Hungry? Chick-fil-A Announces New Carlsbad Restaurant Operated by Local Resident

Craving chicken?

A new Chick-fil-A restaurant began serving the Carlsbad community on Thursday, June 20.

Chick-fil-A, Inc. selected Tyler Reese as the independent franchised local Owner-Operator of Chick-fil-A Carlsbad West.

Located at 5848 Avenida Encinas, Chick-fil-A Carlsbad West is open for dine-in, carry-out, catering pickup and delivery from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

The Carlsbad West restaurant joins 19 other Chick-fil-A restaurants serving the wider San Diego market.

Locally Owned and Operated

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 Carlsbad, Reese will be responsible for all day-to-day activities of the business, including employing approximately 100 full- and part-time Team Members, serving Guests, cultivating relationships with local organizations and businesses, and tailoring philanthropic efforts to meet the Carlsbad community’s needs.

Reese has always felt a sense of home in Carlsbad, from graduating high school locally to working his first job in the area. He started his career with Chick-fil-A as a Team Member in 2009, where he immediately fell in love with the restaurant environment. He worked every position at the restaurant, Chick-fil-A San Marcos, and was eventually named Director of Operations, where he was able to grow his network in the San Diego area. In 2015, his role expanded to include Chick-fil-A Escondido, overseeing staffing, operations and finance for both restaurants.

“My positions at Chick-fil-A Escondido and Chick-fil-A San Marcos helped me realize how impactful serving our communities as a local Owner-Operator can be,” Reese said. “The mentorship I experienced from my local Owner-Operator, Jordan Ciervo, helped guide me toward my next steps in life, and I hope to show that same level of care in providing leadership opportunities and developing my team.”

Over the next few years, Reese and his family traveled the country after he joined the Chick-fil-A® Leadership Development Program, assisting eight local Owner-Operators as they prepared to open their restaurants. Now, he is thrilled to open his own restaurant and fulfill his dream of returning to Southern California with his family. Reese is looking forward to giving back to a community near to his heart through partnerships with local youth sports and leadership organizations.

“Carlsbad is the center of our lives,” Reese said. “We are so excited to open a restaurant that can serve as a home away from home for Team Members, Guests and community members. Coming back to open a restaurant in Carlsbad, not far from where I started my first job, is so special and I cannot wait to serve the area with our delicious food and signature hospitality.”

Caring for the Carlsbad Community

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 to support local hunger relief efforts of Feeding San Diego, a Feeding America partner food bank, in honor of the new restaurant.

Reese’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 25 million meals have been created from Chick-fil-A Shared Table donations from over 2,000 Chick-fil-A restaurants throughout the U.S. and Canada.