This week, Pizza Hut and KFC welcomed a group of 20 interns to Dallas for the summer, joining teams across the organization to support marketing, human resources, nutrition and food innovation, finance, and more! Arriving from colleges and universities all over the US on planes, trains, and automobiles, we decided to add one more mode of transportation to their list: Segways! To kick off their summer adventure, the intern coordination team sent the interns out to the wilds of downtown Dallas on a visit to the Banh Mi concept shop and to explore what we’ve been told is the prettiest skyline in the world.
The field trip started with a trip to the Bánh Shop, an incubator restaurant brought to life by Yum! to test banh mi and other Vietnamese street food. Located just off-campus from Southern Methodist University, the Bánh Shop rethinks the traditional fast-casual lunch with an open kitchen, made-to-order noodles, sandwiches, and wok bowls, and happy hour. The Bánh Shop opened its first location in September, 2014 and expanded to DFW Airport where it quickly became one of the most popular options for travelers weary of sad airport food.
The group got a chance to talk to the Bánh Shop General Manager, Josh Garcia, about the concept restaurant and how Vietnamese street food has caught on in the area. “Here, everything is made to order. There’s nothing that’s been pre-cooked or sitting out. You saw the bowls coming out one or two at a time—they’re being cooked in an exhibition wok station,” Josh explained. “We’ve been here for about seven or eight months now, and every day it’s getting busier. If you had been here yesterday you would have seen it was pretty nuts in here!”
After filling up on summer rolls and spicy noodles, the team headed downtown for a Segway tour of Dallas. Disclaimer: those things are way harder to ride than they look. After a good bit of practice without incident, our guides took us around to the main attractions the city has to offer: Dealey Plaza, the Book Depository, Pioneer Plaza, and City Hall. The group even managed to make bike helmets look stylish.
We’re excited for the fresh energy and bold thinking these interns bring to the table. We’ll check back in with them later this summer to see what they’ve been working on, and how they’re liking the job, and whether or not they’re sick of eating pizza yet!