A new Chick-fil-A restaurant is now serving New York City’s Bronx community. The corporate brand selected the Mexican born Roberto Ruiz as the independent franchised local Owner-Operator to open the Fordham Road location, a first for the borough.

It will be open for dine-in and carry-out from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Third-party delivery will be available shortly. This new restaurant joins 20 other Chick-fil-A’s currently serving New York City.

The Chick-fil-A franchise model is essential to how the brand serves others. Most of their restaurants are owned and operated by a single individual, which means Chick-fil-A’s local Owner-Operators are small business owners, not passive investors, who work in their restaurants side by side with their Team Members each day.

In the Bronx, Ruiz will be responsible for all day-to-day activities of the business, including employing approximately 90 full- and part-time Team Members, serving Guests, cultivating relationships with local organizations and businesses, and tailoring philanthropic efforts to meet the Bronx community’s needs.

Ruiz has called New York home for over a decade, where he resides with his wife, Diandra, and their seven-year-old daughter, Annie. Originally from Puebla, Mexico, Ruiz now welcomes the Bronx’ dynamic community to Chick-fil-A East Fordham Road and showcase Chick-fil-A’s signature level of care and food quality that he fell in love with years ago.

“As a Mexican immigrant, I’ve always dreamt of being an entrepreneur and living the American dream, and the unique local Owner-Operator model at Chick-fil-A allows me to live out my dream,” said Ruiz. “I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to make a positive, long-lasting impact on the Bronx and Latino communities and develop passionate leaders.”

The Chick-fil-A business is built to add positive impact beyond profit, including giving back to local communities. Chick-fil-A local Owner-Operators are empowered to support the neighborhoods they serve with a key focus on hunger, education, and specific community needs.
In celebration of the opening, Chick-fil-A, Inc. has donated $25,000 to Feeding America in honor of the new restaurant. These funds will be distributed to partners in the greater New York City area to aid in the fight against hunger.

Ruiz’s restaurant will be participating in the Chick-fil-A Shared Table program, an initiative that redirects surplus food from the restaurant to local soup kitchens, shelters, food banks and nonprofits in need. To date, more than 25 million meals have been created from the program’s donations of over 2,000 franchises throughout the U.S. and Canada.
In addition, the new East Fordham Road location is recognizing 100 local heroes making an impact in the Bronx by providing them with free Chick-fil-A entrées for a year.

Chick-fil-A local Owner-Operators strive to hire, develop and retain top talent, helping future leaders optimize their skills and providing pathways for personal and professional developing in a welcoming, purpose-driven environment.
To learn more about careers at Chick-fil-A, click here.