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Their legacy thrives beneath the Golden Arches: J.C. Prado and his Bulls family now reign as Florida鈥檚 No. 1 McDonald鈥檚 owner-operators
When they bought their first restaurant, Jenifer and J.C., center, never anticipated that their children, Rachel, left, and J.C. Jr., right, would one day join the business. [Photo: John Tipton, USF Advancement]
By KILEY MALLARD
THROUGH THE 1960S AND 鈥70S, Sunday afternoons in the Prado family鈥檚 West Tampa home meant time with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, hanging out, sharing stories and playing games.
As the day drew to a close, Juan Carlos 鈥淛.C.鈥 Prado鈥檚 dad or uncle would often gather the kids for a trip to McDonald鈥檚.
鈥淭hat was our treat for the week,鈥 J.C. says.
鈥淪eeing all the things McDonald鈥檚 has provided for us and our family, you look back and get nostalgic when you remember how important that brand was to us then and what it is to us now.鈥
J.C., his wife, Jenifer, and children Rachel and J.C. Jr. have become Florida鈥檚 largest McDonald鈥檚 franchise holders, with 43 restaurants owned by The Prado Group. Those golden arches symbolize more than a livelihood for this family of Bulls 鈥 they represent values passed from one generation to the next and years of hard work and sacrifice, a dynasty they hope continues for generations.
鈥淚t was a seven-day-a-week grind,鈥 J.C. says of the early years. Rachel, a preschooler when her parents acquired their first restaurant in 1992, remembers going to bed in a sleeping bag under the food prep table when Mom and Dad worked late into the night.
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J.C. AND JENIFER INVITE THEIR 鈥淜IDS鈥 to the table at The Prado Group headquarters to share their family memories. Two life-sized Ronald McDonald statues greet visitors to the building and restaurant memorabilia decorates the walls. There鈥檚 plenty of laughter as J.C., a gregarious storyteller, punctuates each tale with a life lesson: family comes first, work hard, take chances.
He immigrated to the United States from Cuba with his parents and big brother, Frank, when he was 5 years old. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have anything,鈥 he says, 鈥渂ut I didn鈥檛 feel like I was ever lacking.鈥
From early on, he chose his own path 鈥 preferably one that would keep him close to home. When Frank enrolled at Jesuit High School, J.C. opted for Tampa Catholic, where he played basketball for the district champion Crusaders.
鈥淪ports have always been a driving motivation behind who I am as a person,鈥 he says, adding it taught him discipline, how to prepare and how to succeed. He鈥檇 go on to coach the team for years.
Tampa Catholic proved a fortuitous decision. There he met Jenifer Zambito 鈥 the future Jenifer Prado, his wife of 42 years.
When he graduated in 1976, his father urged him to follow his brother to Duke University. J.C. got in, but North Carolina seemed so far away. He and Jenifer instead enrolled at USF. An accounting major, he graduated in 1979; Jenifer followed in 1980 with a mass communications degree.
He was the first Bull in his family, but he blazed a trail. He estimates 80% of his clan have since become alumni, including Rachel, 鈥09, J.C. Jr., 鈥14 and both of their spouses, as well as cousins, nieces and nephews. Cousin Aurelio 鈥淟elo鈥 Prado and his wife, Pam, both Alumni Association Life Members, are longtime USF employees.
J.C. quickly landed a job with a CPA firm and later started his own. A client eventually offered to sell him a travel agency 鈥 a turning point he never saw coming.
The agency shared a building with the regional offices for McDonald鈥檚 Corp., a company Jenifer had worked with during her time at an advertising agency. Soon, the couple was booking all its travel.
In 1988, McDonald鈥檚 regional manager, Bruce Reid, approached the Prados about taking their relationship a step further. McDonald鈥檚 wanted to diversify their owner-operators, he said, noting Prado鈥檚 Cuban heritage. He鈥檇 also seen the couple had the work ethic necessary to succeed.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have kids, so we鈥檇 work till eight or nine o鈥檆lock at night,鈥 Jenifer says.
For J.C., it was a no-brainer.
鈥淢cDonald鈥檚 was a brand of my youth,鈥 he says.
The Prados underwent McDonald鈥檚 rigorous training program, including two to three days a week working, gratis, in roles from crew person to management. It culminated in two weeks at McDonald鈥檚 鈥淗amburger University.鈥 Approved to become franchise owners in 1990, it would take two years to find an available restaurant close enough to Tampa to satisfy their homebody needs. They finally debuted in Brooksville, a 35-mile drive from home.
From the beginning it was a family affair, with most roles in The Prado Group filled by members of J.C.鈥檚 or Jenifer鈥檚 family. The Caspers company, Florida鈥檚 largest McDonald鈥檚 franchisee for decades, dominated the south, so the Prados grew north and west into Bushnell, Homosassa, Crystal River and New Port Richey. By 2015 they had 10 stores.
That year, Rachel won her McDonald鈥檚 seal of approval, so when nine restaurants in Clearwater became available, The Prado Group jumped.
鈥淚t was like the flood gates opened,鈥 says J.C.
J.C. Jr. earned his happy stamp in 2020 and the family鈥檚 holdings continued to grow. They now include several Hillsborough County restaurants and, after Casper鈥檚 third-generation owners announced a sell-off last year, The Prado Group hopes to acquire a few of their former restaurants if McDonald鈥檚 elects to refranchise them.
Visitors to The Prado Group offices are greeted by a life-sized statue of Ronald McDonald, his arm around a portrait of three generations of the Prado family. [Photo: John Tipton, USF Advancement]
Reid says the key to J.C.鈥檚 success was how he got the whole family involved from the start. 鈥淗e and his family have really done well. They are among the best that McDonald鈥檚 has,鈥 says Reid, who has remained friends with the Prados over the last 35-plus years and sold his eight Lakeland restaurants to them when he retired.
Between the advent of smartphones and delivery services 鈥 and the COVID-19 pandemic 鈥 the business has seen revolutionary changes. Florida McDonald鈥檚, for instance, were the first to use Uber Eats.
鈥淭he younger operators were all over it,鈥 J.C. says. 鈥淭hey understood it.鈥
And younger customers have embraced the plethora of ways to get their Mickey D鈥檚, he says.
鈥淢cDonald鈥檚 is cool to them again.鈥
All this change has caused many older operators to bow out. But not the Prados.
Having the 鈥渒ids鈥 involved helps. 鈥淎 lot of times they鈥檒l explain it to us,鈥 says Jenifer.
Rachel appreciates that role and the significance it may one day have.
鈥淲e鈥檙e part of something that in the next 30 years, when our kids are having kids, they鈥檒l say, 鈥榃ow, you guys were involved when you started doing delivery.鈥 It鈥檚 cool,鈥 she says.
The thing the Prados enjoy most about McDonald鈥檚 is that it鈥檚 a people business.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about your employees, your customers and the interactions you get to have in the restaurants with them. It鈥檚 special,鈥 J.C. says.
鈥淲e impact a lot of lives.鈥
J.C. Jr. agrees. 鈥淏eing able to impact so many different people鈥檚 lives, it鈥檚 our bread and butter.鈥
The Prados say two institutions have profoundly influenced their lives in the best of ways, and it鈥檚 reassuring to know they鈥檒l continue to do so. USF will always be their school.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where my grandchildren are going!鈥 says Jenifer.
And those golden arches will always represent family time.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just my dad and my mom. It鈥檚 not even just me and my brother anymore,鈥 Rachel says. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 our kids and possibly even our kids鈥 kids. We鈥檙e doing something now that will last generations to come.鈥