Daughter of Cuban immigrants becomes first woman to operate a Chick-fil-A in Miami-Dade

Cynthia Bowles’ professional success is part of her family’s legacy.

She’s the daughter of Cuban parents who emigrated to Miami in the 1980s and later opened Orlando’s Seafood restaurant on NW 37th Avenue.

Her business acumen and family experience prepared Bowles in Hialeah to become the first woman to operate a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Miami-Dade County.

Three years ago, amid the pandemic, she opened the doors of the national chicken sandwich chain’s first fast-food restaurant in Hialeah. It’s located at 1600 W 49th St., the same 49th Street commercial corridor where her father, Orlando Gay, began his exile selling fruits and vegetables.

Besides the chicken sandwiches and waffle potato fries, one of this fast-food establishment’s distinctive characteristics is that its signs and menus are written in Spanish and English.

Bowles understands the importance of using the language of the Hialeah community, a city that has the highest concentration of Cuban Americans in the United States, in addition to being the municipality with the nation’s largest presence of Hispanics per capita: 95.8% of its population.

“We take immense pride in Cynthia’s remarkable journey and commend her for her outstanding efforts and contributions, both in Hialeah and throughout South Florida,” Chick-fil-A Inc. said via email.

Bowles recently added the first and only Chick-fil-A food truck in Miami-Dade, to complement her 49th Street restaurant.

The food truck started serving on July 4 during the City of Hialeah’s celebration of Independence Day at the Milander Center.

Now, the truck operates Monday through Friday at Miami Dade College’s Kendall campus, then on Saturday it is rented for parties and other private events.

Bowles said her goal with the food truck is to serve the communities of Hialeah Gardens and Miami Springs, two areas where Chick-fil-A has no presence.

Customer service roots

Bowles started learning customer service lessons as a young girl.

Her parents owned a fish stand in Miami and later rented a location on NW 37th Avenue that would become Orlando’s Seafood restaurant.

The youthful experience of working in a family business allowed Bowles to learn “what it means to work hard, the love of this job, ... a work of love to serve people,” the 42-year-old businesswoman said.

“I worked there every day after school,” she recalled. “I saw them up close working every day selling fish and now I have a family business with my husband.”

For 10 years, Orlando’s Seafood had been part of her life. Although her career has been broader than food service, she knew that her true vocation was supporting the community.

She has a younger brother with Down syndrome, and that motivated her to put into practice what she learned at Florida International University’s business school to make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in business in 2005, Bowles worked at Best Buddies International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

It was there where she met her husband, Jose Bowles, to whom she’s been married for six years. They have a four-year-old son, Benjamin.

“I worked for 15 years at an international organization helping people with disabilities advance in their lives, until my husband met other Chick-fil-A operators and told me, ‘you have to read about them,’ ” she said.

‘A boost for the community’

That began a two-year journey of interviews and learning that led Bowles to be selected to face a new challenge.

“One of the reasons why I was motivated to be an operator (owner) of a Chick-fil-A is the chain’s vision,” she said. “For them, it is important that the person who owns one of their restaurants is a creator of change, help, support, a boost for the community.”

The growing fast-food chain, which has about 3,000 restaurants in 48 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, chose Bowles to open the first franchise in Hialeah, where she was born and raised.

“I am proud to be here. All the people who live in this city work hard. They come to this country and establish businesses for their children to study,” she said. “It means a lot to me to be in Hialeah, because these families are just like mine. They have worked hard to give their children a future.”

Chick-fil-A got its start in Hapeville, Georgia in 1946, as a family-run business opened by S. Truett Cathy. Today the Atlanta-based company remains in the Cathy family, led by the third generation of the founder’s family. The other thing that hasn’t changed since the beginning is that Chick-fil-A closes on Sunday. That gives the chain’s more than 35,000 employees working at its restaurants nationwide at least one day of rest a week.

Training Hialeah employees

The service mentality Bowles and her husband, Jose, bring to the Chick-fil-A restaurant in Hialeah has allowed them to support the community and City Hall, by giving city employees the restaurant’s customer service training.

“I gave them training based on Chick-fil-A’s service on how they could improve customer service in the city,” Jose Bowles said.

With a restaurant staff of more than 120 employees, Cynthia Bowles said in addition to preparing Chick-fil-A food and beverages for customers the mission is to help her employees excel, become leaders and enhance their potential.

Soon her Chick-fil-A will have a competitor in Hialeah. The fast-food chain plans to open a second eatery in the city managed by another franchise owner.

“One of the most beautiful things about Hialeah is that anyone can come here, even without knowing English, to provide for their families and give their children an education,” Bowles said. “It is a city that supports those who are starting out for the first time in this country, and we want our employees to feel valued, to see that we want them to improve.”