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Letter to the editor

His business acumen showed first at McD's

From the Golden Arches, he leaped to Burger King, then to pool supplies, training other managers.

By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published November 18, 2007

CLEARWATER - It was a rude wakeup call.

Victor Tetreault was fresh from the Navy. He spent seven years navigating ships. He had a sociology degree from Brandeis University, where he was a football standout.

But now, he couldn't find a job.

His 600-square-foot house in Anaheim, Calif., was about to be repossessed. He he had a wife and two small children to think about.

So he humbled himself. He cooked burgers at a stand with no dining room. Folks walked up to order 15-cent patties. At 6 a.m., he sliced raw potatoes for the day's haul of french fries.

Mr. Tetreault's boss noticed potential.

That boss, his family said, was business titan Ray Kroc. The burger stand, one of the first McDonald's.

* * *

He seemed destined for business.

As a boy, he swept the floors of his dad's barbershop in the textile town of Lowell, Mass. The local industry captains came in for 10-cent haircuts.

They'd talk shop. Little Victor would listen.

"It's a different work ethic," said his son, Scott Tetreault. "You put your nose to the stone and you don't complain."

So at McDonald's, he worked hard. He managed stores, his family said, then became a national marketing director before opening a chain of restaurants in the Midwest.

Owning franchises was a concept Mr. Tetreault liked. After all, he couldn't go to dinner without analyzing how the place operated.

His sons loved McDonald's. Every Wednesday, their dad would bring home special burger requests for dinner.

In 1977, Mr. Tetreault and his business partner sold their restaurants, his family said, and it wasn't long before Burger King came calling.

"His friends at McDonald's were really shocked," said Scott Tetreault. "It's like you're playing for the Yankees, but you're going to go play for the Devil Rays."

Ultimately, friends understood the business decision. He came to Clearwater and founded the Scovic Corp., which oversaw a chain of Burger Kings.

He loved capitalism. He got steamed if people spoke ill of America or applauded communism.

After selling his Burger King restaurants in the late 1980s, Mr. Tetreault opened a chain of Pinch-a-Penny pool stores. Over time, he helped managers to easily take over the stores, his son said.

He wanted them to get lucky, too.

* * *

Mr. Tetreault doled out heavy doses of truth - if your wife was angry at you, he would explain why. Friends came to appreciate his blunt honesty.

In the same way, he was honest about himself.

In 1991, Mr. Tetreault joined Alcoholics Anonymous for his drinking problem. He was a proud member, and started sessions at Clearwater's Chapel by the Sea.

Every morning, he'd attend meetings. He developed an eye for those who may need help.

"That became his calling in the last part of his life," said his son. "Saving people and keeping people sober."

Mr. Tetreault and his wife, Lee, traveled the country in a motor home. He loved to stop in small, all-American towns.

He was healthy, his family said, when his heartbeat suddenly became irregular, and he went on a ventilator. On Monday, they took him off the machine, like he wanted. He was 74.

It's how he would have scripted it, his family said - quickly, in his sleep.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or 727 893-8857.

BIOGRAPHY

Victor Tetreault

Born: Sept. 7, 1933.

Died: Nov. 12, 2007.

Survivors: wife, Marilyn Lee Tetreault, sons, Scott and Victor Tetreault, and their wives, Karen and Jet Tetreault; grandson, Ethan Tetreault.

[Last modified November 17, 2007, 23:05:03]