Team Member Spotlight: Melissa

Meet Melissa, the current Restaurant General Manager (RGM) at Summerwood’s Enola location and former RGM at our first ever Taco Bell Go Mobile in Lititz, PA., the brand’s new, digitally advanced restaurant concept.

Melissa was looking for something different when she joined Summerwood in 2011 after working in the grocery store sector. She was excited to work in a restaurant that looks and feels really different! Summerwood’s Lititz Taco Bell is enhanced with digital and drive-thru features that aim to keep guests in the comfort of their cars during the entire drive-thru experience (dual drive-thru lanes, contactless curbside pickup and bellhops with tablet ordering).

Now, Melissa never planned to stay at Taco Bell this long. So what has kept her here?

“To be honest… I stayed around because it’s more family-oriented,” she says of Summerwood and the level of personal and professional support she’s received over the years. “They care.”

A hardworking mother of five, Melissa goes on to say that while Summerwood’s pay is competitive, for her, it’s about working for people that actually care about your well being, know your history, and want to support and help you.

“Especially when we’re talking about the pandemic… I’ve always had them right there with me to support me,” she says. “It was always having somebody that supported me that mattered.” “As long as the support’s there, it keeps the motivation–to keep going,” she continues. “And to keep doing what you want to do.”

Like many others, Melissa has been fortunate enough to climb the career ladder at Summerwood. She started as a team member, but it didn’t take long to be recognized and promoted to Shift Manager and then Associate General Manager (ARM). Now, as RGM, Melissa’s role is to help develop and train employees to be successful in their jobs as they navigate locations like Lititz — a redefined QSR setup for hungry guests.