Cordia Harrington

Cordia Harrington was born in Waco, Texas, in 1953, the oldest daughter of a stay-at-home mother and a hardworking salesman. Her father’s position took the family to Buffalo, New York, where they lived in an apartment. Later, they moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where her parents bought a small neighborhood home.

From an early age, Harrington was an enthusiastic entrepreneur, and, at the age of 11, she started a nursery school in her backyard. “Our neighborhood was full of kids,” she says. “I had 16 to 25 children all summer, five days a week. For families with one child, I charged 25 cents a week, for two children it was 35 cents, and for three or more, it was 50 cents. Each morning at nine, I would walk around and pick up the enrolled kids and bring them to my backyard, where we would play games, color, and have snack time. I served lemonade and cookies. I paid for all the supplies myself, and at the end of the summer I netted $60. I loved having a business.”

Harrington’s parents were positive, supportive, and encouraging. “Whatever idea I had, including my little nursery school, they told me to go for it. I gave my father that first $60 I earned for safekeeping. Unbeknownst to me, he took it and bought a gold coin with it, which he gave to me when I was a young adult. I cherish that coin and my parents’ steadfast belief in me.”

After working as a lifeguard and waitress in high school, Harrington turned her attention to college. Her father told her he could pay for one year of school and give her $50 a month for expenses. She attended the University of Arkansas and soon discovered she wanted more than one year. She worked her way through school and graduated in 1975 with a degree in home economics, making her the first member of her family to complete higher education.

During her junior year, she became a study abroad student to Japan. “That was my first plane ride,” she says. “The family I lived with didn’t speak any English, their house had no heat, and I slept on a futon; I loved it all. It made me want to travel the world and discover different cultures. Growing up, we took car trips to visit extended family, but we didn’t take vacations. I couldn’t wait to see more of the world.”

Harrington’s next-door neighbor was the vice president of a company called Intrav, which took professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, and bankers, on charter travel worldwide. “I thought it would be great to work for a company like that,” she says. “I was hired and on my 21st birthday, I was on my way to Nordic Europe with 220 passengers. I escorted them for the next two weeks through Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen.” After two years travelling the world, she married her college sweetheart.

Harrington got a job with a travel agency in Arkansas. The agency also owned a real estate company, and Harrington earned a real estate license to supplement her income. Soon, she was making more money selling houses than she was booking trips. In 1981, she decided to open her own real estate firm. “I was 28 at the time,” she says, “and I invested my entire life savings of $587. I rented a desk and chair for $4.50 a month.”

Mortgage interest rates were nearly 18 percent at the time, but Harrington was determined to make her company a success. She was one of the first agents to “stage” a house to make it more appealing to buyers and built her firm into a powerhouse. Harrington’s entrepreneurial venture into real estate was training ground where she learned to negotiate, network, manage cash flow, and build a business from scratch. It also built her self-confidence and provided capital for future ventures.

Unfortunately, Harrington’s marriage ended at the pinnacle of her real estate success. She had three children under the age of five and felt she had to create a career that would allow her to spend more time with her children. “So much time in real estate is nights and weekends,” she says. “I needed a job that would give me more flexibility to raise my sons.”

Harrington sold a house to clients who were franchise owners of the Russellville, Arkansas McDonald’s. “They seemed to me to be very comfortable” she says. “They had a great house and car and owned a business that made money while they spent time with their family. I decided that I would apply to McDonald’s to become a franchisee. I had no idea what I was getting into, but it felt right to me.”

In 1989, McDonald’s received 50,000 applications a year to become a franchisee. After several interviews, Harrington was selected to be an owner operator. To get her own store, however, she was required to work for 2,200 hours for free in a McDonald’s. “I had to learn all the positions in the restaurant,” she says. “I worked at the front counter, I fixed equipment, and I cooked at the grill. I was also running a real estate firm and taking care of my children. I was tired all the time.”

Finally, Harrington was able to purchase a McDonald’s in Effingham, Illinois, and she moved with her three sons to start a new life. The purchase price of her franchise was $1.65 million. She sold her real estate firm to Coldwell Banker and took out a loan for the balance owed.

To increase her customer base in the small town of 10,000, she purchased a Greyhound bus station and relocated it to her McDonald’s parking lot. Eventually, she had more than 80 full buses a day stopping at her restaurant.

By 1997, Harrington had three McDonald’s franchises, which she sold to found the Tennessee Bun Company, which became the regional baker for McDonald’s. In 2015, after expanding to more than hamburger buns, she renamed her company The Bakery Cos. and, in 2021, it became Crown Bakeries. What started as a seven-person business now employs more than 1,700, serving customers that include McDonald’s, Pepperidge Farm, ConAgra, Sam’s, and Five Guys. In 2019, Harrington sold her majority stake in the company but remains co-chair of the board. She still lives in Tennessee with her husband Tom, who she married in 1997. Together they have five children, 11 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Harrington is considered by Forbes magazine to be one of the most successful female business owners in the country. She credits her enthusiasm for business and her determination to be a success for much of what she has accomplished, but it wasn’t always an easy journey. During her career, Harrington’s businesses faced record-high interest rates, recession, and a global pandemic. She had times when she was stretched so thin financially, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to make her payroll. Looking back over her challenging times, she says, “I think it’s important to put difficulties behind you. Instead, look forward, persist, and persevere. When you do that, you can be successful beyond your wildest dreams.”

Honored by her Horatio Alger Award, Harrington is supportive of the Association’s scholarship programs. “For me, education is not so much what you learn in the classroom; it’s the people you meet and the broadening of your world. College is a time to explore—to learn and to understand. I am especially encouraging to young people who want to travel as part of their education. Being exposed to different cultures is so valuable. It influenced me in many positive ways.”

Harrington is also partial to those who want to explore entrepreneurship. “I believe that if you are willing to work hard, give 100 percent, and have a dash of luck, you can do anything. In America we reward hard work and resourcefulness. We entrepreneurs are very lucky to live in America.”