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His legacy: charity, golden arches

Friends and colleagues say Mr. Casper was a fierce competitor who put his employees first.

By BRADY DENNIS
Published February 8, 2005

TAMPA - A newspaper columnist once described Joe Casper as Tampa Bay's "baron of burgers, our archduke of golden arches."

Tampa's burger king is gone.

Mr. Casper died early Sunday after a battle against cancer, leaving behind a family business that had amassed 78 McDonald's franchises in Florida, including 48 locations in Tampa.

He was 62.

"I always called Joe a McVisionary," said Bob Conigliaro, who knew Mr. Casper for 30 years and is vice president of community relations for Caspers Co. "He had the McMidas touch. Everything he touched didn't turn into gold; it turned into golden arches."

Born in Illinois, Mr. Casper first came to Tampa in a station wagon with his parents, brother and sister in 1957. The next year his father, Fritz, opened Tampa's first McDonald's on Dale Mabry Highway.

Mr. Casper worked the grill at that first franchise. After graduating from Jesuit High School, he served a stint in the Navy before attending Florida State University. He graduated in 1969 and decided to return to work with his father.

By the time Mr. Casper took over the business from his father, in 1976, the Caspers Co. owned 12 McDonald's franchises. It would grow to become the largest franchisee in Florida.

Mr. Casper was a man of numbers, those who knew him said Monday. He demanded to see the sales numbers from his restaurants each day of the week, even weekends.

They said he worked long hours, was a genius at marketing and had the ability to recognize the talents in other people.

Mr. Casper also was a fierce competitor, both in business and in his personal life, friends and family said.

"He definitely liked to win," said his son, Blake Casper. "He loved any kind of game - board (games), golf, shooting clays - whatever you could turn into a competition."

Despite his appetite for success, Mr. Casper displayed compassion that belied his competitiveness. His company donated regularly to charities and philanthropic projects, including the Ronald McDonald House Charities, the Children's Cancer Center and the Hillsborough County Education Foundation.

He also bred loyalty among his employees, dozens of whom have worked at the company more than 20 years, Conigliaro said.

"What has made him so great over the years is his philosophy. It's not "The customer comes first,"' he said. "With him, what I have seen is his employees come first. He took care of us so well that we would in turn fall all over ourselves to make sure the customer was taken care of."

Mr. Casper's children, Blake Casper and Allison Adams, have followed in their father's footsteps and likely will take over the reins of the family business.

In addition to them, Mr. Casper is survived by his wife, Lynn; a stepdaughter, Ashli; two granddaughters, Dallas and Adelaide; a brother, Tom; a sister, Shirley; and five nephews.

His family plans to receive friends beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Jesuit High School chapel on Himes Avenue. Funeral services are scheduled for Thursday at 11 a.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church, at the corner of Dale Mabry Highway and Henderson Boulevard.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Ronald McDonald House, 28 Columbia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33606.

[Last modified February 8, 2005, 00:20:05]