Coming upon the one year anniversary of the newly remodeled McDonald’s located at 7435 Miami Lakes Drive, the restaurant is better than ever. Numbers have continued to rise and Diego Melians, the restaurant's Operations Supervisor, believes that valuing customers is key.
“We always make it a priority to look after our customers. We offer good food at a good price,” said Melians. “So if we can make them feel special when they come here then they’ll keep coming. I think that’s what we owe our success to, the support we receive from the community and letting them know we care.”
The Miami Lakes McDonald’s opened in 1994 and though Melians has worked at other locations, he considers the restaurant in Miami Lakes his home store. Melians first rose to restaurant manager in 1996. Melians has worked at every station in the restaurant for at least a year before reaching his current position of Operations Supervisor.
“Through that experience I learned the operations inside out, and that wasn’t planned, I wasn’t thrilled about it when I was younger and spending my summers at the restaurant, but now in hindsight it’s been a valuable experience,” said Melians.
Melians once left the yellow arches and became the distribution manager for Time Warner in South Florida, but later returned citing that he has always had ketchup in his veins.
Melians is a second generation supervisor at McDonald's, his father previously held the same position, and coming full circle for a third generation it seems that Melians’ daughter Isabella, 9, may just follow in his lead.
“I always bring parfaits home, those are her favorites,” said Melians.
Isabella and other children her age have not only the iconic McDonald’s toys to play with, but following the completed renovations at the Miami Lakes restaurant, also have wall-mounted tablets that feature 150 various games to experience while parents enjoy their meal.
Renovations began in October 2013 and ended before Thanksgiving of the same year, completing a total exterior remodeling and interior update, all done with the town in mind.
Melians noted the high volume traffic for the drive-thru and sought to utilize a portion of the parking space next to the restaurant, an arduous process, which when finally came to fruition, allowed for an additional drive-thru. Interior remodeling highlighted the town's history with black and white photos of the town including the old barn, the fountain at the center of Main Street, and Shula's Hotel. No other McDonald’s interior design mirrors the Miami Lakes location.
“This restaurant is unique in the sense that we incorporated the community. Miami Lakes is a wonderful community and we wanted to create something the town could be proud of,” said Melians. “And we are very grateful to The Graham Companies that helped us find and use the photos of the town in the restaurant.”
Melians, along with the help of his restaurant manager, Marlin Cuello, strive to be a positive presence in the community particularly in education and community events.
“We have very strong relationships with local schools like Bob Graham Education Center, Barbara Goleman High School and HML,” said Melians. “I know those principals and Marlin is very close with the PTSA programs for many more schools in the community. That is one of Marlin’s greatest strengths, her ability to go out into the community and represent us well.”
The restaurant is also a consistent sponsor for the annual Taste of Miami Lakes festival and helps fundraise for Our Lady of the Lakes, along with many more events like toy drives, and fashion shows.
The restaurant is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more information call 305-824-0800 or visit www.mcdonalds.com.