Borracho Tacos & Tequileria general manager honored in national contest

Spokane resident Garrett Wellsandt was recently honored in a national contest for restaurant managers by el Restaurante magazine.

Wellsandt, general manager of Borracho Tacos & Tequileria, placed second in the magazine’s manager of the year contest, which was also sponsored by Jarritos, a soft drink company.

The contest, in its fourth year, honors managers at Mexican and Latin restaurants nationwide.

Jason Martinez, operations manager at Borracho, nominated Wellsandt for the contest based on his customer service and work ethic.

“When time came to open Borracho, he was the shoo-in choice to be the general manager and six years later, he’s still killing it,” Martinez said in a statement. “His attention to detail on food and drink recipes are second to none. We have four other concepts and whenever we hire new managers, they all get trained by Garrett. His talents seem to be limitless.”

Jairo Navarro, general manager of Felipe’s Mexican Taqueria in Naples, Florida won the contest. Sarah Maldonado-Acosta, general manager of El Jefe Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar in Stevensville, Maryland, placed third.

The top three winners received cash prizes and were profiled in a recent issue of el Restaurante magazine.

“Garrett is among the absolutely best managers in the business, but all of the nominees in the program deserve to be proud of their accomplishments,” Ed Avis, publisher of el Restaurante magazine said in a statement.

el Restaurante, a trade publication founded in 1997, focuses on helping owners, managers and chefs of Mexican and Latin restaurants improve their businesses.