Business

Detroit’s Black McDonald’s Owners Facing A Whopper of a Dilemma

MICHIGAN CHRONICLE — Last November a small contingent of Detroit’s Black McDonald’s Operators Association (BMOA) members gathered at a McDonald’s restaurant on West 8 Mile to pick up and hand out turkeys to families in the area. It’s not the kind of gesture most people would expect from a McDonald’s franchise owner but was entirely consistent with the sense of community and commitment from this small group of African American entrepreneurs.

Published

7 years ago

June 15, 2019

Patreice A. Massey

By Trevor W. Coleman

Last November a small contingent of Detroit’s Black McDonald’s Operators Association (BMOA) members gathered at a McDonald’s restaurant on West 8 Mile to pick up and hand out turkeys to families in the area.

It’s not the kind of gesture most people would expect from a McDonald’s franchise owner but was entirely consistent with the sense of community and commitment from this small group of African American entrepreneurs.

It was a display of the commitment the Detroit BMOA has shown the community for the nearly 50 years of its existence as a group of local businesses committed to excellent customer service and community service.

But now, some members are concerned that the organization has fallen on hard times as its member ship has consistently shrunk over the past decade.

Bill Pickard, an original founding member of the Detroit BMOA said the once nearly 25 strong Detroit group is now down to eight or perhaps nine members.

“We probably had 20 owners or more at one time and now we’re down to less than 10,” he said. That’s a 50 percent drop off man. Of the remaining 8 or nine franchises in Detroit, half are in trouble. What happened?”

So concerned with the viability of the Detroit franchises and organization, the national BMOA Board of Directors is holding a regional meeting this week at the MGM Grand Casino Hotel in Detroit to assess the situation.

Pickard, who owns a McDonald’s at Michigan Ave. and Livernois, said they don’t hold those kinds of meetings locally unless there are real concerns. And he has his suspicions regarding the problems.

“Basically, we have many people who are not eligible for growth. And they’ve had to make major reinvestments in the last couple of years. And if you are already highly leveraged and you must make more investments it’s just a difficult amount of pressure on an organization,” he said.

Bernard Price, a retired franchise owner and one of the founding members of the BMOA agreed. He said although he sold his McDonald’s in 1994, many of the same pressure exist today such as a constant demand by corporate to make renovations and other major capital improvements with scarce resources.

“Over time many black operators didn’t make it,” he said. “They left because of a lack of business acuity or their own problems, and sometimes not.”

“Sometimes it was the company’s fault because when they did give us a store, they gave us one of the poorest stores. So, we started off as disadvantaged no doubt,” Price said.

That is why they formed BOMA to leverage whatever influence they had together to get better terms with the corporation, he noted.

On its website, the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association (NBMOA) calls itself the largest organization of established African American entrepreneurs in the world. It is a 47-year old Organization dedicated to ensuring that African American McDonald’s Owners are fully engaged in all the benefits associated with owning McDonald’s restaurants.

The NBMOA goal is the complete integration of NBMOA members, African American Employees, and Vendors into the McDonald’s system. The NBMOA also works diligently to make sure that McDonald’s fully engage the African American community in a respectful and positive manner.

Price, the NBMOA and Detroit organization co-founder said he hopes for the best.

This article originally appeared in the Michigan Chronicle.

Patreice A. Massey

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Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

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5 days ago

March 7, 2026

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

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March 1, 2026

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

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3 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.