Have you ever driven down Dairy Ashford, at any given time, and saw a line out of the Chick-fil-A drive through that goes all the way down past Tully Stadium? What about driving down Silber only to see a similar line of cars down that street, too? If so, you will not be surprised to know that those are some of the busiest Chick-fil-A restaurants in all of Texas. So basically, we can surmise that Memorialites “Eat Mor Chikin!”
Building a brand… and a community!
I have always been fascinated with the company and in love with the food, so I wanted to meet the two men behind the brand to see what it means to operate these popular restaurants in our community. Rafael McLeod is the Owner/Operator of the Chick-Fil-A at Silber Road, Memorial City Mall, and Terminal B in Intercontinental Airport. Greg Kubala is the Owner/Operator of the Chick-fil-A at Memorial & Dairy Ashford and Westheimer & Kirkwood locations. While you would think two restauranteurs working miles apart would be die-hard competitors, the facts could not be farther from the truth. These two Chick-fil-A Operators also happen to be great friends.
Rafael started with Chick-Fil-A in 1998 after being laid off from his job. A friend was working at a CFA and told Rafael he should look into it. Rafael says he completely rebuffed his friend because after graduating from North Carolina State University with BA in communications, he felt that working in a restaurant “did not fit his image.” “Boy was I full of myself; so, God decided to have a whack at my ego and serve me some humble pie,” says Rafael. After many interviews that didn’t pan out, his funds getting very low, and rent coming due very soon, the same friend reached out to Rafael with a dinner offer and one last chance to get together. “A free dinner sounded good to me, so I figured I’d take the dinner, humor my friend and be out of there. What I thought was going to be a 30-minute meet and greet turned into a 3-hour interview/conversation about a real future as a CFA owner. I left that meal with my interest piqued. With no other offers on the table, I accepted a position and went to work for CFA as a 24-year-old college graduate.” Rafael says he feels to this day that God brought him to the most humble of places, a fast food joint, with regular, everyday people, to change his perspective. “I was given my mission in life! THIS (CFA) was what I was going to do the rest of my life! I was thrilled, and from that moment forward, I did a cannonball into the chicken waters and became a chicken evangelist spreading the good news of CFA!”
Greg started his CFA career in 1986 as a team member at San Jacinto Mall while still in high school. The owner of this particular CFA lived down the street from him and told him he should come work for him. Greg said he loved it from the beginning, “I loved the culture, atmosphere, and values from the moment I started when I was 14 years old. I knew that this place was something special!” Greg eventually attended A&M University, continuing to work at CFA in College Station while at school. Corporate saw something special in Greg, too, and made it possible for him to do corporate grand openings all over Texas. “It was the best; I knew Chick-Fil-A was my future, and I was happy they were able to use some of my skills while in school.” Greg eventually was granted an internship to become what CFA calls an “interim manager.” He was able to take advantage of this internship in Salt Lake City for a semester. Greg says “it was an incredible experience to grow and learn everything about the business while actually running a store to make it the best it could be.”
In 1998, Greg became an Owner/Operator following in his big brother and dad(s) footsteps. You see, the Kubala family are somewhat “CFA rock stars!” In 1995, Greg’s brother, Brent Kubala, became the Operator/Owner of CFA Sugar Land & First Colony Mall. In 1996, his father, Milton Kubala, became the Owner/ Operator of CFA Missouri City. “It’s interesting because in 1996 my dad retired from working with IBM and NASA after 30 years. The problem was that he was only 52 years old so sitting around and being “retired” was not an option for him. This is where CFA became his second career.” Within several years, in the 1990’s, father and both sons had CFA stores around Houston and still have them to this day! “I have been blessed to be surrounded with personal & professional leaders in the business.” Greg Kubala’s immediate family has lived in the Memorial area since 2015 and says the family enjoys fellowship with friends, shopping in the trade area at local Memorial businesses, and exercising down Buffalo Bayou. Greg also added he loves the area because it is so family-oriented, down- to-earth, and “in the BIG city but also a small bubble.”
Rafael and Greg have been friends for 20 years, “We met in Dallas as new Operators in that market in 1999, we were both new owners. Greg moved to Houston to open some stores here, and I moved back to North Carolina to be near family. I quickly realized I missed living in Texas, so when the opportunity to open the new CFA on Silber presented itself, we moved to Houston in December of 2012,” said Rafael.
Once the Silber location opened, Rafael and Greg got to work, not only as business owners but as friends, to see what they could do to work together to make an impact in the SBISD and Memorial communities. “Over the last seven years, we have been able to work and give back to lots of schools, local organizations, and we bring the brand of CFA through marketing, events and sponsorships,” said Greg.
So many people see the brand of CFA, but most do not understand that Chick-Fil-A’s are individually owned and operated. The brand, along with the character & chemistry, bond Rafael and Greg together they say. “Having the tenure of 20 years, we want to work together. I think both of us, as experienced CFA Operators, don’t want to prove anything to one another. We both take an upfront approach in being a ‘positive influence for all who we come in contact with us daily. It might be to the East or West of the Beltway, but we will always focus on our strong purpose, people, and our understanding of CFA procedures said, Greg. Both owners take the approach of “Listening, Apologizing, Solving & Thanking”. Rafael went on to say, “If you take care of the customer’s needs with genuine caring & hospitality, it makes them a raving fan for life.”
It is no secret Chick-Fil-A, loves partnering with schools and doing spirit nights. “I think we have been able to partner with most of our schools in SBISD. It’s fun to bring the cow to the school and see the kids get excited,” said Greg. Both guys love being involved in school parties, festivals and sporting events. It opens doors for them to be a brand that can come in and set up reward programs for perfect attendance and participate in reading and leadership speeches on vocation days. “Our friendship has become stronger over the years, because we see ourselves as partners and stewards of a brand, not ourselves as the brand. We have been able to put the good of opportunities that have come our way and be excited about what we can do together instead of competing for the limelight, the sale or the recognition. It’s great working alongside someone who values the impact and care our brand can have rather than competing for the praise of who did it better,” said Rafael
In closing, lets circle back around to how I opened our story with lines of cars down Dairy Ashford and Silber- How exactly do they move those cars through so effortlessly? “Well, we work very hard at it. We have 20 team leaders and team members alone dedicated to the drive thru team every day to make sure we look like a duck. Smooth on the surface, but our feet are flying underneath. We look at what it takes to make sure we can develop a drive thru that is fast and accurate, but not rushed. We aren’t perfect, but we pursue excellence everyday” said Rafael. Greg went on to say they evaluate and examine ideas and systems that could help them get just a bit faster all the time. “We are installing an additional drive-thru lane right now which will be a game changer,” Greg said.
So, the next time you see a Chick-Fil-A around the Memorial area, think of Greg and Rafael, two friends changing a community one chicken sandwich at a time.
Greg Alan Kubala
What’s Ahead: In February of 2020 a demo was started on their neighboring pad site along with a business partner to enhance the drive thru experience. This includes an additional drive thru lane for Mobile App User’s to bypass the main Drive thru Lane 1. Also, they are adding 22 NEW parking spots at the back of the pad site for extra customer parking. These enhancements will be taking place in the 2nd QTR of 2020.
Team: They have 138 team members and 38 managers
Greg’s Favorite Menu Item: 12 Chick-fil-A Grilled Nuggets w/ a Chick-fil-A Side Salad including 2 Buffalo Nugget Sauce cups & 1 Ranch Nugget Sauce cup.
Married to Laura Kubala for 21 years: Laura was a Marketing Director for Greg’s brother and Dad back in 1997. She became the Houston Area Marketing Director and after several years, she and Greg were married! They have three children, Carter, the oldest is 23 and graduated from Texas A&M University in December with a degree in Industrial Engineering. He is working in San Antonio. Chase, 19 is a freshman at the University of Arkansas. their youngest son Cole, 16 is a sophomore at Stratford High School.
Hobbies: Hunting, spending time with family, exercising
(This is a major goal as I am down 72 lbs. from last year)
Rafael McLeod
What’s Ahead: Silber and Memorial City is where they will be adding curbside pick-up at Silber and Memorial City Mall starting April 1st! They will have a mobile DT at the mall (the first time this has ever happened at the mall) Hopefully, adding this will make things easier for guests when they want to use the CFA app to place orders, then pull up and not need to get out of their car at either location.
Team: They have 125 team members and 43 managers
Rafael’s favorite menu Item: Spicy chicken sandwich with bacon, lettuce, extra pickles and pepper jack cheese topped in BBQ sauce, with waffle fries and a large lemonade!!!
Married to Melanie for 17 years: (They met in Dallas), she’s from Virginia Beach, VA. Both moved to Dallas in the same month but met several years later at church. They have Five kids – Corinne 14, Dyer 13, Sadie 12, Bennett 10, and Henry 7.
Hobbies: Collecting watches, hunting, traveling with family and all things classic cars
