Naturally, the Holidays and Taco Bell’s throwback items have us feeling nostalgic and wanting to reminisce on the past! As we celebrate popular Taco Bell menu items from the 1980s, 1990’s, 2000’s it is natural to wonder who was actually working at Taco Bell when the comeback products were in their heyday. Some of our Tacala Team took us back in time to their first year at Tacala! They shared some of their Tacala journey as well as major milestones from their first year on the job! Join us as we travel through the decades through our employees’ eyes!
Ken Guardino:
Ops Service Director
Started: 6/1/1984(Taco Bell Corp)
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: Steak Quesadilla
Favorite Tacala memory: Ken won the North Star Trip in 2010 and got to take his father to Cozumel!
Biggest pop culture moment from the year you started: Lady Gaga’s rise to fame
Favorite song from the year you started: “Poker Face” – Lady Gaga
Lashay Barnett:
Market Training Leader at North Roan Street in Johnson City, Tennessee Started: 7/4/1991
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: Chicken Fajita Grilled Stuffed Burrito
Favorite Tacala memory: Lashay remembers winning her first North Star Trip and going to Austria and Prague!
Biggest pop culture moment from the year you started: Alternative Rock and Hip Hop were starting to get big in the music world!
Favorite song from the year you started: “Everything I do I do it for you” – Bryan Adams and “Summertime” – DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince
Aaron Thomas:
Team Member Trainer at Abingdon in Abingdon, Virginia
Started: 4/30/1995
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: Chili Cheese Burrito
Favorite Tacala memory: Aaron got to dress up as Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars at his restaurant and take pictures with all the guest!
Biggest pop culture moment from the year you started: O.J. Simpsons trial
Favorite song from the year you started: “Gangsta’s Paradise” – Coolio and L.V.
Melanie Brookshire:
Area Coach in Tennessee
Started: 7/17/2002
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: Chicken Fiesta Burrito
Favorite Tacala memory: When Melanie was a Restaurant Leader, she got to bring her Assistant Leader to conference and watch his passion ignite!
Biggest pop culture moment from the year you started: According to Melanie Eminem dropped his greatest album “The Eminem Show!”
Favorite song from the year you started: “Complicated” – Avril Lavigne
Tonika Eady:
Shift Leader at Slappey Boulevard in Albany, Georgia
Started: 6/9/2004
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: Meximelt
Favorite Tacala memory: Tonika’s favorite memories are from attending her store’s yearly Holiday party!
Biggest pop culture moment from the year you started: Shrek 2 was released!
Favorite song from the year you started: “Burn” – USHER
Beth Cornett:
Restaurant Leader at Elizabethton in Elizabethton, Tennessee
Started: 09/15/2004
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: Beefy Crunch Burrito
Favorite Tacala memory: Getting promoted to Area Coach!
Biggest pop culture moment from the year you started: Boys Bands like New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, NYSC, Boys II Men.
Favorite song from the year you started: “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” – Boys II Men
Shurell Montalvo:
Restaurant Leader at Slappey Boulevard in Albany, Georgia
Started: 4/5/2005
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: The Chicken Flatbread
Favorite Tacala memory: When Shurell’s store was hit with Hurricane Michael in 2018, she saw firsthand how everyone at her store worked together to keep safe and rebuild!
Biggest pop culture moment from the year you started: Carrie Underwood won American Idol!
Favorite song from the year you started: “Gold Digger” – Kanye and Jamie Foxx and “Since U Been Gone” – Kelly Clarkson
Jessica Beech:
Restaurant Leader at Hixson Pike in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Started: 5/15/2005
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: The Baja Sauce
Favorite Tacala memory: Jessica and her crew has a snowball fight in the parking lot after work!
Biggest pop culture moment from the year you started: YouTube was becoming a major streaming app! Favorite song from the year you started: “Feel Good Inc.” – Gorillaz
Debra Brown:
Assistant Leader at WS Young in Killeen, Texas
Started: 10/1/2014
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: Naked Chicken Chalupa
Favorite Tacala memory: Debra loves getting to travel and lend a hand at other Taco Bells!
Favorite song from the year you started: “Happy” – Pharrell Williams
Brandy Jones:
Shift Leader at Arab in Arab, Alabama
Started: 3/9/2015
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: Quesalupa
Favorite Tacala memory: When Brandy’s store received their first perfect core score!
Biggest pop culture moment from the year you started: Brandy remembers doing the hit dance the “whip and nae-nae” with her nieces and nephews!
Favorite song from the year you started: “See You Again” – Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth
Jessica Hinojosa:
Area Coach in Waco, Texas
Started: 4/15/2015
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: Cantina Bowl
Favorite Tacala memory: Getting to travel and attend the North Star Leadership Conference every year!
Biggest pop culture moment from the year you started: Jessica remembers Taylor Swift being the biggest popstar, in her opinion, and still loves her today!
Favorite song from the year you started: “Uptown Funk” – Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson
Tyler Lawson:
Restaurant Leader at Corbin in Corbin, Kentucky
Started: 4/22/2015
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: Grilled Cheese Burrito
Favorite Tacala memory: Tyler went to help another store prepare for their core evaluation and was surprised by his mentor Michael Byrd who offered him a Restaurant Leader position!
Biggest pop culture moment from the year you started: The infamous Doritos Locos Taco was released!
Favorite song from the year you started: “Payphone” – Maroon 5 and Wiz Khalifa
Jordan McCoy:
Shift Leader at Oneida in Oneida, Tennessee
Started: 4/30/2015
Favorite Taco Bell menu item: Grilled Stuffed Nacho
Favorite Tacala memory: Jordan remembers being promoted to shift leader in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic!
Biggest pop culture moment from the year you started: The internet was divided over the black and blue or the white and gold dress!
Favorite song from the year you started: “Stressed Out” – Twenty One Pilots
We hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane! Click here to listen to our decade’s playlist – curated from our employees’ top hits from their first year at Tacala!
