Personal Profile - June

  Many people know that Charles Degraffenreid started the Boom A Rang Diner company with a single store in Muskogee, Oklahoma.  However, few people know that before that he had been one of the leading franchise owners for the Sonic Drive-In franchise.  

  Charles had come from extremely poor beginnings, and in his own words, he "learned through those years to hate poverty." One of his first jobs was working for the newly opened Top Hat Drive-In in Shawnee, OK, which later became the original Sonic Drive-In.  Charles became close with Troy Smith, the founder of Sonic Drive-In.  Charles found he was getting a better education from sitting in on Troy's conversations than he could get at school.  What he learned about business from Troy and the man who hired him at his first Sonic, Norman Jansen, would shape the way he did business for the rest of his life.  

  Before long, just barely in his 20's, by setting money aside each week and receiving help from Troy and Norman, Charles had bought an interest in his first Sonic Drive-In in Alva, OK.  Over the years he acquired full ownership in dozens of Sonic's across the country.  Raising his sons, Steve and Ron, in the Sonic business, he imparted the business knowledge he had gained from Troy and his trials by fire to them.  He had left poverty behind, or so he thought.  

  At 49 years old, after decades of success, a series of unfortunate events left Charles with nothing. Living in Muskogee, OK, Charles worked for a short time selling real estate. However, the food industry was what he knew and loved.

  So, again setting aside money each week, he was able to put enough together to buy a small diner.  He and his son, Ron, worked together in what they named simply "The Diner." Charles put together a menu and business plan that he believed would be successful, and slowly business grew. Through various obstacles and surprises along the way, Charles held true to his plan.  Through a unique set of events, his ownership in The Diner became an ownership of the Broadway Cafe which later became an ownership of the Eastside Diner where he firmly established his menu and plan.  

  That first day in the Eastside Diner, it was just him and one waitress, Penelope Walker. (You might know her now as Penny Cowles.) Located on Eastside Boulevard, Eastside Diner was not an immediate success but in time as word of mouth spread about the quality of the food and service it became a substantial success.  So much so, that Charles was soon able to buy another diner that he considered calling "Southside Diner." But, realizing that it didn't make much sense to continue to name each store by its geographical location, Charles chose a name he had loved even from his days back in Sonic, "Boomerang."  Tied to the image of customers who "Keep Coming Back," Charles knew "Boomerang Diner" was the perfect name for his diners.  Then an amazing and unexpected thing happened.

  One day, as Charles worked at the newly dubbed Boomerang Diner on Eastside Blvd, a woman came in and began to tell him how glad she was that he had "brought back the old Boomarang." Charles had no idea what she was talking about. Later that day the woman returned and pulled out a salt and pepper shaker emblazoned with the logo of the "Boom-A-Rang Drive-In."  Through sheer coincidence Charles had purchased a building that decades before had been a favorite hang-out for the people of Muskogee and given it an identical name... well almost identical.  A short time later Charles changed the name from "Boomerang Diner" to "Boom-A-Rang Diner."

  Using what he had learned in his years with Troy and with incredible innovations of his own, Charles began helping the workers at his stores. Waitresses, Cooks, and Managers became diner owners and operators.  With his new Boom-A-Rang Family, Charles and his sons began building on his his concept.  Year by year, more people would join the Boom-A-Rang family, and year by year the number of diners would increase.  And so this course continued for the next 20 years.       

  Charles' ability to see people not for their failures or disadvantages but for their potential success story led him to help so many who others would have written off.  Charles made the diners a place of second chances. Through his passion, leadership, humor, and love, Charles mentored hundreds of individuals whose lives were changed because of him.  

  Charles passed away on a Wednesday evening in March, 2014.  He left behind a legacy that his sons and his Boom-A-Rang Family continue to grow to this day.  On the old roll top desk from which Charles would conduct his business from the kitchen in his home, hung a pink sticky note in Charles' handwriting.  The note says:

So many people come

into our lives then

leave the way they came

But others are those

precious few who touch

our hearts so deeply

we will never be the same

Though the roll top desk has moved, the note still hangs today.  It is a reminder of all of the people whose hearts were touched by Charles, his Boom-A-Rang Family.
  We hope these words inspire some of you to share your story or the story of someone close to you in the Boom-A-Rang Family.  There are some amazing stories out there, and we want to share them all.