Franchise Focus

LV Petroleum bets on late-night cravings with Checkers & Rally's franchise

LV Petroleum, led by Jeanette Davis, has introduced a new Checkers & Rally's franchise to Las Vegas, marking a significant step in their ambitious QSR expansion. Davis, drawing on nostalgic ties and the brand's late-night appeal, aims to capitalize on the market with this initial location and plans for further growth.

Photo: LV Petroleum

May 16, 2025

Las Vegas just got a new player in its fast-food scene: a Checkers & Rally's franchise has rolled into town on Lake Mead Blvd., spearheaded by LV Petroleum's Senior Vice President Jeanette Davis.

Davis' major responsibility is LV Petroleum's franchise brands and taking QSR brands from conception to birth.

Jeanette Davis. Photo: LV Petroleum

Davis started in the convenience store business in 1995 with Minute Mart Foods. In Sept. 2022, Davis said she took a leap of faith and moved to LV Petroleum to build out the company's QSR portfolio.

"When I joined the company, we had one Travel Center of America, three convenience stores and one QSR restaurant, which was a Sbarro Pizza," Davis said in a phone interview. "Today, we have 33 Travel Centers of America, 22 convenience stores based in Las Vegas and the Phoenix market in Arizona, and I am fixing to hit 100 QSRs/FSRs."

That totals 28 restaurant brands in the LC Petroleum portfolio.

Choosing Checkers & Rally's

One of those brands is Checkers & Rally's. In Las Vegas, there were only three Rally's in that market.

"It's a very nostalgic brand for us," Davis said. "I can remember going to Checkers & Rally's when my kids were growing up. It was the best place to go after a ball game. I could take the kids as a single mom and have a meal for like $5 for the kids."

To bring Checkers & Rally's back to Las Vegas — a city that never sleeps — with extended hours until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning, fit what LV Petroleum was looking for in a burger brand in its portfolio.

The brand now has one Checkers & Rally's with three more in different stages in the pipeline.

Davis said the menu also drew her company to Checkers & Rally's. "The food, the famous fries — obviously the fries are a big selling point for Rally's. One of the biggest things that I have done since we have opened our location at Lake Mead and Gateway is blanketed the community with a free large fry coupon to drive some traffic to our location. Rally's is known for their famous fries and that's one of the things we have done to drive people to it."

The partnership with Checkers & Rally's has been mutually beneficial for both the franchise and the franchisee, Davis added, and the Checkers & Rally's team is easy to work with and accommodating to help their franchisees.

"That's a big selling point," Davis said, "when you have a franchisor that is heavily involved in making sure you're successful as a franchisee. That went a long way with that group."

The double drive-thru was attractive for Davis and her team as it helps expedite orders for those guests who don't want to walk up to the pick-up window.

Davis traveled to a Discovery Day to learn more about Checkers & Rally's and underwent a six-week training program. She sent three general managers to the training, as well as two assistant managers.

"I went through the entire process (of becoming a franchisee), the financial approval," she said. "I did all of the site submission work. One you identify a site where you want a Rally's, you do the site submission paperwork so Rally's can take that through their real estate committee and get that (site) approved."

Operations

When it comes to attracting and retaining employees in a labor market like Las Vegas, Davis said she must be competitive on hourly wages and show them their potential growth within the company. The brand does market studies to ensure it is a premium employer of choice in the Las Vegas market.

"Obviously downtown Las Vegas I can't compete because there's the union down there, but outside Las Vegas, I make sure that I'm at or higher than my direct competition," Davis explained. "Does that cost me a little bit more in my labor percentage? Yes it does, but it also helps me find, attract and hire — and retain — that higher talent that we're looking for to run our QSRs."

Davis said LV Petroleum's standards for its QSRs are high for its customer service, food safety, cleanliness and its operations. Consistency in follow-up and communication is imperative to the company's success.

"We are constantly coaching and developing our team," Davis added. "Are we perfect? No. Will somebody fall back a little bit? Yes, but it's more like relentless repetition and we hold them to that standard, and that goes hand in hand with the salary compensation. We pay our managers well because we pay based on what we expect, and we teach them that from the first day that we hire them."

The company doesn't ask for more out of its managers and team than what it's able to deliver in employees' compensation.

The Rally's support team is tops when it comes to working with the franchisor, Davis said. Whether it's an issue with a new piece of equipment, getting a new store up and running or a future development, Davis can call each member of the Rally's corporate team, and they will answer any questions she has or help with any problems.

The brand's phones are its simplest form of tech. There's a GroupMe app set up with all the company's managers across the United States "and every day those managers post pictures of their operations, whether it's an employee doing something great or if they're sampling," Davis added. LV Petroleum is big on sampling because it believes samples equal sales.

Checkers & Rally's also uses third-party delivery and online ordering. Fourteen percent of sales is third-party delivery, and the franchise has late-night hours.

To a potential Checkers & Rally's franchisee, Davis said be prepared to work.

"You have to be able to dedicate the time to make sure your restaurant is successful," she said. "And you've got to hire the right people … It's all about the people and it's all about the training. So if you're not willing to financially pay the people who are going to run your business and commit to the training to make sure your restaurant is successful, you are going to fail. … The majority of people quit their jobs because they weren't trained effectively to do their jobs."