We caught up with Shawn Belknap, a Restaurant General Manager in our Wisconsin market, and asked a simple question: “Why do you think your team members like coming to work each day?”

His answer was simple, too, “Because I’m myself,” he says. “The person I am in my restaurant is the person I am at home.”

It’s that kind of integrity that keeps Shawn’s restaurant team cohesive and high-performing. “We don’t cut corners,” Shawn says, referring to how he runs his location. “We do things right the first time.”

Shawn got his start with Taco Bell in 2011 as a part-time dishwasher. He worked his way up the career ladder and when Border Foods acquired his then corporate market in 2015, he was promoted to Assistant General Manager. By 2017, Shawn was a Restaurant General Manager. Today, he’s that and so much more. In addition to his daily restaurant duties, Shawn teaches SPARK courses, training other managers who want to take their careers to the next level. Plus, he’s starting the process of turning his restaurant location into a certified training location. 

Here, you’re not just a number, I’ve shaken the leadership teams’ hands. The director of operations knows me on a first-name basis. Those things matter.

Shawn Belknap

When it comes to explaining his teams’ success, he credits good hiring and, of course, integrity. “I’m a big believer in surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you,” he says. “Someone took a chance on me, and it changed my life. I hope to do the same for the team members I get to hire.”

Shawn says Border’s benefits and pay far exceed any other company he’s known. “I’ve made more money with Border Foods than another company I’ve ever worked with,” he says. “Plus, I’ve grown more than I could have imagined, both professionally and personally. I’m very ambitious and I don’t think there’s anything I can’t do, if I put my mind to it.”

Looking to start your career? Apply today!

“People ask me, ‘Why are you always smiling?’” says Restaurant General Manager Ziggy Arrington. “Because I enjoy what I do. It’s that simple.”

Ziggy knows Taco Bell like the back of his hand. He’s been with the brand for 30 years and joined Border Foods when we acquired the South Dakota market in 2015. “When Border Foods took over our market, I didn’t know what to expect,” Ziggy says. “But it’s been absolutely life changing.”

A few years ago Ziggy’s son passed away — an event that he thought he couldn’t overcome. “Every day is still tough, but having Border Foods to lean on has made my impossible days a little bit easier,” Ziggy says. “To go through losing a child and have nowhere to go… to not know who to talk to or what to say… and then to have your place of employment in your corner, that’s why I smile.”

When you love what you do, it’s so easy to come in and do it, because it doesn’t feel like work.

— Ziggy Arrington

Today, Ziggy is the General Manager of the East 10th Street location in Sioux Falls, SD. He says that working for Border offers a career full of promise. “There’s opportunity whether you’re at the top of the company or just getting started,” he says. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what your past was like. Here, there’s family and opportunity.”

Ziggy says coming to work feels more like coming home. He enjoys seeing his team members grow and change, and he loves the family atmosphere that Border provides. 

Looking to start your career? Apply today!

Lisha Burke always knew she wanted a career at Taco Bell. So much so, that she declared her dreams of becoming a Taco Bell employee in her high school senior paper. And where there’s a will, there’s a way. Growing up in a small coal mining town in Montana, she didn’t have access to a local Taco Bell. Between her junior and senior years in high school, however, Lisha decided to drive to her brother’s home in Billings, MT, to sleep on his couch, all in the name of Taco Bell. 

“There was a Taco Bell in Billings that I started working at,” Lisha, who goes by “Lish,” remembers. “I just loved the food, that’s why I wanted to work here in the first place.”

Twenty five years later, Lish is living out her dream. She’s been the Restaurant General Manager of the Grand Avenue location in Billings for the last eight years, working for Border Foods since we acquired the Montana market just months ago.

Oh, and she still loves the food. She’s part of a big group of Taco Bell fans who would love for the brand to bring back the “enchirito.” For now, she settles for a few order modifications using her free employee meal perk. “I eat at Taco Bell every day,” she says, laughing. “I know some people don’t believe me, but I really do.”

Lish’s passion for the brand extends down to her team. As a Golden Bell winner, when it came time to choose her plus-one for Taco Bell’s coveted Hawaii trip, Lish chose her assistant manager. 

“My wife wasn’t too happy about that,” Lish says. “But I’m nothing without my team. None of my success comes without them.”

Lish says she loves Border Foods’ drive to keep team members accountable at all levels of the organization and that’s something she focuses on, too. It shows in her team — Lish has employees who have been working for her for years. And that says a lot in an industry with more than 100% turnover. 

At Border Foods, it all comes down to the people and our teams.

Lisha Burke

“We put goals around our metrics, and then we apply consistency and accountability to those numbers. And it works. My team has been ‘green’ in all of our period numbers because we believe in the processes Taco Bell has put in place.”

When it comes to candidates who may be on the fence regarding joining the company, Lish has one thing to say: “Start with us and give yourself a chance to have a real career.”

Looking to start your career? Apply today!

When Barb Bunney was hired to work at Taco Bell six years ago, she was scared and nervous. 

“I was coming straight out of the bakery and deli space, and I didn’t know what to expect,” Barb says, reflecting on the transition. “But Border Foods had patience and my managers let me learn and ask questions. It was a smooth, easy transition.”

Before her role as Restaurant General Manager in Rapid City, SD, Barb was a leader in the bakery department for SpartanNash, a large grocery store retailer headquartered in Michigan. When her job at SpartanNash demanded more time away than she had at home, she started searching for a career that would allow her to be with her family. In addition to her own, a big family is exactly what she found at Border Foods. 

“The people who work at my restaurant are like my own children,” Barb says. “We can’t move forward without being a team. You can’t do this job alone, and Border gives us the resources to learn how to work together, day-in and day-out.”

In addition to the team atmosphere, Barb says that Border’s compensation plan stands out among the rest.

The bonus potential is very substantial, and the benefits and insurance are incredible, she says.

The insurance policy came to the rescue when her husband needed a lung removed as a result of a strange form of cancer. “Border was there to help us through that. The company cares.”

When it comes to goals, Barb is content with the job she has, yet she’s always looking for ways to grow and improve herself in her role. 

Looking to start your career? Apply today!

Nate Bowie never would have guessed that he’d find his dream job at Taco Bell. But as fate would have it, he’s now worked his way into a position as the General Manager at our Lincoln Way location in Wyoming, and he’s not looking back. 

It all started about seven years ago when Nate was working at Walmart. One of his co-workers was Zack Schumaker’s mother (Zack is our rockstar Area Coach in Wyoming). 

“She told me that I really should apply for a job with Border Foods,” Nate recalls. “I went over for an interview with Zack and Todd [Austin], and the rest is history.”

Nate says that Border Foods took a chance on him, noting that he didn’t have any quick service restaurant experience and everything about the industry was new. But with the right training, Nate quickly caught on. Within the first eight months on the job, Nate was promoted from Assistant General Manager to General Manager of the Casper, Wyoming location. In October 2020, Nate moved to Cheyenne where he managed the Dell Range location, and then he eventually moved to Lincoln Way — Border’s third busiest location. 

Today, as the GM of a high-volume restaurant, Nate says he gets the privilege of managing his own “mini business.” 

“Sometimes we run $16,000 days back to back to back,” Nate says. “So as the manager of a restaurant at that level, I really can’t be just on the floor, or just with the customers. I need to be part of every aspect. And I love that.” 

Nate says that over the last three years, he’s seen Border Foods elevate locations and focus on overall restaurant excellence, a new core value that the company wants to embrace at every turn. 

From our customer service to our buildings, to the way we treat our teams, we’re top tier,” Nate says. “I hope to keep moving up the chain and continue to train and develop people.”

One thing Nate loves about the company: “It doesn’t matter what your background is, if you’re a hard worker, you can do anything here at Border.”

Looking to start your career? Apply today!