- June 16, 2026
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When Jonathan Ith walked into the DeSoto Square Mall Chick-fil-A for his first shift as a team member on March 7, 1989, he didn’t know he was beginning a chapter that would help define his life in the U.S.
Immigrating to Bradenton from Cambodia at age 11 in 1981 after spending time in a refugee camp, he worked his way up through Chick-fil-A and accomplished his American dream.
“If you work hard and put your mind into whatever you want, you will accomplish it,” Ith said. “Everything you do, life is just not handed to you, you have to go get it. When the opportunity is there, you have to go and take over, take charge of the opportunity.”
For the last 25 years, he has run Chick-fil-A's Creekwood location and he is now preparing to open a new and bigger location in Heritage Harbour.
“The reason why I'm in business with Chick-fil-A is because it has a great support system where you’re in business for yourself but not by yourself,” Ith said. “Chick-fil-A provides all the financing and it built a store and furnished it. My responsibility has been to hire the employees and operate the business based on their core value and culture.”
Ith said he and his team were able to grow the market so well that the demand was needed for another location.
“We’re busting at the seams here because the demand is still here because of what I practice here,” Ith said.
Jennifer Kahler, the chief of strategy and Ith's fiancé, said working for Chick-fil-A is about making an impact in the community beyond the four walls of the restaurant.
“The mission is especially meaningful to Jonathan because it was this very community that welcomed and supported him and his family as they sought refuge from the war in Cambodia and began building a new life,” Kahler said.
“Combined with my background in education and passion for working with children and Jonathan's deep desire to give back to the community that helped shape his family's journey, serving through Chick-fil-A has been the perfect match,” Kahler said.
Initially the Creekwood restaurant aimed to do approximately $8 million in revenue a year and now it’s pushing $12 million per year. Projected annual sales for the new location at Heritage Harbour are estimated between $15 million and $18 million. This would place it among the highest-volume Chick-fil-A stores in Florida and the Southeast region.
The Heritage Harbour site will be over 6,000 square feet compared to Creekwood’s 4,300. It will include more parking, outdoor seating and an improved, interactive playground.
At Creekwood, the store hosts a minimum of five events per month including homeschool hangouts, story time with the cows, and other events to create a place where families can bond and interact with their children and with others in the community. They also have partnerships with various schools and youth programs and they plan to expand and bring that same energy and community to Heritage Harbour.
Despite their best effort at fast customer service, the drive through at Creekwood has been an issue with all of the traffic. At the new location, approximately 52 cars will fit in the drive through at once compared to Creekwood's 25.
Logan Schanie, the senior director of customer experience, began working at Chick-fil-A Creekwood at the age of 17 and has been there ever since. He is among the group of employees who will transfer to Heritage Harbour once it is ready to open.
“There's always going to be some mistakes when we're doing 2,200 plus transactions in a day, but we’re making sure people understand that we care,” Schanie said. “We're working as hard as we can to get it right and that doesn't happen at every restaurant. Our attention to detail is unmatched in a lot of restaurants, especially within the quick service industry.”
For the past 11 years, Schanie has worn many hats and said he is excited to transfer to Heritage Harbour alongside other members of the Creekwood team.
“We're always trying to figure out what the next thing is that we're going to work on and Jonathan's always focused on that,” Schanie said. “He's smart business-wise, in terms of running a successful business and keeping the profit margins good. That's where Jonathan is strong.”
“Jonathan has worked so hard for this opportunity and Chick-fil-A doesn't select their operators lightly,” Kahler said. “It's very competitive, so being awarded Heritage Harbor was a celebration for everyone here. Everyone's super excited about this new opportunity.”
This article originally appeared on sister site BusinessObserverFL.com.
