Hwy 55 opens in Denmark
By Steve Herring
Published in News on June 28, 2015 1:50 AM
MOUNT OLIVE -- The photo of young people camped out waiting for the opening of a new Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes and Fries could have been taken anywhere in the United States.
But it wasn't. Hwy 55 president and founder Kenney Moore announced last Wednesday that the first Hwy 55 in Europe opened that same day in the seaport city of Kolding, Denmark, to new "super fans" who had camped out the night before in sleeping bags and tents.
The Kolding Hwy 55 joins Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates as Hwy 55's first two international locations. Two more are scheduled to open in the United Arab Emirates in 2015.
The Kolding restaurant is the first of two planned locations to open in Denmark this year. The second, located in Copenhagen's central railway station, is scheduled to begin serving guests this August.
Another 35 are planned in the country over the next decade.
Hwy 55 -- a retro-themed diner that features fresh burgers, house-made frozen custard, and other classic favorites in a unique open-kitchen setting -- was founded in Goldsboro in 1991.
"I tell you, when I saw it (the photo) I almost got a tear in my eye," Moore said. "We've never had that before, and to know that is halfway around the world and folks are that excited about eating one of our cheeseburgers that they are willing to camp out, it was just really, really neat."
Moore spoke to the store staff by Skype prior to its opening.
"It is kind of neat," he said. "They had me up on a big TV, and I got the opportunity to kind of tell them our history and also tell them what our values are and what we are all about. It was amazing watching all of these very successful business people and also their staff nodding because that (value) is universal."
The developer, Jens Due, found Hwy 55 online, Moore said.
"He came over for a regular discovery day like everybody does and fell in love with our values," Moore said. "I can honestly tell you that was the key. When we started talking about love your neighbor and what we are all about as a company, his eyes just lit up. Then he brought the others over here, and they feel exactly the same. I think he was in before he even got on a plane to leave here. He was planning to do this."
Moore has not yet been to the Denmark store, but plans to go by the time the second store opens.
He said when he opened his first store in Berkeley Mall in 1991 that he never would have thought he would one day be an international businessman.
"My original goal was to get to 20," Moore said. "I thought if I got to 20 I would have something really special to pass on to my kids or whatnot. To be where we are, to have two stores -- one open in the Middle East and one in Denmark -- and then to have them opening up right and left in 10 (other) states in this country -- no I couldn't have seen it.
Hwy 55 now has 116 stores spread across North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Ohio, Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas. Another 15 are expected to open by the end of the year.