A new Rally’s Hamburgers opening in May will be a first for Warsaw and a unique spin on the fast-food franchise. Don Good, owner of Monterey-based Good Oil Co., plans to add an “end cap” Rally’s to the BP-branded Good to Go at 617 S. Buffalo St. Rather than a standalone location with two drive-throughs, the closest of which are in South Bend and Fort Wayne, it will be a single-drive addition to the gas station’s convenience store. Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., the drive-through-only chain operates about 800 locations branded as either Rally’s or Checkers. It’s known for hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and milk shakes, and, perhaps more notably, popularized “cha-ching” as a catchphrase in a 1991 commercial starring a then-unknown Seth Green. After adding Subway restaurants to several Good to Go locations, Good said he looked at a variety of other franchises and decided Rally’s was the best fit. “It’s quick and convenient – open 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he remarked Wednesday. “Rally’s is geared toward that, the constantly packed, 24-hour life we lead now.” Jennifer Durham, Rally’s vice president of franchise development, remarked that the flexibility of the franchise lends itself to the convenience store addition. “One thing we found is that we’re incredibly flexible in terms of where we fit,” she said, adding that the end cap gives Good a way to grow and provides Rally’s with a flow of “consumers on the go” already coming for a fuel-up. Rally’s add-ons are also planned for Good to Go locations in South Bend and near Chicago this year, Good said. Two other Rallys are slated for Indiana, which according to Durham now hosts 55 of the chain’s locations.
