Our Founders
Chris Bardell
Chris Bardell is known by many as “that guy who owns the McDonald’s”, or, more specifically, the Owner and Operator of twelve McDonald’s restaurants in the Metropolitan New Orleans Area.
The origin story of Chris Bardell, the Entrepreneur, is a young man who grew up extremely impoverished in Reserve. Despite his harsh conditions growing up, Mr. Bardell managed to grow and successfully graduated from East St. John High School. He was already employed at a local McDonald’s by the time he enrolled in college, yet soon found himself challenged by the realities of traveling over an hour by bus to school while working a full-time job to pay for it. Like many low-income students, Chris was faced with a decision that ultimately ended his college career early.
In the years following, after working almost every position in the McDonald’s chain imaginable, in 2001 Mr. Bardell realized his dream of owning his own business when he purchased his first McDonald’s restaurant, located on Bullard Avenue in New Orleans. Shortly thereafter, he became the Owner and Operator of two restaurants on Canal Street in downtown New Orleans. By 2005, Bardell owned six restaurants in the market. When Hurricane Katrina struck the city and all six of his restaurants were damaged and closed, he managed to help many of his managers move back to the area and with their help over the next several months was able to re-open his existing restaurants and buy additional ones. By 2008, he owned and operated 17 restaurants in the Greater New Orleans area.
For Bardell, McDonald’s is more than a restaurant; it’s a safe place for families to nourish themselves physically, mentally, or financially. After looking at the childhood education and care statistics in New Orleans and seeing only 33% of 3rd graders are reading at grade level, he related it to his own experience, recognizing that not knowing what is going on in school can lead to a higher rate of dropout.
“I didn’t have much, but I did have a love for reading and it made a difference in my life. To be sustainable, giving back should have a purpose rooted in identity; for me, that’s reducing barriers and giving a child a firm foundation: quality education and the ability to read and comprehend the world around them,” said Bardell.
Mr. Chris Bardell now sits on the board of Total Community Action in New Orleans and the Steering Committee For Agenda For Children. These organizations have been instrumental in advocating the development of early childhood in the state of Louisiana, both involved in the recent passing of a historical mileage that will add millions of dollars to Early Childhood funding in New Orleans and surrounding areas.
Bardell has also partnered and participated with one of the community’s local authors, Jarden Green, to promote the local author and his book, “Madame Mayor ”, as well as assisted in the distribution to kids throughout the city to promote youth literacy.
From Hurricane Ida relief efforts to COVID-19, Mr. Bardell as leader of the Bardell Co. has always responded to the community’s needs in a timely manner. The Foundation is a culmination of decades of commitment.
Mr. Bardell continues to be a lifelong resident of St. John the Baptist Parish with his wife, sons, and 4 dogs. They can be found working in their stores, their community, or their yard
Lentreise Gregoire-Bardell
Lentreise Gregoire-Bardell was born and raised in Reserve, Louisiana in St. John Parish. After graduating from East St. John High School in 1982, Lentreise went on to attend Southern University A&M in Baton Rouge with an athletic scholarship in basketball. As happenstance would have it, Mrs. Bardell worked at a McDonald’s during her years at Southern before becoming a Licensed Cosmetologist in 1987 and attending the Coastal Training Institute for secretarial studies in ‘88. Afterward, she also worked in customer service as a data entry clerk.
From an early age, Mrs. Bardell demonstrated a spirit purposed to nurture and encourage those around her. One of her most cherished experiences was volunteering with the Special Olympics, citing the beauty of seeing the participants and their excitement. From approximately 1988 to 1995, Lentreise also worked as an Executive Secretary at VANCO, a Title 19 agency that specialized in group homes for the mentally ill.
Originally, Mrs. Bardell wanted to be an educator and impact students like herself who felt disconnected from the purpose of education. Although she opted out of becoming a teacher, Lentreise learned first-hand about the challenges young children experience in early childhood as a mother of two boys, Dylan and Kyle. She identifies with other parents across the country who are having to learn how to help their children in school when the traditional classroom setting isn’t enough.
“It’s an unsettling thing as a parent, to see that your children aren’t prepared but not knowing how to prepare them. Yet, I had to do just that,” said Mrs. Bardell. During this time, Lentreise became a parent volunteer and champion of the science that a child learns how to read up until the 3rd grade, and then they start reading to learn. As a volunteer at her children’s grade school in the classroom, Mrs. Bardell made it a point to call on kids who didn’t know the answers because that was the best way to make sure they received the help they needed.
Mrs. Lentreise Bardell believes she can support this advocating for disadvantaged youths who are struggling in their educational journey for reasons outside of their control. “If I could help one student to get it, that would be awesome,” says Bardell.
Guided by the wisdom of the Serenity Prayer, Lentreise takes courage in the fact that with the Chris and Lentreise Bardell Family Foundation, they can make a positive difference in Early Childhood outcomes. She aspires to expose kids to different life experiences, with an emphasis on the importance of emotional learning and raising awareness about the existence of numerous learning disabilities that could block a child’s ability to grow and develop their comprehension skills. Mrs. Lentreise Gregoire-Bardell is a member of Our Lady of Grace Church in Reserve, LA, and her hobbies include crafting, designing, and spending time with her loving husband and two sons.
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