Hi there, my name is Carlos Mateos.
When I was 6 years old, my family immigrated to the United States from Cuba. I began my career in law enforcement, and after 16 years, I realized that I wanted a new challenge. McDonald’s gave me the opportunity I was looking for.
I began my journey as a franchisee, moving my family from New Jersey to Virginia to pursue the opportunity McDonald’s graciously gave us. Not knowing a soul in the DMV, we only had each other. New school systems, new communities, and a new business; we had to overcome adversity everyday. Each of us found a way to contribute and we slowly went from a crawl to a walk.
One restaurant became two, and two became four. We all started to fall in love with this McFamily we were creating. Sooner or later we all had our hands in the business. From Ronald McDonald charities, community outreach events, and day-to-day operations, ketchup began flowing in our veins.
After being a McDonald’s franchisee since 1998, my family and I now proudly operate more than 37 McDonald’s that serve multiple communities across Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and New York.
“Know where you are. Know where you’re heading. But never forget where you came from.”
-L. Carlos Mateos