Ingredients for success: Area food manager shares career journey and importance of stepping out of your comfort zone

Thanks to his experience, Victor was hired on the spot and hit the ground running as the Arby’s restaurant manager at Love’s 223 in Ripon, California. It didn’t take long for leaders to recognize his potential for leading teams on a larger scale, and nine months later Victor accepted a promotion to area restaurant manager.

Before long, a new opportunity came up for a district manager role, which for Victor was a valuable lesson in trust and stepping out of his comfort zone.

“It took some convincing for me to say ‘yes’ to this offer because I had only ever known the world of food service. The travel stop side of the business wasn’t as familiar so I wasn’t sure I could be successful in the role,” Victor said.

However, after encouragement and a couple months of training, Victor was ready to lead multiple store teams. Even with his newfound confidence, his passion for food service never went away and in 2010 he returned to an area restaurant manager role during a series of organizational changes to help scale the company for the future.

Victor currently oversees restaurants and deli programs at more than 50 locations across the Southwest and also serves as Love’s brand ambassador for Arby’s.

Victor encourages team members to think past the mindset of, ‘Oh, that’s not my job.’ For him, cross training is vital - it allows teams to be more flexible when the unexpected happens and build vital skillsets more easily.

When it comes to becoming an effective leader at Love’s, Victor’s recipe includes three important ingredients – being approachable so your team members are more likely to open up to you, being clear that communication is a two-way street and leading by example by showing you’re not above doing the work.

Even after decades in food service, Victor is still learning something new every day and challenging himself to best support his teams and Love’s customers. When it comes to future career opportunities, especially in Food Service, the sky’s the limit.

“The one regret I have about my career is I wish I had found Love’s at a much earlier age. It’s amazing working for a company I love so much that I have no reason to update my resume. I’ll retire from Love’s, but there’s so much opportunity for me ahead,” he said.