest.

After Amherst Hardee's became a national finalist, inspectors visited one last time for an hour and a half of tests.

Amherst Hardee's scored best again in the final round. One big help was speed when getting customers through the drive-thru, Mutispaugh said. An inspector only spent eight seconds at the Hardee's pickup window during one test. The maximum time allowed in the contest was 30 seconds.

"I would say that was the longest one and a half hours of my life," Mutispaugh said.