 2012 saw another major expansion for Heartland when it purchased 121 more stores from Burger King Corporation in March . 40 of the locations , located in the Minneapolis , Minnesota area , belonged to Duke & King - another bankrupt 93 store franchise group that was at one time Burger King 's second largest North American franchisee . That sale , valued at $ 7 @.@ 4 million ( US $ ) , added 40 locations to Heartland 's portfolio . The deal , part of Burger Kings sell off of corporate owned stores , included a stipulation that the Heartland update 275 of its locations to current appearance standards . The remolding provision helped generate a 15 % sales increase in those locations for Heartland . As of January 2013 , Heartland is the second largest franchises of Burger King in North America . The Downers Grove , Illinois @-@ based company owns and operates over 425 restaurants in The United States and Canada . 
