Starting a business takes a leap of faith, and many parents believe their children will guarantee its future. However, not all kids see themselves as entrepreneurs and Tanya Lawrence is no different. Growing up, she hoped to be a teacher. But she also worked at the family business and saw how it had supported her parents and sister, so she changed plans. Thirty-three years later, she runs the family’s 31 stores and wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I wanted to be a teacher and work with children and have an influence on someone’s life like my teachers did,” Tanya shares. “My father said, ‘You have the chance in this business to take care of your family financially, have financial stability, and work for yourself.’ This is what my dad envisioned and wanted and now I support family. I learned about responsibility, being humble, and to identify with the struggle to achieve.”

Born and raised in Chicago, she’s the eldest of two girls born to Juan and Gladys Mendez. Her parents, both from Puerto Rico, trained in different professions before going into this business. After supporting her husband through law school, her mother pursued a career in real estate, opening a Century 21 franchise. Juan and Gladys joined the local chamber of commerce where they learned about opportunities at McDonald’s like purchasing a franchise. In 1989, they took the plunge.

“My father wanted to do something that would pay off for the family and perhaps set my sister and me up to carry on the business,” Tanya says.Not surprisingly, she considers her parents role models, and she most admires their focus on family and putting family first. She remembers growing up in a two-flat apartment building that her parents owned, surrounded by family, with her aunt living downstairs and her grandparents next door. She and her sister grew up speaking Spanish, and she has continued the practice with her own children.

“I adored my parents,” she says. “One day my dad admitted ‘I’m not going to be here forever,’ and I cried for days. They were the sweetest nicest people to everybody. They always wanted to give us the best, good shoes, a nice car, and show us how hard work paid off.”

For Tanya, working her way up through the business had its challenges, especially as she was starting her own young family. She had her first child at 22, and only months before that, her husband began training as a fireman, so there was little time to consider other options. “In retrospect, I’m so glad that I decided to stick with the family business,” she asserts. “Nothing else would have put me in the position I am today.”

The business has remained family-owned where she works with her sister and brother-in-law to operate the restaurants. She’s also proud that many of her father’s employees still work for her, some for almost 30 years. Meanwhile, the workforce had grown to 1,300. Her family’s support and her employees’ loyalty have helped grow the business.

“My dad passed in May 2020, but it’s because of his guidance and vision that we have succeeded. He’s our guardian angel. He has helped make this dream come true for his daughters and grandchildren,” Tanya shares. “This is my dad’s dream coming to fruition, we are upholding his legacy. Our people are self-starters but they also lift each other up. I’m so proud of them. With 31 restaurants, it’s hard to keep standards up, but they do it extremely well and make it look easy, I adore them, I think they’re awesome.”

Besides expanding the business, she’s also proud of how the family managed to survive COVID. Much of their business is concentrated in airports so when travel shut down, the revenue stream also stopped. There were times that she worried about how she would meet payroll but with help from McDonald’s and faith in herself the company survived.

“There are a lot of ups and downs in business, so many factors are out of your control but the biggest challenge has been balancing my priorities,” Tanya admits. “I’ve had to figure out on my own that this business requires a 24/7 lifestyle, so how do I become an effective operator while continuing my personal growth? The key is not to compare myself to others but to have faith in myself to achieve and do that while raising a family with a solid partner, like my husband, Kamran.”

Tanya and her family organization are strong supporters of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). They proudly sponsor numerous RMHC fundraising events throughout the year. She is extremely proud of her restaurant teams who have raised over $484,000 in round-up donations so far this year, making them one of the highest earning McDonald’s organizations in the country.

Tanya also feels it’s important to share her experience with other operators, especially Latinos, to help them succeed. Part of that commitment has been achieved through her work on the McDonald’s Hispanic Owner Operators Association (MHOA) and the McDonald’s Owner Operators of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana (MOCNI) Marketing Board on which she has served seven terms including two years as treasurer and two years as business unit president.
The MHOA focuses on community outreach and Lawrence has assisted in her organization’s annual distribution of over 800 pairs of gym shoes to the community as well as over 800 backpacks.

“What better way is there to show how the pillars of family and education are important to us,” she says.

Her community-conscious approach also includes a menu that reflects the financial challenges of its patrons, offering more affordable choices like the $5 value meal, which McDonald’s has extended through the end of the year. She supports a buy-one-get-one-for-a-dollar breakfast option, adding that she and the breakfast menu are both 50 years old. November is national fried chicken month and McDonald’s Restaurants will offer a McCrispy sandwich for $2 and a ten-piece nugget for $1 on the McDonald’s app.

While each franchise operates according to the owner’s priorities, Tanya has tried to compensate her employees substantially so that they earn a living wage. Currently, the average hourly wage she pays is $17.66. Workers also get free meals and other incentives like paid time off, paid sick leave, vacation pay, college tuition assistance, and 401k, as well as bonuses depending on targets.

"No matter what your role is, make sure everybody is included,” she says. “We revisit our polices every year to see what we can do to make working at our restaurants better. We want to know, are they fair and balanced? Are we giving enough, making sure people feel the value of a good job?”

Many new workers are referred by current or past ones, which she feels is also a good endorsement for the working conditions in her stores. For those who might like to explore career opportunities at McDonald’s, there are many career paths, from the business side to operations.
“I think McDonald’s is a fantastic place. The company believes in you and will support your growth,” Tanya concludes. “If you share an affinity for being the best in the food industry, McDonald’s will support you.”