The QUESO Framework: how Condado Tacos built a culture-first restaurant empire | 072

The QUESO Framework: how Condado Tacos built a culture-first restaurant empire | 072

From The Pre-Shift by 7shifts

November 5, 2025 · 25 min

About this episode

Joe Kahn and Chris Artinian discuss how Condado Tacos grew into a large brand while maintaining its core values through the QUESO framework.

How do you grow from a single taco joint to a 50+ location brand without losing the soul of your company? For Joe Kahn and Chris Artinian of Condado Tacos, the answer is simple: QUESO. In this episode, Founder Joe Kahn and CEO Chris Artinian share the origin story of Condado Tacos, built on the principle of creating a restaurant where people would want to work forever. They detail their unique "QUESO" framework—Quality, Unique, Empowered, Service, and Opportunity—that serves as the lens for e...

People in this episode

Guests: Joe Kahn, Chris Artinian

Topics covered

  • restaurant culture
  • business growth
  • leadership
  • employee empowerment
  • QUESO framework

Keywords

  • Condado Tacos
  • restaurant empire
  • QUESO framework
  • business culture
  • employee retention

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Condado Tacos

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