Craving a chicken sandwich? Chick-fil-A opens another Miami-Dade eatery

Miami-Dade’s chicken sandwich eaters here’s hot news for you: another Chick-fil-A eatery is opening, owned by one of many franchisees expanding in the region.

Miami Gardens area is the site of the fast-food national chain’s 10th location in the county and making its debut Thursday at 5870 NW 183rd St., owner operator Tony Sampayo said.

It’s the area’s first Chick-fil-A, a chain that typically attracts long drive-through lines of hungry customers. The restaurant’s staples are breaded chicken sandwiches with pickles, chicken wraps, waffle fries, lemonade, iced tea, salads and milkshakes.

Chick-fil-A serving Miami Gardens joins sister locations in Kendall, Hialeah, North Miami, Doral, Aventura, Allapattah, Miami Lakes and Fontainebleau section of Miami-Dade. Just like them, the new eatery will be open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and closed Sunday.

The fast-food chicken purveyor opens in a growing residential area. Miami Gardens has 110,867 residents and a median household income of $51,067, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. Known for its Sunshine State Arch off Florida State Road 826, it’s home to the Hard Rock Stadium where the Miami Dolphins play. Certain slices of the city have among the cheapest home rents and sale prices in Miami-Dade. It’s also situated near Opa-locka, Miami Lakes, Miramar and North Miami Beach.

“We have enough demand to sustain the new location,” Sampayo said.

Sampayo hired a team of 100 people to operate the Miami Gardens Chick-fil-A. In addition to having room for 149 diners and staff inside the restaurant, the new eatery has a two-lane drive through.

Born in Miami and raised in Colombia, Sampayo rose from working behind the counter as one of the chain’s fry cooks in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2001, to now owning two Chick-fil-A franchise locations in South Florida. In addition to the Miami Gardens site, he opened the Miami Lakes site in 2010. Although aspiring Chick-fil-A owners now have to invest $10,000, Sampayo invested $5,000 in 2019 to open his second location given his longstanding relationship with the company.

In 2022, the Miami Lakes location drew about 2,500 customers a day, a 5% uptick from 2021, and a 90% jump from when the location first opened. He expects similar activity for the Miami Gardens venue, since many of his Miami Lakes customers traveled from nearby Miami Gardens.

Chick-fil-A joins several food franchises expanding throughout South Florida, including Crumbl cookies and Raising Cane’s chicken tenders fast-food chain. Florida Atlantic University business professor Steven Carnovale said that’s because food retailers are betting on the region’s population growth.

“These things follow population growth. Florida and South Florida have experienced tremendous population growth,” Carnovale said. “They are looking for where the economic climate is conducive to sales.”