Steve Bigari, CEO of Stellar Restaurant Solutions credits Mayor Steve Bach’s outreach efforts for their company’s decision to base their corporate headquarters in Colorado Springs. Stellar, a call center serving restaurants across the country, projects to add 2000 more jobs over the next 18 months.
Bigari said, “We’re very excited to make this announcement and want to thank Mayor Steve Bach and his team for helping us put the deal together. It was Mayor Bach’s heart that made the difference for us; he has changed the heart of the city. He asked what he could do to help. He created an environment to make it happen so we could locate our corporate headquarters in Colorado Springs. People think it only takes money to attract or keep a business; what it took was someone making us feel like we belong.”
Colorado Springs was chosen after a six-month decision process by Stellar Management and won out over Dallas, Texas and Pheonix, Arizona. Stellar Restaurant Solutions is the brainchild of Steve Bigari who innovated the multi-lane drive-through concept and also took orders for his McDonald’s Restaurants via his own call center. Today, Stellar is part of a global organization and takes orders for restaurant chains across the country like PF Changs China Bistro, CPK, and Qdoba Mexican Grill.
At this morning’s announcement, Mayor Bach said, “Our number one goal is to make Colorado Springs the most business friendly city, eliminate red tape, and treat employers as friends and customers. Bob Cope and Steve Cox from our Office of Economic Vitality and Innovation worked closely with Stellar management. It’s a great day – entrepreneurship is alive and well in Colorado Springs!”
Mayor Bach continued, “It takes flexibility and treating people with respect. We have a ‘can-do’ team who ask what they can do to ensure the City is supportive. Change is difficult. Rather than a sedentary approach, we strive to be lean and quick. It’s one thing to express feelings and another to get results.”
In response to whether Stellar’s decision hinged on the quality of the Colorado Springs workforce, Mr. Bigari said, “Yes, we have amazing people here and our employees are are full-on profit participants in the future of Stellar. They are energized and mobilize to get things done. We want to help them build careers and provide substantial job opportunities for the future.”
Stellar’s new headquarters is located at 5825 Mark Dabling Blvd. It holds a call center of 180 work stations with 500 more being added in the next few days. Painted on the wall in big bold letters are the words, “Stellar is Passionate About People and Passionate About the Customer”. Below that is Bigari’s leadership philosophy:
Open Book Management
- Know the rules
- Keep score
- Share a stake in the outcome
A practical approach for a very productive environment!
