drgfood, Author at Diversified Restaurant Group

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Ryan Kovac is an Area Coach who currently oversees five Taco Bells in the Olathe, Kansas, market, including DRG’s newest sports-themed cantina in Kansas City. He helped open all of DRG’s cantinas in California and was once a bouncer for the company’s beach-side location in Pacifica, so he knows the ever-popular cantina concept well.

You can tell Ryan is really proud of DRG. He speaks highly of the ways the company has been thinking “outside the bun.”

“It’s really cool to see all this stuff come alive,” he says, reflecting on the latest cantina opening. “This is not just a cantina, it’s a sports bar. It’s a part of Kansas City. And you can’t help but love that.”

“It’s not just a Taco Bell, it’s a place, it’s a landmark,” he continues. “If you go to Vegas, you will see that everybody loves it. People get married there. I think the success really is that it’s unique, it’s pushing the lines.”

Ryan has been working in the restaurant industry since he was 14. His first job was at a “fast casual” Mexican place he likens to Chipotle. He ended up in fast food because he needed a job after college.

Ryan’s career with DRG started with his first meeting with Co-COO Tom Douglas. “I met him in Baton Rouge,” he says. “… and I’m sweating bullets, trying to really figure out who he is and what the company is about.”

Well, he found out plenty that day! Ryan says he could tell instantly that not only was Tom a guy who cared about people and the company as a whole, but he embodied DRG’s people-first culture. Their two-hour conversation resulted in Ryan joining what he calls “the big leagues”; he followed Tom to DRG in 2018.

Not only was it the start of a new chapter for Ryan, but it was also the start of an invaluable mentorship. “Tom just makes it so easy because it’s all about you and your goals, and what you want to achieve,” he says.

Now it’s Ryan’s turn to lead and support. As Area Coach, he enjoys helping employees grow and achieve their goals. He says as you climb the career ladder, you realize it’s “all those people underneath you” that matter so much. “We have no success without them.”

According to Ryan, while there’s ample opportunity within DRG to grow, it’s the company culture that really keeps people around.

“You feel it in this company,” he says. “We care about people.”

One way Ryan sees the company really caring about its employees is in training and development. He also says DRG offers competitive pay and has an incredible employee bonus program he hasn’t seen anywhere else. Even team members can benefit!

What’s next for Ryan? Without kicking Tom out of his job, he aspires to be in his mentor’s role someday. For now, his focus is on growing the people around him. He’d like to see all of his general managers become area coaches like he did.

“A lot of companies say things, this company does things,” he says as he expresses gratitude to leadership and the company. “It’s just been an amazing experience for me.”

When Shelby Bowen joined Taco Bell as a team member in 2013, she was working two jobs and says she instantly fell in love with the work. Actually, she also fell in love love at Taco Bell later.

“I am truly happy,” she says after sharing her story and reflecting on her years with Taco Bell (and DRG since 2017 or 2018).

Shelby is Restaurant General Manager (RGM) of the Woods Chapel location in Kansas City, KS, where she says she has an amazing team that’s always willing to jump in and get any job done. Just like many at DRG, she has found herself appreciated and valued, climbing the career ladder quite easily.

It took her about three months to rise to Shift Lead, then four months later, she was an Assistant Manager. However, when Shelby became an Assistant Manager, she became pregnant with her first child. As a single parent at the time, it was too much.

“Working 50 hours just wasn’t cutting it,” she says. “Somebody else was raising my child and it just wasn’t okay with me.” Shelby expressed her need for a more relaxed schedule and willingly moved back down to a shift lead. She likes how flexible DRG is and that her happiness is a priority.

It is this career move that ultimately led to meeting her husband, who also worked at Taco Bell at the time. After they enjoyed the birth of their daughter together, she was ready to move up again.

Now Shelby is not only a Manager, but also a Market Training Manager. She currently has her sights set on the Area Coach position next. But she’s not just focused on her own success. Shelby is also excited about all of the growth at DRG that will bring more opportunity for others as well. And she definitely feels supported by DRG.

“It’s kind of like we’re a family, she says. “Like if I need something, they’re there.”

DRG helped relieve financial stress for Shelby and her family when she was exposed to COVID-19 early in the pandemic and had to take two weeks off without pay. Through its employee assistance program DRG Cares, she was given an opportunity to apply for a grant and got it.

With three young children and a husband at home, she’s also experienced regular support from her Area Coach and team who understand the importance of making school events and filling in for each other when there’s an emergency.

Senior Area Coach Sean McGuire, who oversees the Kansas City, MO market, started working when he was 18 years old, and he’s been working diligently ever since. He joined DRG a year and a half ago after his story took a unique twist during the pandemic.

Among the most loyal of employees, Sean had been with the same casual dining company for 23 years. He worked his way up from being an hourly team member to securing the role of Director of Operations for the brand. But the pandemic hit that sector of the industry particularly hard and he was one of a handful laid off.

Sean immediately connected with a recruiter. “This was kind of a scary process,” he says. “I had to look for a job; I hadn’t interviewed in a long time.”

It was when the recruiter started asking Sean some questions about his values and leadership style that she made a connection, pointing him in the direction of DRG.

“When people ask me, ‘What’s so great about DRG?’” he explains. “I tell them… this company fits everything that I’ve looked for with an employer. Culture is strong; we have absolutely the best people in the industry. Leadership is strong. We know the vision, we know the goals. We know where we’re headed.”

Sean assumed the Senior Area Coach role about four months ago. You can tell he’s passionate about the company, the people and connecting others with opportunity.

He’s already recruited several people to join DRG and for this he shows excitement. In fact, the entire management team at the new Taco Bell Cantina in Kansas City (which is “rocking Kansas City’s socks off so far”) is full of Sean’s former co-workers!

“We provide them [with] an opportunity to grow and flourish,” he says. He goes on to add, “Everybody has a seat at the table with us.”

Speaking of opportunity and growth, DRG is building four new restaurants in the Kansas City area this year. The company plans to grow the market to 100 restaurants by 2025. According to Sean, that’s approximately 30 new general manager and assistant manager positions, several area coaches, and another director of operations.

Of his own contributions, Sean is particularly proud of his role in helping to improve pay structure since joining the company. He says pay is highly competitive at DRG and the company also offers retention bonuses. Tuition assistance also sets DRG apart from many of its competitors.

Sean loves working for DRG. “It’s nice to wake up every morning and be absolutely pumped to go to work and make a difference.”

This is Rudy Ramirez, age 22, one of DRG’s youngest Taco Bell GM at the moment. As head of the Johnson Drive location in Kansas City, he shows a sense of pride in this achievement.

“This role is really meaningful to me because I feel like I’m a leader at heart,” he says. “It kind of gives me an opportunity to lead something while I’m developing my [own] leadership skills.”

Rudy joined Taco Bell in 2018 as team member after working for McDonald’s in high school. He’s always enjoyed the fast food environment for its diversity in employees and customers. Within just two months of joining Taco Bell, he became a Shift Lead. His bump up the career ladder was all based on an intense observation of others in the role. You can tell he’s driven to succeed.

Currently finishing up his third year of college, Rudy is a prime example of a motivated student and employee who’s benefitted from DRG’s tuition assistance program. He estimates that he’s received a generous $15,000 to $20,000 in tuition reimbursement for educational expenses since enrolling as a freshman. He says this is one way the company shows up for its hardworking employees.

“They really notice your progress,” he says. “DRG makes sure that they show you they’re appreciative of all the hard work you’re doing.”

In turn, Rudy plans to put his college degree to good use in the workplace, continuing to improve metrics at the Johnson Drive Taco Bell. He’s already worked to make his location’s speed of service one of the fastest in the company.

“That was a very, very long process,” he admits, saying the location had only been open two months when he took over. “I had to train our people because the majority of people that were here were relatively new.”

He says he’s learned a lot through the process. He’s had to slow down to be a more patient, supportive leader. Some lessons had to be learned through trial and error. He looks at this as an opportunity to build his own family here.

”My goal right now is that I’m trying to get my team as high as they can be,” he shares. “I feel like I have a lot of people on my team that can even be in my shoes… I want to be able to have them reach their goals.”

This year, the Taco Bell Foundation awarded $2,250,000 in Live Más Scholarships to 218 Taco Bell Team Members across the country. We are thrilled to share that 8 of those Team Members are from Diversified Restaurant Group!

Please join us in recognizing: