L. Dale Thornton, Jr is a native of Birmingham, AL. He graduated from Miles College in 2004 and immediately entered the McDonald's Owners/Operator program. He became an approved Owner/Operator in May of 2006 and purchased his father's Lakeshore location October of 2006. He and his father currently own and operate six restaurants in the Birmingham area. 

Dale is the past President of the Alabaster-Pelham Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated from 2012-2013. In 2019, Dale was asked to serve as the National Black McDonald’s Owner Association board representative for the Nashville Field Office. In this role, Dale represented the interest of African American owners in 9 states. Currently, Dale serves as West Zone Vice President. In this role, he works with the board representatives in the Nashville and Long Beach Field Offices, which covers California, Arizona, and Nevada. In addition, Dale has served on the Ronald McDonald House Charities Board of Directors, Railroad Park Board of Directors, and as a Leukemia/Lymphoma committee member.