company history
Our group of restaurants began in 1967 with one single Kentucky Fried Chicken store on Genesee Street in Utica, New York. The chicken was stored in a snowbank out back because we didn’t have enough money to buy a refrigerator. Luckily, that first store was a success, and we were soon able to purchase a proper refrigerator. We grew on the success of that store and expanded our ownership of KFC stores, and added several other quick-service brands along the way. We ventured into Dunkin Donuts in 1971, Taco Bell in 2000, and Coldstone Creamery in 2004.
Our expansion into full-service restaurants began in 1975 with Butcher Block Steak & Seafood in Plattsburgh, NY, and now includes The Log Jam Restaurant in Lake George (1998), and Bountiful Bread in Albany (1997). Mill Artisan District Catering opened in Schenectady in 2019, followed by Annabel’s Pizza Company (2020) and a second Bountiful Bread (2021)–all based in Frog Alley Brewing Company. (Our two Coldstone Creamery stores sold in 2020 to an unsolicited buyer.)
For fifty years, we have been fortunate in our ability to grow our business by growing our team and widening our circle of customers. We are proud of our staff— those who have been with us for decades and shared in our success, those who have recruited family members to join us, those who retired with us, and those who have just joined us. Our team is invaluable. So, too, are our customers—those who make us part of their morning ritual, those who are our regular lunch guests, and those whose family vacations include a meal with us. More than anything, we are rewarded by seeing our customers return again and again—this is a true mark of our shared success.
Founder/Chairman
company timeline
1967
Jan. 2, 1967 - Opened the first Kentucky Fried Chicken store in Utica, NY. Two more KFC stores followed that same year (Rome, Utica).
1969
Opened KFC in Herkimer and Watertown.
1970
Opened KFC in Plattsburgh.
1975
Opened our first full-service restaurant, the Butcher Block, in Plattsburgh.
1976
Purchased original five KFC stores back from KFC Corporation, as well as the greater Albany market (13 stores in Albany, Saratoga, Queensbury, Lake Placid and Glens Falls).
1979
Opened second Butcher Block in Raleigh, NC.
1980/81
Purchased KFC franchise for state of Delaware.
1983
Opened first KFC in Delaware (Dover ), and another twelve stores between 1983 and 1991.
1983
Opened Butcher Block in Albany, NY.
1992
Sold 30 KFC stores back to KFC Corporation, holding on to Plattsburgh, Queensbury, and Saratoga.
1992
Opened Mangia restaurant concept in Slingerlands, NY. Expanded into Glens Falls (1994), Clifton Park (1995), and Plattsburgh (1996).
1998
Opened Bountiful Bread concept in Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany.
1999
Expansion of Dunkin Donuts begins, adding Skyway and Peru in 1999, and Malone in 2000.
2000
First KFC/Taco Bell combo store opens in Malone, NY.
2004
Purchased Coldstone Creamery franchise and opened stores in Springfield, MA, Stuyvesant Plaza in Albany, Glastonbury, CT, and Northampton, MA.
2008
Opened Creo, a full-service restaurant concept housed in a LEED-certified Platinum building in Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany.
2010
Opened Taco Bell in Plattsburgh. Dunkin Donuts expansion continues.
2019
Consolidation of all White Restaurant brands under one ownership structure.
2020
Annabel's Pizza Co. an artisan, wood-fired pizza shop located in the Mill Artisan District of Schenectady, New York. Please use this photo attached.
2021
Sold Cold Stone Creamery and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory franchises
mission statement
White Restaurants aims to provide our guests with an unforgettable dining experience in an authentic environment,
while taking care of our employees and our community.
values
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the team
Tawnya Hanson
Vice President of Operations,
Quick-Service Restaurants
(Dunkin, KFC, Taco Bell)
Tera Fountain
Director of Operations,
Quick Service Restaurants
(Dunkin’, KFC, Taco Bell)
Josh “Bubba” Kelley
Above Store Leader,
Quick-Service Restaurants
(KFC/Taco Bell)
Nick Meola
Executive Chef
Annabel’s Pizza Co., Bountiful Bread, Bountiful @ Frog Alley Catering
Priscila Machuca
Above Store Leader
Quick-Service Restaurants
White Management
Tawnya Hanson
Vice President of Operations,
Quick-Service Restaurants
(Dunkin, KFC, Taco Bell)
Tawnya Hanson first joined White Management at age 15 as a Dunkin’ team member in Plattsburgh’s Cornelia Street store. Hanson moved through the ranks, rising to Night Shift Supervisor in 1991, and becoming manager of the Dunkin in Champlain in 1994, which she recalls she agreed to do temporarily because she wanted to find “a real job”. Hanson continued to rise in the operation, overseeing the opening of a third store in Peru in 1999, and then moving into production at the Skyway location where she was responsible for supplying product to seven stores. In 2007, Hanson was named Director of Operations for the White Management Dunkin’ brands, where she has been instrumental in helping grow the business. In 2020, Hanson was promoted to Vice President of Operations, overseeing Dunkin’, KFC, and Taco Bell franchises.
Hanson grew up in Plattsburgh and completed an Associate’s Degree at Clinton Community College. She is the mother of five children—Megan, Buddy (Steven), Dominick, Cameron, and Tegan. Hanson loves the challenge of her work, and the ability to set and meet goals. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her children, grandchildren, her mother, and stepfather.
Prior to coming to White Management, Tim was a Managing Director for 34 years at The Bank of New York Mellon managing all Global Payments, Economic Sanctions, Trade Finance, and a Smart-Technology (Robotics & Machine Learning) Operation’s Innovation Center. Tim has a BS in Management Science, Certification in Commercial Banking & Lending, and an MBA from The Sage Graduate School. He also has Series 7 & 63 Securities Licenses.
Tim has been a resident of Central New York his entire life, and resides in Rome, New York. He has two children, two step-children with his wife Diane, and 2 grandchildren. Tim enjoys weight training, refurbishing homes, and landscaping.
Brian White holds a BA in Economics and English from Colby College and a MBA from Boston University. Brian held his first job in the restaurant business as a summer dishwasher at the Log Jam in 1992. After earning his MBA, White worked for a short time as a financial analyst for the Atira Group, a ski resort development company based in Colorado. White worked with his father to develop a number of Cold Stone Creamery stores in the Northeast beginning in 2004. He began overseeing the day-to-day operations of most of the full-service restaurants in 2010 and added oversight of the quick-service restaurants in 2019. He was named President of the organization in 2020.
White was captain of the Colby College swim team, is a former Ironman triathlete, a snow and water skier, a kayaker, and competes in mountain bike racing with his family. He lives outside of Albany with his wife Melinda, a veterinarian, their two children, and various cats and dogs.
Priscila Machuca
Above Store Leader
Quick-Service Restaurants
White Management
Priscila Machuca has been working in restaurant management since the age of sixteen. She attributes her success to her bossiness. Machuca’s first job was at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting Hall in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where she grew up. She moved on to manage the Target Food Court for seven years, and then Taco Bell for nine years afterwards. Machuca joined White Management in 2016 as General Manager of Coldstone Creamery in Springfield, MA, and added the Coldstone Creamery/Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory store in Albany’s Stuyvesant Plaza in January 2021. When White Management sold their Coldstone Creamery holdings, Machuca rejoined the company as an Above Store Leader for the Quick-Service Restaurants.
Machuca sees her employees as family, and some of them actually ARE her family. Her three daughters (one natural and two adopted) worked for her at Coldstone in Springfield, as did her mother and sister. Machuca loves being a parent to her daughters and a mentor to her employees. While raising her daughters, she was a soccer coach, a softball coach, a theater mom, and a swim team runner. “It’s what fills me up,” Machuca says with a smile.
John began his career in public accounting at BPA Utica, specializing in benefits administration, retirement plans accounting, tax and trust administration. He has worked in senior financial roles for Fortune 500 companies such as Pratt & Whitney and BNY Mellon. John also has experience with smaller, privately-held organizations such as Pyrotek and Power Line Constructors, all within the central New York area. John holds a BA in Accounting and an MBA from NYIT.
John grew up in the Utica area and currently resides in Whitesboro, a suburb of Utica, with his wife and three children (two in college, and one in high school). John and his family have a camp in the Adirondacks (Old Forge) and enjoy boating in the summer and snowmobiling in the winter. John also enjoys playing golf and watching Syracuse sports.
Josh “Bubba” Kelley
Above Store Leader,
Quick-Service Restaurants
(KFC/Taco Bell)
Josh “Bubba” Kelley joined White Management Corporation in 2001as a team member at the KFC/Taco Bell in Malone, New York. Kelley worked his way up to become General Manager of the store, and ran it for the next 13 years. Kelley was then moved to the Dunkin’ brand, and served as General Manager of Dunkin’ stores in Akwesasne and Chateauguay. Kelley was next moved to the Taco Bell brand as General Manager of Taco Bell in Plattsburgh. In 2020, Kelley was promoted to Above Store Leader (ASL) for the KFC/Taco Bell brands operated by White Management.
Kelley is a native of Malone, NY, and a graduate of Franklin Academy. He lives in Burke with his wife and three sons. Fun fact about Kelley: he produces a grass-roots online story time on Thursday evenings on Facebook live, often accompanied by one or more of his sons, and in full costume.
Tera Fountain
Director of Operations,
Quick-Service Restaurants
(Dunkin’, KFC, Taco Bell)
Tera Fountain joined White Management as a teenager, first working for the Dunkin Donuts store on Cornelia Street in Plattsburgh. Fountain moved up the ranks, becoming an assistant manager, and then store manager. In 2008, Fountain was promoted to Above Store Leader (ASL) where she oversaw five Dunkin’ locations in the Plattsburgh area. Fountain was promoted to Director of Operations for the eighteen Dunkin’ stores in 2020. Fountain is known among colleagues for her razor-sharp mind and dry sense of humor. She lives in Plattsburgh with her husband, and has two grown children.
Candy Poirier joined White Management Corporation in 2003 for the opening of the KFC/Taco Bell in Malone, NY. A native of Malone, Poirier had previously worked on the grand opening of Taco Bell in Malone’s Mountain Mart store, which was one of the brand’s largest grand openings of that time. “I was hooked!” Poirier remembers.
Poirier started working at age 14. Her first job out of high school was for a photo electronics company out of Glens Falls, NY, where she stayed for eighteen years.
Poirier is inspired to try to be the best at what she does, and finds that the constant changes in the business force her to be on top of her game and have an intimate knowledge of the operation. Her work philosophy is simple: “Give respect, get respect.”
Poirier loves to travel and is a photography enthusiast. She enjoys spending time with her family. Fun fact about Poirier: she is a fierce bowler.
Kevin Collins is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, who moved to Massena, New York in grade school. Collins’ first job in the restaurant business was at the local Burger King, just after graduating from high school. Collins attended college for two years, and then decided to pursue a restaurant career full-time. Collins held several management positions with Pizza Hut until another opportunity surfaced: fatherhood. He took a work hiatus to be a stay-at-home-father for several years. Collins re-entered the restaurant world as a line cook for Downtown Steak & Seafood at Massena’s Quality Inn, and then joined Subway as a District Manager, where he remained for the next seven years. Collins joined White Management in 2013.
Collins leads by example—he won’t ask a team member to do anything he hasn’t done himself— and aims to recognize and exploit each employee’s unique skill set. He is also inspired by his relationships with his many guests, and looks forward to seeing his regular customers—many of whom he knows by name—and getting to know new customers.
Collins is the father of four children—two sons and two step-daughters—and lives at home with his wife. When not working, Collins may be found enjoying the outdoors, and the peace that brings, on his road or mountain bike.
Don Stone joined White Management in June 2019. Originally from Boston, Stone started his restaurant career with Papa Gino’s Pizza in 1982. He worked through the ranks from the dish area to customer service to cooking and eventually to running a Papa Gino’s in Chelsea, Ma. in 1986. He has been in the restaurant business ever since, spending time as either a General Manager or Area Manager for Papa Gino’s, Sbarro, and Panera Bread prior to joining the White Restaurant family. One of Stone’s greatest pleasures has been cultivating the many talented people he has had the good fortune to work with over the years.
In 1989, shortly after their wedding, Stone and his wife Leona moved to Glens Falls, NY. They have three wonderful children, twins Sean & Meagen, and their youngest daughter Faith. Don is a hardcore Red Sox and Bruins fan. In the winter, Don enjoys skating with Faith, and in the summer, he can be found taking divots on local golf courses any chance he can get.
Kevin Kilkeary is another White Management long-hauler. He has been with the company for 32 years, 22 of which as General Manager of Butcher Block Steak & Seafood in Plattsburgh. Kilkeary has been in restaurant management since he was eighteen, starting with Dairy Queen. His first job with White Management was running Long John Silver’s in Plattsburgh. He spent several years after that managing the KFC store in Queensbury, and then returned to Plattsburgh to manage Mangia (in the former Long John Silver’s location). Kilkeary joined the Butcher Block in 1998, and has been there ever since.
Kilkeary was born and raised in Plattsburgh, attending high school at Mount Assumption Institute, and earning an associate’s degree from SUNY Clinton. He is married, with two grown children and three adored grandchildren. He enjoys skiing and hiking, but most of all, spending time with the grandchildren. He prefers to work alongside his employees, not being the boss “unless I need to be”. Kilkeary sums up his management ethos in three words: “firm but fair.”
Nick Meola
Executive Chef
Annabel’s Pizza Co., Bountiful Bread,
Bountiful Bread at Frog Alley Catering
Nick Meola comes from a foodie family. His great grandfather owned and ran a restaurant in Amsterdam, NY. Meola grew up close by, in Ravena, and began his first job in the industry at age fourteen.
Meola joined White Management Corporation as a dishwasher for Mangia, their Italian restaurant concept, in 2006. Within his first week, Meola was promoted to line cook, and by 2010, he was Mangia’s Executive Chef. He served in this capacity until 2015, when the company retired the Mangia restaurants.
For several years, Meola pursued other interests, but rejoined the company in 2019 to help create the Annabel’s Pizza Co. brand. Annabel’s Pizza Co. opened in March of 2020, but closed almost immediately due to the pandemic. Meola pivoted to work with the Bountiful Bread team, shepherding in a series of menu updates.
Meola reopened Annabel’s in June of 2020, and assisted with the opening of Bountiful Bread-Schenectady in 2021, while also rebuilding the company’s catering business, Mill Artisan District Events (MADE), which had halted during the pandemic. In June of 2022, Meola was named Executive Chef for Bountiful Bread and Bountiful @ Frog Alley catering (previously MADE), in addition to his Annabel’s responsibilities.
In his current role, Meola is focused on the menus. He is adding local and seasonal ingredients to the restaurant offerings, with the intention of celebrating regional treasures like apples and other farm products. He loves taking a classic recipe and standing it on its head—“giving it a fun flare”, or taking a simple dish and twisting it somewhat. He has recently released a new, complete menu for Bountiful @ Frog Alley Catering, as well as a spring/summer and fall/winter seasonal menu. His current favorites are Bountiful Bread’s Sunrise Scramble and Annabel’s Soppressata with Burrata and Honey pizza.
Meola is a graduate of Bishop Maginn High School in Albany, and completed several years of business classes at SUNY Cobleskill, while studying culinary arts on the side. Meola enjoys downhill skiing at Gore Mountain and watching the Yankees play baseball with his wife Rebecca.
Sherwin Maralit first joined White Management in 2005 as General Manager for
Coldstone Creamery in Stuyvesant Plaza, as well as for two other locations. When the company downsized their Coldstone store count, Maralit accepted a position with the brand to manage Coldstone Creamery in Times Square, New York. While in the New York area, Maralit spent another five years with Atlanta Bread Company in White Plains, and then moved into the full-service restaurant world with Applebee’s.
When Maralit and his wife had their first child, Finnegan, in April of 2020, they decided to move back to upstate New York, closer to family. (Maralit’s parents, three sisters, nieces and nephews are all in the area.) Maralit returned to White Management in January 2021 to open Bountiful Bread on State Street in Schenectady that spring.
Maralit is a graduate of Shaker High School, and attended Siena College for a year before leaving to pursue restaurant management. He and his wife Caro spent a year living in Germany, where he discovered his love of running, among other things. (He has completed several half marathons.) As for Maralit’s management philosophy, he works to treat his employees as equals, to nurture teamwork, and recognizes that every single position in this business is essential to its success.