At Border Foods, there’s no slowdown in sight (look what’s planned for 2023!). Check out the most notable highlights of 2022 from our blog:
“Taco Ball”
We kicked off the year with the conclusion of our first ever companywide e-sports tournament.
Taco Bell Defy
Border Foods celebrated another “first” with the worldwide debut of Taco Bell Defy in Brooklyn Park, MN. The futuristic, one-of-a-kind restaurant made quite the splash in local and national news, including some reputable QSR media outlets.
Family Fun Days
We hosted a total of seven community-building, manager appreciation Family Fun Days across the country for 1,600 GMs, AGMs and their families. It was smiles all around — the pictures prove it!
Scholarship Winners
We delighted in surprising this year’s Live Más Scholarship recipients from Border Foods who received between $5,000 to $10,000 each from Taco Bell Foundation.
And recipients of Border Foods’ own scholarships, the Carol Williams Scholarship (named for our beloved former VP of Operations, who passed away in 2018) and the Border Foods Scholarship, which were awarded to a total of 10 team members in 2022.
Partnerships
In tandem with the Defy opening, Border Foods partnered with Minnesota-born soccer star Caden Clark on an edgy Defy YouTube commercial and giveaway of signed memorabilia that garnered a lot of attention.
Retirement
After more than two decades of service, we celebrated the much-deserved retirement of Border Foods’ longtime Chief Development Manager Barb Schneider, and now prepare for another big change: the retirement of COO Jeff Williams, who’s been with us since the Engler brothers acquired 63 Minnesota Taco Bells in 1996.
Recognition
We once again whisked away Border Foods’ top performing leaders on the annual “Best of the Best” reward trip, this year to the sandy beaches of Cancún (no one complained), and recognized another smattering of best-in-class Signature Restaurants.
Restaurant Openings
Reinvestment is a big part of the QSR business and there was plenty of it. We had nine restaurant openings slated throughout the year in Minnesota and Wisconsin, including Taco Bell Defy.
Border on Social
Border Foods is no stranger to social media. We launched into the social space in 2019 and can now be found on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and our newly launched YouTube channel.
Fun Instagram stats for 2022:
- We’ve got 1,000+ followers and grew by 385 in one year!
- By no surprise, our Caden Clark posts got the most likes and shares. This reel of Caden topped the charts with 943 likes!
- Taco Bell Defy also secured a hefty following with news of its grand opening being shared with several dozens, 271 likes on this funky reel and fans of Defy Team Member Niya loving her featured post with an impressive 489 likes. Look, even pets are enjoying the Defy drive-thru!
