At this year’s Estrellas de Oro reward trip in Mexico, we caught up with Kurt Radke, Restaurant General Manager (RGM) for Pizza Hut in Peoria, AZ. Surrounded by fellow top performers from across Desert de Oro Foods (DDO), Kurt reflects on an unexpected career journey that started with a delivery driver position and turned into a leadership role he never saw coming.
Kurt’s career journey is one that caught him off guard!
New Beginnings in Arizona
When Kurt moved from Wisconsin to Arizona, he didn’t have a long-term plan. He came to help take care of his parents and figure the rest out as he went.
Within months, he launched his own airport transportation business, offering a more personal experience than a standard rideshare service. Kurt helped travelers with luggage, walked them into the airport, and built relationships with the retirees and Midwestern transplants who became regular customers.
“I met a ton of people,” Kurt says. “That was the interesting part.”
Then the COVID pandemic changed everything.
As travel shut down, his calendar cleared almost overnight. Rather than sit still, Kurt decided to find work and landed a job delivering pizzas for Pizza Hut. What started as a temporary solution quickly turned into something much bigger.
Never Planning to Lead
Originally, Kurt had no interest in management. He just wanted to make deliveries, earn enough money to cover the mortgage and keep moving forward. But leadership saw more in him.
“They came to me with the RGM position and I turned it down at first,” Kurt says.
Encouragement from his Area Coach (AC) and a former RGM slowly pushed him outside his comfort zone. Before long, the restaurant had become his responsibility in every sense of the word.
Today, nearly six years after joining Pizza Hut as a driver, Kurt leads our Peoria restaurant with the same work ethic and determination that shaped every chapter of his career before it.
Building a Team that Feels Like Family
The early days as an RGM weren’t easy. Kurt worked countless open-to-close shifts while trying to stabilize staffing and develop leaders around him. Over time, though, he built a team rooted in trust, loyalty and communication.
“If there’s a problem … let me know … we’ll fix it,” Kurt says. “There’s nothing we can’t fix.”
That mindset has created a culture where team members often return after leaving to explore other opportunities. One former team member came back to Peoria after testing out jobs elsewhere and is now growing into a leadership role under Kurt’s guidance.
“[They’ve] always got a home here,” Kurt says.
Kurt admits he can be loud in the Pizza Hut kitchen and demanding at times, but his team knows he’ll always show up for them. Whether it means covering shifts, stepping in on days off or helping team members balance life outside of work, he believes leadership starts with support.
“I need them as much as they need me,” he shares. “And we kind of complete that puzzle.”
Finding Purpose in the Work
Even with long hours and the daily challenges of restaurant operations, Kurt genuinely enjoys what he does.
Kurt is the type of manager who helps you realize your potential.
He credits DDO for creating an environment where team members feel recognized and valued. From leadership support to company celebrations and recognition programs, Kurt says those efforts matter.
“I think recognition is a big thing,” he says. “I try to do it for my folks, too.”
While he still talks about returning to Wisconsin someday, Kurt remains open to whatever opportunities come next. For now, he’s focused on continuing to grow his team and helping younger team members realize what’s possible.
Advice for the Next Generation
Kurt’s message to anyone considering a career with DDO is simple: Stay open to opportunity.
“If the opportunity is there, I would say take it,” he says. “Run with it because you don’t know where it’s going to go.”
After all, Kurt never planned to become an RGM, he simply took the next step in front of him – and discovered a career he truly enjoys along the way!