Sanel Thomas

age: 26 | Franchise Owner/Operator | Chick-fil-A Central Mall

The Chick-fil-A restaurant located in Mesquite, Texas, was where Sanel Thomas first worked at the age of 17. Even though it started off as a part-time job in high school, he grew to love the brand, the people, and serving guests. “It has had a huge impact on my life, and I try to share those values and lessons with my team,” he explains.  “I am very passionate about people and helping them achieve their dreams and goals. Our founder used to say that we are in the people business, disguised as a chicken restaurant, and I believe this 100%.”

The first person in his family to graduate college, Sanel has worked hard to become an entrepreneur.  His greatest professional accomplishment is being selected to be the franchise owner of Chick-fil-A Central Mall in 2019.

Being involved with the local school districts and donating food to various organizations and businesses throughout the community in times of need are several of the ways that Sanel helps give back to the Texarkana community.  He is also involved with Greater Texarkana Young Professionals and occasionally volunteers to do speaking engagements with local high schools and colleges to share his journey to entrepreneurship and overall leadership principles that he has learned over the years.  

In his spare time, Sanel enjoys hanging out with friends and family and traveling.  He even finds the time to play sports and work out, too.  When asked about his future, he shares, “I hope that over the next 10 years we continue to grow the business here at Central Mall inside and outside the restaurant using various different platforms.  More importantly, I hope I am spending the majority of my time influencing the next generation of leaders.”

Best piece of advice:

“No goal is too high if we climb with care and confidence.” — S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A

Name something about you that very few people know:

“I can speak Malayalam (a south Indian language) fluently because that is the language we spoke at home while I was growing up.”