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 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,” she says.
“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.”
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