Bianca Sandoval’s stellar career with Desert de Oro Foods (DDO) began when she simply noticed a Taco Bell in her neighborhood. She didn’t know anything about DDO at the time, but decided to apply for a Restaurant General Manager (RGM) position and thought, let’s see what happens.
Well, a career happened! Bianca officially joined the DDO family in December 2020 as an RGM, a role she held for a year before advancing up the ladder. “It’s been a great time since,” she says.
Today, Bianca is an Area Coach (AC) in Texas, where she oversees six of our Taco Bells.
“I love the company I work for … DDO’s always there for you.” – Bianca Sandoval, Taco Bell Area Coach
The Backstory
Bianca obtained a degree in culinary arts in San Diego, CA, where she started working in various kitchens throughout the downtown Gaslamp Quarter. She says she knew early on that she wanted to be in the culinary field, but didn’t see herself owning a restaurant or becoming a chef. But Bianca quickly realized she’d be great at running restaurants for others. In fact, she helped open two popular restaurants in San Diego before moving back to Texas, where she’s from.
“I’ve been just trying to see what exactly fit for me,” she says of her career progression and discoveries along the way.
“My mentality was like, you need to learn every position,” she shares.”Because the more you know, the better of an opportunity you have.”
It was not long before Bianca noticed we’re big on internal promotion at DDO! “They’re more invested,” she explains. “And I really appreciate that.” Our strong commitment to investing in our own people – a key tenet of DDO culture – helped Bianca see that professional development was possible here.
“I was fortunate to grow with DDO.” – Bianca Sandoval, Taco Bell Area Coach
Taco Tales from Texas
So Bianca’s journey of growth took off. After just a year as RGM, she was encouraged to apply for a Region Training Coach (RTC) position. And she got the promotion! She served three years in that role, where she handled training for 40+ Taco Bells throughout Texas.
She’s been an AC now for about two years. She says that it was the transition from RTC to a more operations-heavy position like AC that caused the most worry for her.
“I was afraid, but I think I was more scared or nervous about the unknown,” she explains.
Bianca has learned that in our business, the people piece is the most important; figure that out and the rest will follow (wisdom from Regional Director Mark Phillips).
With Mark’s continued mentoring, now it’s Bianca’s turn to share some of these lessons with other up ‘n coming leaders.
Support Leads Straight to Success
No matter what role she’s been in, Bianca has always found her supervisor and company leadership involved in a positive way.
When asked how DDO has supported her through each of her job transitions, she quips, “How have they not?”
“There’s no one that I can’t call,” she says. “You don’t just hear about them or who they are; they’re actually there in the stores with you.”
Bianca references leadership presence at restaurant visits and new restaurant openings. “It’s not like, what are you doing, it’s more like how are you doing?” she says of our supportive company culture.
“I don’t have to feel a certain way or act a certain way,” she shares. “They know exactly who I am, what I’m aspiring to be – and they’re happy that I’m here.”
And it sounds like she’s here to stay! Bianca thinks maybe the next step for her will be Director of Training, but she’s not in a hurry. “They’ve already invested so much in me, so I’m gonna invest back into them.”
Want to work where you’re welcome, too? Check out our current job openings!