Upper Hutt, Meet Barry

Barry, originally from Central Otago, is an Upper Hutt local who loves the urban provincial lifestyle that it offers. When asked what he loves about Wellington, his wry response is “It’s not Auckland”, which sums Barry up nicely. A hard case, with a heart of gold.

Barry became a franchisee in 2008, opening his first store, BurgerFuel Johnsonville. He was drawn to the idea of being a part of a Kiwi brand and liked where it was positioned in the market. He felt it was a brand that was accessible to all walks of life and the music and atmosphere in the stores made it very distinctive, when compared to other multinational franchises he had worked in previously.

“I really am quite passionate about this brand”, says Barry, “People leave and come back time and time again, both in our stores and at HQ level. That is quite unique. There is something intangible about it”.

He enjoys the people in the brand and while of course there are ups and downs in any franchisee/franchisor relationship, he has always felt supported, particularly in times of crises, particularly during the pandemic. He believes head office has shown strong support to the network of franchisees and it has brought that connection closer during times like this. “When the chips are down, I really wouldn’t want to be anywhere else”.

Barry embraces the ‘Speed & Custom’ culture of the brand through his own love of cars. His BurgerFuel car is a ’73 Ford Falcon and is no stranger to the drag strip. Being a keen drag racer is a pastime that he introduced to his wife and they both now share a passion for. And because “you can’t drive them all”, he has reduced his fleet of customs and classics to a ’56 Packard, ’71 Holden Ute and ’71 XY Falcon, to name a few. And they are all purple, of course.

‍