Checkers to Offer Free Combo Meals for a Year at Lake Orion Grand Opening

Early birds who enjoy meals on the go might lick their chops at a contest proposed by the new Lake Orion Checkers, 717 Brown Lake Road.

The Checkers location will give free combo meals for an entire year to the first 75 people in line by 10 a.m. at its grand opening event on Saturday, June 15.

The restaurant also will offer a variety of events throughout the day to mark the location's big opening.

Valerie Keyes and Mark Latshaw previously opened a Checkers restaurant on Lapeer Road in June 2011, and their success with that location inspired them to open a second franchise Feb. 28 on Brown Road.

"It was really a good opening," Keyes told Patch in March of the Brown Road location's soft open. "We've had very strong sales. It's been great."

She said launching the laid-back Lapeer Road restaurant near the lake and Lake Orion High School was good preparation for what the couple expects will be a faster pace at its new double drive-through restaurant, which was expected to create jobs for 30 to 40 people."We were rookie of the year for Checkers last year," she said. "It was a very big learning experience for us."