Carolyn Hunter Heyward

Restaurant owner and operator Carolyn Hunter was born on October 3, 1956 in Kinsale, Virginia to John and Rachel Hunter Thompson. She graduated as the salutatorian from Washington and Lee High School in 1975 and received her A.A. degree in business administration from Rappahannock Community College in 1977.

After graduating from Rappahannock in 1977, Hunter went to work as a grill cook at a local McDonald’s restaurant. She later moved to New York City where she joined the McDonald’s grill team and was accepted into its training program. By 1981, she was a supervisor at four McDonald’s locations in the City of New York. In 1989, Hunter moved with her family to South Carolina and purchased a store in Moncks Corner. In 1996, she founded the company C & A Unlimited Inc., where she served as president and CEO. By 2012, Hunter owned three McDonald’s franchises in South Carolina, including locations in Moncks Corner, Ladson, and Summerville.

Hunter has been active in many causes. In 2011, she donated $1 million to Trident Technical College in Charleston, South Carolina and established the Rachel Hunter Thompson Memorial Scholarship Fund. In 2017, Hunter pledged $500,000 towards the construction of the International African American Museum on Gadsden’s Wharf in Charleston, South Carolina; and, the following year, she pledged $250,000 to the Cane Bay Family YMCA, in Charleston, South Carolina. The YMCA honored Hunter by naming the second grade-swimming program in her honor.

Hunter also served as member of the Charleston Southern University Board of Visitors, Trident United Way, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Charleston. In 2006, Hunter was elected to the Trident Technical College Foundation Board where she was named chair in 2015.

Carolyn Hunter was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on November 16, 2021.