Glen Nichols & Thomas Nichols

Restaurant Locations:

Kansas: Baxter Springs, Chanute, Coffeyville, Columbus, Fort Scott, Independence, Iola, Parsons, Pittsburg

Missouri: Joplin, Nevada, Webb City

Oklahoma: Bartlesville, Catoosa, Claremore, Cleveland, Collinsville, Mannford, Owasso, Pawhuska, Pryor, Skiatook, Vinita

Father-Son Owner/Operator duo Glen and Thomas Nichols own and operate 31 McDonald's restaurants across Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.

Glen Nichols attended the University of Arkansas where he received his Doctorate in Education. Glen began to work in education where he later met his wife Elizabeth in the Magnolia, AR area. While working in education provided a stable life for the two of them, they both had a strong desire to go into a business that would provide for their family for years to come. 

In the late 1980s, Glen was a Superintendent by day but was learning the McDonald’s business at night as the company was rapidly growing and searching for franchisees. Glen spent his time off the clock learning everything he needed to know to purchase a restaurant and all that was required by the McDonald’s Corporation to allow him to become a local Owner/Operator and franchisee. 

In 1989, Glen and his wife Elizabeth brought their first child, Thomas, into this world and just one short year later in 1990 they put all their life savings together to purchase their first restaurant in Butler, Mo.  Their family worked day in and day out at the restaurant, continuing to make ends meet for their then family of three. Two years after purchasing their first restaurant the Nichols welcomed another son, Jon.

Hard work and perseverance over the course of the following eight years paid off for the Nichols family when they were given the opportunity to purchase three additional McDonald’s restaurants in Pittsburg, KS. They settled down in the Pittsburg community where both Thomas and his younger brother Jon attended the school from K – 12th grade. Thomas remembers many roles growing up in Pittsburg at his parents’ restaurants, such as helping with the landscaping and working through the summer in high school as a crew member. 

In 2008, Glen purchased six McDonald’s restaurants including five in Joplin, MO and one in Webb City, MO the same year Thomas graduated from Pittsburg High School. Thomas’s future was clear from that point – he wanted to follow his father’s footsteps by attending the University of Arkansas and then getting involved in the burger business with his dad. Graduating in 2012 with his degree in Operational Management, Thomas went through the prestigious “Next Generation” program that McDonald’s requires children of Owner/Operators to complete in order to obtain a stake in the family business. Thomas soared through the program with flying colors and was accepted as a McDonald’s Owner/Operator in 2019 aiding in the 31-store family operation that spans across three states – Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. 

Today, Glen and Thomas own and operate 15 McDonald's restaurants across the Big Mo BU.