Aaron Engler’s ascendence to chief executive of the company his father and uncle built might not be surprising, but it was not a foregone conclusion. Already serving as president of Taco Bell franchisee Border Foods since 2019, Engler officially added CEO to his title at the beginning of February, succeeding his uncle Lee Engler.

“It means everything to me to have this opportunity,” Engler said in a recent phone interview with TCB. “I’ve been put in a position that the fraction of the population has. … To carry the legacy forward into my generation, my kids’ generation, and beyond is a lot of weight on my and my peers’ shoulders, but it’s also an incredible opportunity.”

Border Foods, founded by Jeff and Lee Engler in 1996, today operates just shy of 250 Taco Bell locations in the Upper Midwest. The company’s 250th store will open in Davenport, Iowa. Now, holding the top job at the company, Aaron Engler says it’s a “personal goal” of bump that number up to 350.

“We want to build five to 10 restaurants a year,” he said.

Here in Minnesota, Border Foods will have about 100 restaurants in total by the end of 2025, Engler said.

Engler said that the company has grown its footprint over the year through a mix of construction of new stores and acquisitions of existing ones. Border Foods’ current network of Taco Bell locations runs through 10 states, including Montana, the Dakotas, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota.

Border Foods is now one of the largest Taco Bell franchisees in the nation, and in the top three of privately-held franchisees, Engler noted. “We actually don’t have any private equity money or family office money,” he said. “We’re a family-owned business, through and through.”

The company employs about 7,500 people across all of its stores. Today, about 40 employees report to Border Foods’ corporate office in New Hope. Border Foods

Border Foods has another notable distinction as a franchisee: The company operates the first Taco Bell Defy concept, a location in Brooklyn Park with four drive-thru lanes. The store has an elevated kitchen and uses a vertical lift to deliver food to customers. The location was designed with technology, mobile app orders, and delivery drivers in mind.

“That was our idea that we went to Taco Bell to get approval to build,” he said of Taco Bell Defy. “It shows what the [quick-service restaurant] business can do with technology.”

Engler said there are no immediate plans for another Defy concept while the company continues to learn new things from the Brooklyn Park store.

During 2024, Border Foods’ business has remained stable, despite fluctuations in inflation and the wider economy. “Fast food, being on the more value-oriented side of things, tends to be a little more resilient when the economy in general is having hardships,” Engler said.