A new Chick-fil-A restaurant started serving the Lutz community on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. Chick-fil-A, Inc. has selected Ricardo Sanchez as the independent franchised local Owner-Operator of Chick-fil-A Lutz.
Located at 17911 N. Dale Mabry Hwy., Chick-fil-A Lutz will be open for drive-thru, carry-out and Mobile Thru, a fully dedicated lane in the drive-thru where Guests can pick up orders placed ahead of time on the Chick-fil-A App, from 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Designed for speed and efficiency, this drive-thru-focused location offers added convenience to serve Guests through its drive-thru and a walk-up window for carry-out.
The Chick-fil-A Lutz restaurant joins more than 50 other Chick-fil-A restaurants serving the wider Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota market.
Chick-fil-A’s franchise model is essential to how the restaurant serves others. Most Chick-fil-A 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 Lutz, Sanchez will be responsible for all day-to-day activities of the business, including employing approximately 115 full- and part-time Team Members, serving Guests, cultivating relationships with local organizations and businesses, and tailoring philanthropic efforts to meet the Lutz community’s needs.
In 1996, Sanchez read about an opportunity to become a local Owner-Operator for Chick-fil-A, a company that valued its people and fostered an environment of genuine care. With several years of restaurant experience under his belt, Sanchez applied for the role and has been a proud local Owner-Operator for more than 28 years.
After serving at restaurants in Houston and South Florida, Sanchez and his wife Marvely decided to relocate to Tampa when he was selected to serve as the local Owner-Operator of Chick-fil-A North Dale Mabry in 1999. For more than two decades, Sanchez has cultivated meaningful relationships within the greater Tampa community, supported and developed Team Members, and built genuine connections with Guests. Sanchez will continue to operate Chick-fil-A North Dale Mabry and is excited to care for new Guests and connect with the Lutz community.
“This is a dream come true for me,” said Sanchez in a statement. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to connect with the Lutz community that I’ve proudly watched grow over the years. Our team is looking forward to bringing the same care, quality food and hospitality to our new Guests at Chick-fil-A Lutz.”
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. donated $25,000 to Feeding America in honor of the new restaurant. These funds will be distributed to partners in the greater Tampa area to aid in the fight against hunger.
Sanchez’s restaurant will plan to participate 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 30 million meals have been created from Chick-fil-A Shared Table donations from over 2,200 Chick-fil-A restaurants throughout the U.S. and Canada.
In addition, Chick-fil-A Lutz is recognizing 100 local heroes making an impact in the Lutz community by providing them with free Chick-fil-A entrées for a year.
The Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich is made with a real, whole, boneless breast of chicken with no added fillers, the breaded chicken is pressure cooked in fully-refined peanut oil. To complement the great-tasting chicken, fresh produce is delivered to Chick-fil-A restaurants up to six times a week for the best quality and flavor.
Guests of Chick-fil-A Lutz can place an order for drive-thru, carry-out and Mobile Thru on the
Chick-fil-A® App or online. When joining the Chick-fil-A One tiered membership program, Chick-fil-A One members receive points on every qualifying purchase which can be used to redeem available rewards.
