Randy Rippetoe

Randy, his wife, Pauline, and grandsons, Emmett and Harrison.

Meet Randy Rippetoe!

You would be hard pressed to find anyone as nice as Randy Rippetoe.  I had the pleasure of speaking with him for this interview and boy has he been around!

Randy started with Hardee’s almost 35 years ago in Morristown, TN as an hourly breakfast cook.  He said he got hired because they put in a drive-thru and needed more employees.  From there, he was promoted to a breakfast manager after only about 6 months.  In the time since he started, he’s worked just about every position. Randy moved his way through management to General Manager, District Manager, Director of Operations, and now to his current position as Regional Vice President.  He has worked for various ownership companies, including corporate and has overseen training and even maintenance and facilities.  Randy couldn’t speak highly enough of his experiences through the years with Hardee’s.  He said he’s met such great people who have always treated him well and has been very fortunate- which is probably why he has stuck around for 35 years!

Outside of work, Randy is very happy with his wife of almost 3 years, Pauline, at their home in Jefferson City, TN.  Randy also spoke highly of his wife’s strength because she has had cancer 4 different times and continues to beat it.  He has a daughter, Brittany, who is a nurse, and a son, Coree, who is a chemist.  He also has two grandchildren, Emmett and Harrison, who keep him busy.  They like to have a lot of family gatherings and Randy is looking forward to Halloween, as it’s always a big party for them.  He and Pauline love to travel and catch a Tennessee game when they can.  Go Vols!  Randy is also big into restoring antique cars.  His baby, Flo – a ’68 Ford Fairlane 500 is pictured below:

Some Interesting Facts About Randy:

• Astrological Sign: Ares
• Favorite Color: Orange
• Favorite Food: Chinese
• Place He Would Most Like To Visit: Alaska, and he and Pauline are planning to do so next summer on an Alaskan cruise!
• Favorite Hobby: Whitewater Rafting
• Childhood Dream Job: A big rig truck driver.  When he was a kid, Randy lived mostly with his grandmother and there were a truck yard across the road.  He would watch them come and go all day and was fascinated by them.  Ever since then, he wanted to drive one! He says he has still never been in one to this day.
• Little Known Fact: Back when Randy was a breakfast manager, he subsidized his income by pumpkin farming!  His family had 20 acres and he grew a whole lot of pumpkins.  Walmart and Lowe’s would even come back up and fill their big trucks. Randy said most people are pretty surprised when they hear about this!