Druther’s Systems, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the former parent company of Burger Queen, Royal Equipment Company, Vencorp, King Neptune’s Seafood Galley, Queen-Air, Huckleberry’s, Druther’s Restaurants and Druther’s International, and has created more than 350 businesses in multiple states and countries. In 1990, Druther’s became a Dairy Queen® territory operator, and is currently a franchise operator that co-owns DQ® operations and owns properties in Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. For more information, visit drutherssystems.com or follow Druther’s on social media @IdRutherGoTo.
Dairy Queen® Joint Venture Partners:
Jennifer Shamburger - DQ® of Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jim Carroll - DQ® of Fairdale and Louisville, Kentucky
Liska Coggeshall - DQ® of La Grange, Kentucky
Michelle Meredith - DQ® of Leitchfield, Kentucky
Will Rowe - DQ® of South Williamson, Kentucky and Kermit, West Virginia
Cody Pasco – DQ® of Christiansburg, Virginia
Corporate Office:
2708 Frankfort Avenue, 2nd Floor, Louisville, Kentucky 40206
-Accountant, Adam Price
Adam joined Druther’s after several years with the University of Louisville, Volunteers of America Mid-States, and most recently Bellarmine University. He has been extremely active in philanthropic circles in Louisville, serving on boards and volunteering with organizations including The Food Literacy Project, Pandora Productions, Fund for the Arts, Family Scholar House, South Louisville Community Ministries and Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana. Adam is a graduate of Indiana University Southeast, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Business, as well as a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Accounting. He is a member of The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels and is also a 2017 graduate of Leadership Louisville Center’s Ignite Program. Adam lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, Kaylee.
-Bookkeeper, Carol Brady
Leadership:
-President, Robert C. Gatewood III
-Vice President, Brian J. Easley
Brian Easley joined the company in 2017, after several years of government service in the U.S. Army, U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Office of Government Ethics. He became Vice President of the company in 2019. He is a graduate of the Dairy Queen® Leadership Program and Dairy Queen® Managing Multiple Locations Program.
Brian, the son-in-law of Robert Gatewood, arrived in Louisville in 2016 and immediately became active in the community through various non-profit organizations. He is a combat-disabled veteran of the Iraq War and is a member of the Board of Directors of the World Affairs Council of Kentucky and Southern Indiana, the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Kentucky Advisory Committee, etc.
Brian earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, a master’s degree in International Security Studies from Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C., and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky.
Originally from Bracken, Texas, Brian lives in Harrods Creek, Kentucky with his wife Catherine, along with their daughter and two sons.
Philanthropy:
Druther’s has been involved with numerous charitable causes over more than six decades, including Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® (CMNH), WHAS Crusade for Children, Boy and Girl Scouts of America, Junior Achievement, United Way, March of Dimes, Kentucky Shakespeare, Young Authors Greenhouse, Hope in the Hills, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, World Affairs Councils of America, Fund for the Arts, etc.
This community involvement has been a part of our identity as a company since the beginning. George Clark, former President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Burger Queen and Druther’s, put it best back in 1981, ”You’ve got to give it back. You’ve just got to give some of it back. When you give of yourself, you always get more back. All the people I know who are really successful in business, very successful, are also unselfish. They get deeply involved in the community.”
Associations:
Member, National Restaurant Association
Member, Kentucky Restaurant Association
Investor, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Investor, Greater Louisville, Inc. Metro Chamber of Commerce
Supporter, Louisville Independent Business Alliance
Member, Frankfort Avenue Business Association
Social Media:
Find Druther’s on social media @IdRutherGoTo or online at drutherssystems.com.
