Gary Coyne: From Maroons legend to McDonald’s baron
In the first part of our series looking at where some of our greatest State of Origin stars are in 2020, Gary Coyne opens up on his McDonald’s empire and how success runs in the family with his musician son. READ HIS STORY
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From damaging Queensland Maroons forward to the king of his own fast food empire, Gary Coyne has come a long way since his rugby league retirement in 1992.
In the first part of our series looking at where some of our greatest State of Origin stars are in 2020, Coyne opened up to The Courier-Mail about his post-football journey. He reveals where the inspiration came from for his McDonald’s business, talks about his pride in his family and what it means to him to be a Queensland Former Origin Great.
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THE DAY HE CAN’T FORGET
Gary Coyne regards Wally Lewis, Gene Miles and Greg Dowling as three of the greatest players to ever lace up a boot in rugby league.
Throughout the 1980s, the trio were the elite of the game.
That’s why it was so weird for Coyne to be sitting alongside his then Wynnum Manly teammates on the opening day of the Capalaba McDonald’s in 1985.
There to support the restaurant owner, former forward Rod Morris, the Wynnum Manly side had colouring-in paper and a box of crayons in front of them ready to meet fans.
But not one person wanted their autographs.
All anyone cared about that day was the opening of this restaurant.
“You had some of the best footballers in the world sitting there and I just thought, ‘what the hell is this? What’s going on here?’,” Coyne said.
“We were not signing a single autograph. Not even Wally Lewis. What makes people do that? I couldn’t work it out.”
It’s a day that stayed with Coyne over time because to him, no denied themselves the opportunity to meet Lewis, Miles or Dowling.
Eventually he mustered up the courage to tell Morris what had happened.
“I spoke to him about that day and he asked if I would be keen on a McDonald’s career,” he said.
“I said I would love to follow that through but he told me to continue on with my rugby league career and see what I thought in the future.
“It’s a bizarre story and it’s not often that I tell it, but it’s true. It sat with me through the rest of my time in rugby league.”
In 1986 Coyne joined the Canberra Raiders.
He made his Queensland debut in 1989 – the 62nd player to do so – and went on to represent his country two years later.
He certainly remained dedicated to his rugby league career as per Morris’ advice, but he never forgot about McDonald’s.
In December this year, Coyne and his wife Gail will open their ninth restaurant in southeast Queensland with the launch of their second Strathpine store.
They also own three stores in North Lakes plus restaurants in Kallangur, Deception Bay, Warner and Murrumba Downs.
And over this time, Coyne thinks he’s finally worked out what is so enthralling about McDonald’s that not even Wally Lewis can steal the limelight.
“It comes from the excitement of the kids,” he said.
“Going to McDonald’s, it is like a big party time.
“The kids drive it and then as they grow older, they bring their children through and it evolves.
“It was mind boggling to me but I’m so glad I ran with my gut feeling and had a chat to Rod about it. Here we are talking about it so many years later. It was a pretty good move.”
BUILDING AN EMPIRE
The former forward was part of the era in which players were only part-time footballers and still had to work away from the field to keep food on the table.
During his six years in Canberra, Coyne worked as a carpenter and builder, sometimes for up to 40 hours a week.
By the time he retired at the end of the 1992 season, he moved his young family, including wife Gail, daughter Natalia and son Jordan, to the Sunshine Coast.
He admits for the first year he felt lost.
He built his family a home in Minyama, but he hadn’t forgotten his McDonald’s aspirations.
Coyne had saved some money from his playing career but also had to borrow a lot from his family to open his own franchise in Gympie.
On December 16, 1995, he dived headfirst into the business world.
“I was there at 6am on opening day thinking to myself, ‘geez I hope this works’,” he said.
“My wife and I had worked so hard to make this happen. I was in debt in numbers that scared the hell out of me with double digit interest rates … that was a fear.
“But I was driven by my belief in the system, in McDonald’s, in the area and in myself.”
Steadily, over the next four years, Coyne started to gain more confidence in what he was doing and by 2000, he sold the Gympie restaurant, moved to Brisbane and took over ownership of the existing Kallangur and Strathpine stores.
At the same time, GST came into effect in Australia and the fallout from that was not something Coyne had anticipated.
“Sales in both restaurants plummeted by 25 and 30 per cent,” he said.
“I thought I had made the biggest mistake. People were afraid of what GST meant and worried about spending their money. It affected sales dramatically.
“If I had ever been seriously scared in my life, that was the time … I still remember the fear in my gut.”
But Coyne’s persistence paid off and two years later sales were back on track. The family then bought the Deception Bay restaurant in 2002.
From here they noticed the profits growing and so began the Coyne McDonald’s empire.
He said there are many lessons from his rugby league career that he was able to take into his new business, from simple things such as goal-setting to the harder things like making sacrifices.
“A lot of people don’t understand that what you’re prepared to sacrifice is what makes that difference,” he said.
“They all understand goal setting and targets and KPIs but they don’t understand sacrifice. That’s something I learnt from rugby league.”
He said during his playing days, he had to sacrifice his social life and a lot of time with his young family, while in his McDonald’s career, the sacrifices have revolved around becoming more of a director or “coach” as opposed to a “player”.
But the one thing his business empire has given him is that time with his family.
THE COYNE TEAM
Coyne’s business partner, teammate and best friend is his wife, Gail.
Now 59, the pair have been together since they were 16 and have endured some mighty highs and lows over the years.
But together they have created their business and their family.
“She is my number one fan and my business partner,” he said.
“We’re the perfect team. That’s why we’re going to our ninth store.”
While the pair are still living in Brisbane, their children – Natalia, 32, and Jordan, 28 – have moved on to the bright lights of LA.
Natalia has been studying business and real estate for the past four years at UCLA while guitarist and songwriter Jordan joined her last year in a bid to boost the profile of his band, Between Kings.
While his three bandmates have since moved back to Queensland due to COVID-19, their commitment to their craft has paid off with single Antidote currently under consideration for two Grammys – rock performance and rock song.
The family decided it was best for Natalia and Jordan to stay in the US when the global pandemic hit, and Coyne said it was one of the hardest decisions he’s ever had to make.
“Their life is over there now,” he said.
“We had to make a huge decision as a family in March this year … we didn’t know what would happen with their visas if they came home.
“I remember sitting in the lounge, talking to the kids on the phone and it was almost like this wave that came over me. We knew we wouldn’t be able to see each other for quite a while.
“But I’m so excited talking about their futures. Imagine if Jordan’s band gets nominated for a Grammy. It’s the biggest thing for them.
“I’m so proud of them regardless but that’s the players’ player. It’s the one everybody in the industry would love to win.”
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A QLD F.O.G.
When Coyne looks back on his career, he has many fond memories – winning premierships with Canberra, donning the green and gold for Australia, and playing alongside some of the best in the world.
But none of it compares to representing his state.
Coyne still hasn’t forgotten what it was like to watch Queenslanders have to play for NSW in the days before State of Origin.
And he hasn’t forgotten what it was like just to be that boy from Ipswich, wanting nothing more than to wear maroon.
“You always strive to play in grand finals and if you speak to a lot of players, it is the pinnacle of their career,” he said.
“To play for Australia, yes, that’s always great.
“But playing Origin, that was my pinnacle. Growing up in Ipswich, all I wanted to do was beat NSW. It was burned into the back of your mind.
“Queenslanders are very passionate and you never lose that … you always want to beat NSW.”
Originally published as Gary Coyne: From Maroons legend to McDonald’s baron