Charities Fear Possible ‘Go’ Order for Taco Bell
Orange County society is holding its breath: Will Taco Bell CEO John Martin take his Irvine-based company to Texas and thereby take with him the hundreds of thousands of dollars the corporation annually generates on behalf of local charities?
“Two weeks ago we were this close to announcing a move to Texas,” Martin said on Friday in the Turtle Rock home he shares with his girlfriend, Stefanie Mayer.
“Then Gov. Pete Wilson became very much involved (in trying to keep the company here) and (Assembly Speaker) Willie Brown, too. Big time. And developers Don Bren and Don Koll.
“I think people are finally recognizing that there will be a big hole in this community--houses on the market, for example--if we leave.”
In recent years, Taco Bell Corp. has made a donation of $500,000 to the Orange County Performing Arts Center, endowed a $500,000 chair at UCI’s Graduate School of Management and made a commitment to raise $500,000 on behalf of Hoag Hospital’s new emergency care unit.
On Saturday night, Martin helped Taco Bell Corp. raise upward of $150,000 on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. of Orange County. During the festivities at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, Martin was presented with MDA’s prestigious Gift of Hope Award.
If Taco Bell decides to leave Irvine for Dallas or Ft. Worth (Martin will announce his decision in one week), the company will remain in Orange County for 2 1/2 years. “And while we are still here, we will continue to be an active part of the community,” he said.
“But it will have to wind down. What will happen is, we will have to rev up in Texas, which will be our new home. We will need to give back to the community there.”
Martin doesn’t want to leave the Golden State. “My druthers would be to stay in California. We are a California company; we were born here 32 years ago. There’s something about the West Coast--a creative energy, the access to the Pacific Rim,” he said.
But Texas is beckoning with arms open so wide that Martin is torn. “Texas is the most aggressive state I’ve ever seen in terms of giving tax incentives, training incentives.
“I’ve told Gov. Wilson, ‘You’ve got to understand. This is not about Taco Bell trying to squeeze blood out of California or Orange County. I have an offer on the table today from (Gov.) Ann Richards of Texas that is millions of dollars better than the best you guys can do.
And in addition to that, they love business.’
“In the end, it comes down to a decision I have to make . . . a tough decision,” he said. “The reality is that Southern California is never going to be able to match the land cost of doing business in Texas.”
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Meanwhile, Martin, who says he works 80-hour weeks, traveling 50% of the time, will continue to use his hilltop Irvine digs as an escape from his pressure-cooker career. (Since joining Pepsico in 1983, he has taken Taco Bell from a regional Mexican food chain with 1,500 outlets and $500 million in sales to an international business with 10,000 points of access and sales of $3.9 billion. His goal: “To be the ultimate feeder --be in 250,000 places in 10 years.”)
“I would keep this house if we went to Dallas, “ he said. “My wonderful 13-year-old daughter lives close by. I would want a grounding point.”
When Martin leads you through his newly renovated, 27-year-old home, he is careful to point out its rounded architectural edges. “Nothing comes to a point here; everything is rounded. It’s supposed to be some great spiritual thing. I don’t know if it’s true or not.”
What is true for Martin, 48, who has been twice married and twice divorced, is the special relationship he shares with Mayer, 28, a blue-eyed brunette he met two years ago when she was a hostess at Bistro 201 restaurant in Irvine.
“She is very nice, very respectful. And she has a heart of gold,” Martin said, sending a shy smile Mayer’s way. “We’re both very patient people. That’s why it works.”
Said Mayer: “We get along well because he is very caring. He cares about my feelings. He has respect for people in general. You can tell it comes from his heart. There are not a lot of men out there who are real nice, who understand and care about you.”
Martin calls their friendship the most unique relationship he has ever experienced. “We spend enormous amounts of time together. We go out of our way to spend time together. With the pace we have, the chance for friction is enormous, but it’s not there.
“I can’t imagine why anybody, with the schedule I’ve got, the stress, would want to be with me. She’s a young lady with a future. She could do anything she wants. Yet she’s signed up for something that’s not easy.”
Mayer can’t imagine life without Martin. “I’ve thought about it. I’m young. I could be doing other things right now, like pursuing a career. But I feel I want to do this, support him. It makes me happy.”
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For down-time, Mayer and Martin ride the Harley he parks in the garage next to his 600SL Mercedes (“We love Sunday rides down the coast,” he said); sample the fine wines he keeps in a tiny cellar (“See this one? It was bottled in 1962, the year Taco Bell was born”); and dine out several nights a week at favorite restaurants that include Gustaf Anders, Five Feet, Antonello, Pascal and Trees (“A quiet dinner together--that’s our favorite thing to do,” he said).
And Taco Bell, of course. “She’s the Taco Bell Queen,” he said, laughing.
“I used to always go there for my birthday dinners with my pals,” said Mayer. “And I still could eat there every day. I always order a taco and a bean burrito with no onions.”
Occasionally, their May-December romance raises eyebrows on the social circuit.
But they don’t mind. “I don’t even pay attention to it very much,” Mayer said. “When people see that we’re really happy, it kind of goes away. I really don’t care.”
Said Martin: “It tends to be the more insecure women who react that way--women who have been divorced or separated. I can tell they are looking at us and saying, ‘Well, there’s no doubt in my mind that she, somehow, came between him and his wife.’ ”
Not true. “I was divorced years before I met Stefanie,” he said.
