Brittany Walterman joined DRG in December 2017. Today, she serves as an Area Coach (AC) for our Kansas City, MO market, where she oversees seven bustling Taco Bells. It’s a role that’s not for just anyone given the area was once plagued by staffing issues, a shortage of restaurant managers, and challenges within certain neighborhoods.
According to Brittany, six other individuals tried their hand at this particular AC opportunity before she took over in July 2023.
“Every day’s a new day.” – Brittany Walterman, Area Coach
Turning Challenges into Opportunities
“The market was not so great,” she recalls. “I had to really build up the team.”
When Brittany assumed the Kansas City AC role nearly three years ago, she says four of her initial six locations were handed over without people in the essential Restaurant General Manager (RGM) role.
”Everybody was working overtime, closing early,” she recalls. She adds that the few RGMs who were in place were hard to connect with — she supposes they didn’t think she’d last!
But Brittany viewed this as an opportunity. “Because I didn’t have GMs in the restaurants, I like[d] the challenge … to hire and teach them how to grow,” she says.
So what’s the secret to Brittany’s resilience?
“Just having experience with Taco Bell and knowing how fast food really works,” she answers. “You have people and then you don’t have people, and then you have to hire.”
“The key to my success is not only what I know, but [what] I learn every day.” -Brittany Walterman, Area Coach
Support from leadership is also an integral part. “They give us all the tools — everything we need to succeed,” she says.
Teaching, Training, Staying on Track
“The reason I wanted to become an Area Coach is because I wanted to help build the Kansas City market,” she says.
Today, Brittany says she remains focused on building up her team and keeping an eye on the restaurant’s star ratings. Teaching others is one of her favorite parts of the job. But she also loves showering her team with praise and recognition.
As for Kansas City, we ask Brittany how she thinks her market rounds out the company portfolio. “We kind of used to drag down DRG,” she shares. “But I think we’re adding something to DRG in a positive way.”
And Brittany is a big, beautiful part of that!
