Burned-N-Turned: feeding the

fracking boom

Beauvais R. Anderson, Joe Anderson and Susan K. Williams

“There’s not a business you can start in North Dakota right now that wouldn’t make it[1].” That is Beauvais R. Anderson is
what Blair and his prospective business partners had been hearing. It was mid-Summer 2011 Copywriter at AP
and for three months the partners had been discussing and planning a business to exploit this Professionals, Portland,
“no-fail” environment. Blair was home, reviewing their recent trip to Watford City (WC), ND, 500 Oregon, USA.
miles away. They were anxious to start implementing their idea, a food truck that might become a Joe Anderson and Susan K.
restaurant. What additional analysis was needed before moving ahead? Williams are both based at The
W.A. Franke College of
Business, Northern Arizona
University, Flagstaff, Arizona,
Watford City, North Dakota
USA.
When five partners visited WC, everything they observed encouraged them. WC was in the
middle of the Bakken oil fields. Fracking technology had become effective and oil production
had doubled between 2007 and mid-2010. As a result, the population increased by 22 percent
from 2000 to 2010. By mid-2011, hundreds of mostly men had taken new oil-field-related jobs.
WC, a town of only 1,750, had no surplus housing. “Man camps,” temporary housing largely
made up of trailers, had grown up around the area. The people were there to work, generally
they were not interested in becoming part of the community. Many had homes and families
elsewhere that they visited when possible and that they planned to return to eventually.
Traffic flow was clogged with long lines of large trucks interspersed with many pick-up trucks
and cars. This influx of workers needed to eat and due to their long, hard hours and good pay,
they cooked very rarely.

Burned-N-Turned
The business idea began to evolve at an outside barbeque that Blair attended with his friend Sara
and her family. Evan, her dad, who previously owned a construction business, had become
excited about looking for opportunity in WC. He heard many stories from his stepson, who was
driving trucks through WC and watching the fracking boom at ground zero. Evan had two
daughters, Sara and Renee, one with a degree in business and both with experience in services,
who were excited about finding a business opportunity.
The family learned about Blair’s reputation as an excellent cook among his friends and family and
his years of experience in catering. During winters, he had worked for a company serving meals
at Phoenix, Arizona area events including the world-renowned Barrett-Jackson auto auction.
Summers found him feeding large numbers of wildland fire fighters across the American West.
Blair’s primary contribution to the partners’ efforts was his catering management experience.
The business would start as a food truck and could potentially expand to a restaurant. The
Disclaimer. This case is written
concept they focused on was “good food fast” to serve those who worked in the local oil fields. solely for educational purposes
Their goal was to have an attractive and variable take-out menu of mainly burgers, sandwiches and is not intended to represent
successful or unsuccessful
and Mexican food items, made to order, and in the customer’s hand within 3 min, at 11 dollars managerial decision making. The
average cost (see Exhibit 1). They planned to eventually be open from breakfast until 11 p.m., authors may have disguised
names; financial, and other
longer than competitors, and open seven days a week – as the oil fields were operating at all recognizable information to protect
hours every day. confidentiality.

DOI 10.1108/TCJ-01-2019-0004 VOL. 15 NO. 4 2019, pp. 253-266, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1544-9106 j THE CASE JOURNAL j PAGE 253
 The name, Burned-N-Turned, was truckers’ slang: to get the delivery out quickly, pick up another
load and turn around for home. It was meant to appeal to truckers and oil rig workers, the core
target market.
When the partners visited WC, none of them thought that it would be a wonderful place to live since
there was little community and North Dakota winter weather. But there was clearly opportunity.
When they walked around town looking at restaurants, all seemed packed. One of the nicer
restaurants had a 45 min wait during supper. The few restaurants in WC had limited hours and
some were closed Sundays, a practice from when it was a sleepier town (see Exhibit 2).
Six of the seven partners would move to WC to staff the food truck (see Exhibit 3). They decided
there would be no additional employees for at least six months. They would work in shifts
so that each person would work two weeks and then have two weeks off. This would make
WC tolerable.
They created a brief business plan for the food truck, written by Evan’s daughter, Renee. Start-up
funding of $75,000 was offered by Evan’s sister, Pam. Evan’s stepson connected them to the
owner of a truck maintenance shop in WC who agreed to lease them a very desirable roadside lot
next door, an ideal location with quick, convenient access, especially for large trucks.

Time to implement, or is it?

As Blair said later:
When we went to see it, it was proof. The competition was at its limits, they couldn’t serve all the
potential customers they could have had. They were doing the best they could, but it wasn’t enough.
This town needed us. We had proof, we could see it. We saw a ‘can’t lose’ situation. We could see by
the traffic, it was a boom. We knew it was going to work – there was no doubt we were going
to succeed.

After returning home to Bozeman, Montana, the partners’ enthusiasm was even higher. They
were wrapped up in what Blair called a “boom mentality.” Everything they observed on their visit,
news items they had been seeing for several years, and the data Renee included in the business
plan pointed to a solid opportunity. Further, Evan and another partner, Matt, had just advised the
partners that in Texas they had found the ideal food trailer for Burned-N-Turned. It was in very
good condition with all the tools and equipment they would need to serve their potential
customers with high-quality food fast. This news only added to their boom mentality. They
assured themselves that their endeavor would be successful – even if they encountered
set-backs they would be able to overcome them (see Exhibit 4). Blair’s enthusiasm continued to
grow, and his excitement for the new business was bubbling over. But was there anything about
the decision they had overlooked?

Note
1. Nathan Pittman, quoted in CNN Money USA http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/28/pf/north_dakota_jobs/
index.htm

PAGE 254 j THE CASE JOURNAL j VOL. 15 NO. 4 2019

Exhibit 1

Figure E1 Burned-N-Turned menu

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 Exhibit 2. BNT mission and keys to success

Burned-N-Turned mission statement

The mission of Burned-N-Turned is to provide delicious food that can easily be consumed on the go.
We seek to provide food fast, not fast food and to do so with the customers’ needs as our top priority.

Keys to success
Keys to success for our company will include:
■ We will be open seven days a week and our hours will be extended beyond what other
establishments offer.
■ We will have a convenient location with easy access to the highway. No one will have to go
through the congested streets of Watford City to reach us.
■ We will offer food with more flavor and character. Eating our food will be more enjoyable.
Exhibit 3

Table E1 Partner profile

Partner Degree Experience Years Food service experience Years Positive attributes

Blair Bachelor of Science, Financial 1 Service Worker – 16 Positivity, commitment, adaptability, organization,
Finance Consultant Restaurant and catering patience, Spanish language experience
English Teacher 2 Seasonal Catering Crew – 6
Wildland fire support
Staff Writer 4 Catering Manager 3
Cook – Home and special 16
events
Evan na Carpenter 35 Cook – Home and special 45 Discipline, problem solving, time management,
events endurance, networking, relatability
General 25
Contractor
Construction 25
Manager
Sara Bachelor of Arts – Photographer 10 Service Worker – 5 Dedication, direct communication, creative
Photography Restaurant and catering thinking, focus, passion
Cook – Home and special 10
events
Renee Bachelor of Science, Human 8 Hospitality Manager 4 Organization, ambition, intelligence, critical thinking,
Business Management Resources communication
Generalist
Hospitality
Manager
Pam na Small Business 25 Cook – Home and special 45 Leadership, practicality, ethics, empowerment,
Owner events encouragement, consulting experience
Small Business 10
Partner
Matt na Construction 35 Guide/Cook – Guided 20 Attention to detail, knowledge, fearlessness,
Laborer tours/adventures easygoing attitude, travel/adventure experience
Carpenter 30 Cook – Home and special 40
events
Sheila N/A Construction 15 Service Worker/Cook – 5 Teamwork, communication, honesty, open-
Laborer Restaurant and catering mindedness, approachability, flexibility
Carpenter 15 Cook – Home and special 17
events
Marcus na Construction 20 Service Worker/Cook – 5 Enthusiasm, loyalty, logical thinking, productivity,
Laborer Restaurant and catering outgoing personality, resourcefulness

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Exhibit 4

Table E2 Burned-N-Turned start-up budget

Computers and software $1,400
Insurance for business and trailer $2,000
Food trailer $44,000
Health inspection $85
Trailer moved to WC location $3,000
Coffee machine, ice machine, etc. $3,000
Uniforms and printed forms $1,100
Initial inventory $7,500
Billboard advertising $1,500
Prepare trailer for full operation $2,350
Partners Relocation to Watford City, ND $2,500
Reserve $6,565
Total $75,000

Corresponding author
Joe Anderson can be contacted at: joseph.anderson@nau.edu

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