After nearly six decades of flipping burgers across the suburbs, the Bear family is walking away from the golden arches and heading into the world of luxury dog suites and play yards. The longtime McDonald’s operators say they are winding down their restaurant run and refocusing their business on franchising K9 Resorts, a high-end pet hotel brand.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the group sold nine McDonald’s locations this week and had previously closed one store. The remaining roughly 25 restaurants were temporarily shut for inventory on Monday. David Bear told the Tribune the locations are expected to reopen under new ownership on Tuesday morning, capping a major transition for a family business that has fed Chicago-area commuters for generations.
BFRX Hospitality Will Steer New K9 Resorts Franchises
David and Nicole Bear plan to rebrand the company as BFRX Hospitality and pivot into developing K9 Resorts Luxury Pet Hotel franchises in the Chicago market. An initial two resorts are slated for 2026, with plans for a total of eight locations within a protected territory, according to a franchise announcement covered by Franchising.com.
From One Elgin Drive-Thru To A Regional Power Player
The Bears’ story started in 1967, when Jerry and Marcelle Bear bought a McDonald’s on Larkin Avenue in Elgin. Over the decades, that single restaurant grew into a sizable suburban operation. Trade notices indicate the family was running roughly 25 McDonald’s at the time of the change, and that the Bear name will carry on in the hospitality world through the new pet hotel venture, as reported by Pet Age.
Workers And Restaurants In Transition
David Bear told the Chicago Tribune that some current employees are expected to move over to the K9 Resorts side after completing training and certification. Family members and select managers are also set to help run the new pet hotels. Bear described the shift as a way to put the family’s franchise experience to work in a fast-growing service niche while still providing a structured handoff for restaurant staff.
K9 Resorts Ramps Up As It Moves Into Illinois
K9 Resorts was founded in 2005 by brothers Steven and Jason Parker and began franchising in the early 2010s. The company has promoted its rapid increase in locations, a string of industry awards and appearances on franchise growth lists, according to K9 Resorts. Franchise partners have been opening new sites across the country, and a multi-unit investor group launched the brand’s first Illinois resort in Deerfield as part of a broader plan for more Chicagoland locations, per a release republished by PR Newswire.
What To Watch Next
The Bears’ move tracks with a wider trend of seasoned franchise operators branching into pet care, a sector that has been drawing serious capital and multi-unit developers in recent years. For local customers, the near-term change will mostly show up at the drive-thru, where familiar McDonald’s locations will quietly switch to new owners. For the Bear family, the next 12 to 24 months will revolve around opening the first K9 Resorts under the BFRX Hospitality banner and retraining staff for a very different kind of guest. For additional detail on the multi-unit agreement and the Bears’ franchise plans, see coverage in Pet Age.
