Lake Zurich restaurant manager receives national recognition

LAKE ZURICH - Madison Burroughs, general manager of the Lake Zurich Jersey Mike's Subs, was named to Nation's Restaurant News' 2023 Power List, which honors 25 of the top general managers in the restaurant industry.

The 2023 Power List recognized general managers for their leadership and excellence in activating brand strategy at the store level, building and maintaining team culture, providing top-notch customer service and driving strong unit economics.

Burroughs joined Jersey Mike's while in high school in 2013. Before even graduating, she told franchise owner Mark Michalak she would love to work her way up to general manager. After graduation, she didn't waste any time moving up from crew member to shift lead, and then to assistant general manager in a few years. In 2015, Burroughs achieved her goal, earning the general manager position at the Lake Zurich location at 19 years old.

Burroughs has led significant milestones such as increasing her store's sales by double digits from 2021 to 2022, having the lowest turnover and longest labor retention of any of the Jersey Mike's stores in her franchise group, and being named Manager of the Year within her franchise group three of the past six years.

In March at Jersey Mike's National Conference in Orlando, Florida, Burroughs was named Manager of the Year systemwide and awarded her own restaurant.

"We've long recognized powerful CEOs on our annual Power List, but this year we decided to flip the script and re-examine the concept of power through other industry professionals," said Sam Oches, editor-in-chief of Nation's Restaurant News. "General managers are quietly some of the most powerful professionals in the restaurant industry, as they are tasked with bringing the entire brand experience to life. If CEOs are the brains of a restaurant company, then GMs are the beating heart."