Local McDonald’s Owner Jim Aaron Gives Back to Local Communities

As a new school year kicks off across Northwest Georgia & East Tennessee, now is the perfect time for a reminder of one local business owner who goes above and beyond in his support of local school systems: Local McDonald’s owner-operator Jim Aaron.

For Aaron, the Golden Arches have never just been a business. Those Golden Arches have been a lifelong relationship with people & communities — one that began nearly 50 years ago and continues to shape how he runs every restaurant that carries his name today.

Aaron’s story starts in Rome, where he grew up and graduated from Coosa High School. On September 7, 1977, at just 16 years old, he clocked in for his first shift at a local McDonald’s, earning $2.30 an hour. That first job & only job, became a constant through the next chapters of his life — After his time as crew in high school, Aaron worked as a night shift manager at McDonald’s in Rome, using the job to put himself through Berry College. He graduated from Berry in 1984 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business & Accounting.

What followed was a 37-year career on the corporate side of McDonald’s, based out of the Atlanta regional office. In 2014, after nearly four decades with the company, Aaron made the leap from corporate to ownership, purchasing his first two McDonald’s in Vonore and Charleston, Tennessee. From there, his footprint grew steadily with the opening of his new Decatur, TN location in 2015 & then across Northwest Georgia, including the Rome/Martha Berry Highway location in 2016, followed by Summerville, Lafayette, and Chickamauga in 2017, Rome/Turner McCall Blvd in 2018, Rockmart in 2024, and most recently, the new McDonald’s in Ringgold on Battlefield Pkwy in March of this year, marking his organization’s first restaurant in Catoosa County.

Today, Aaron owns and operates 10 McDonald’s restaurants across Northwest Georgia and East Tennessee — but what sets his restaurants apart isn’t just the menu & his passion for those delicious buttery scratch made biscuits (rare in McDonald’s today)…..It’s his belief that every one of his McDonld’s should be truly a locally owned small business, run by someone invested in the communities he serves.

That philosophy shows up in the everyday details. Aaron’s restaurants regularly host team spirit nights, where a percentage of sales is donated back to local school teams and/or organizations. His locations consistently provide meal donations and/or discounts to teachers, students, athletes, first responders, and nurses. Police officers eat free daily when dining inside and first responders are 50% off daily when dining inside. And across every community where he operates, Aaron has built a reputation as one of the most consistent supporters of local schools, teachers, students, and athletes. Between financial support and food/meals, Aaron’s community support amounts to well over $100,000 annually. Just from his small locally owned McDonald’s restaurants.

Aaron also serves on many National McDonald’s Leadership committees, including Vice Chair of McDonald’s national marketing committee, Strategy Chair, & McDonald’s national Menu Team, among other roles.

“I’m proud to be a local small business person, and proud to live in and support the communities, schools, teachers, students, and athletes where I live and do business,” Aaron has said. “I believe my McDonald’s restaurants have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our people, customers, and communities every day.”

Aaron’s commitment to community and to the McDonald’s brand has not gone unrecognized in our communities & within the McDonald’s Brand. He is a recipient of the Global “Fred L. Turner Golden Arch Partners Award” & he is also the recipient of the National “Ronald Award”. Each of those awards are presented annually to the top one percent of McDonald’s Owner/Operators globally & nationally, for outstanding contributions to strengthening the brand and serving their communities.

From a 16-year-old crew member making $2.30 an hour to a nationally recognized Owner/Operator, Jim Aaron’s story is one of hard work, hometown pride, and a lasting commitment to giving back — proof that a McDonald’s restaurant can be, at its heart, a genuinely local small business.