18 July 2022 | parkcitiespeople.com
Business
FORMER TEACHERS TURN TO TACOS
Fajita Pete’s franchiser aims to give back to schools, nonprofits By Caroline Petrikas People Newspapers
A
ddiction cost Hugh Guill his career in education, but not his desire to help Texas schools. Today, Hugh and his wife Rebekah, also a former teacher, use their restaurant business to give back to the Dallas community, where their Smith Restaurant Group operates four Fajita Pete’s locations. The Guills began their careers working as high school and elementary level teachers and met in Houston, where they worked for charter schools. Beginning as a high school social studies teacher at KIPP Houston High School, Rebekah then shifted to a role as a social studies content specialist for KIPP Houston, overseeing history curriculum and teacher training. Rebekah’s love for community involvement and support deepened as she moved into nonprofit work. Although Hugh’s path echoed
Hugh and Rebekah Guill pose with two of their children, Smith and Grace, at the opening of their first Fajita Pete’s location in Park Cities; The storefront of the Guill’s new location of Fajita Pete’s on Preston and Forest. (PHOTO: the same values as Rebekah’s, his journey from teaching to tacos was a bit more complicated. After serving as a middle school science teacher for Teach for America in Denver, Hugh moved back to his hometown and transitioned into a principal role at YES Prep Gulfton in Houston. However, Hugh, who silently
struggled with substance abuse, was arrested on June 4, 2014, for possession of a controlled substance. Following his departure from the school, Hugh entered a recovery program, where he then decided to devote his career to supporting youth in recovery. Hugh enrolled in Rice University’s business school and completed
COURTESY REBEKAH AND HUGH GUILL)
his MBA before joining the Association of Recovery Schools, a consulting agency dedicated to opening high schools that help teens get sober. Transitioning to start-up company Young People in Recovery, Hugh continued to raise awareness and support for those struggling
with addiction, even speaking about the national drug crisis at a White House press conference. Experienced in the nonprofit space, the Guills helped with the branding and foundation of Fajita Pete’s with their friend Pedro “Pete” Mora. In 2019, they began franchising the restaurant in Dallas to become further involved with community engagement. Hugh now serves as the chief branding officer of Fajita Pete’s and founder and CEO of Smith Restaurant Group, where Rebekah works as the director of community engagement. Rebekah organizes and leads spirit nights and communicates with local nonprofits to coordinate fundraisers or catered lunches. “It seems like kind of a leap or a chance to go from the classroom to restaurants, but it actually made a lot of sense in terms of finding ways to make our work in the restaurant space more meaningful to us personally and also impactful in the communities that we’re in,” Rebekah said.
Fathers, Sons Team Up in Financial Services
Newly-formed BurfordCaudle Family Capital offers generational perspectives By William Taylor
william.taylor@peoplenewspapers.com
For the Burford Brothers personal financial services company established in 1984, one father and son team wasn’t enough. Scott and Charlie Burford have partnered with father and son Craig and Corbin Caudle to form BurfordCaudle Family Capital, a division of Burford Brothers.
At the office, our father/son relationship sometimes enters into the mix. But we largely leave business out of family gatherings. Someone wisely advised this from the beginning. Scott Burford The new venture is officed at 7001 Preston Road, Suite 405, in University Park, at the intersection with Lovers Lane. “This is a partnership my dad and I have dreamed of for almost two years now,” Charlie Burford said. “Craig and Corbin share the same father-son dynamics that Scott and I do, plus it is clear that their passion is fueled by extensive experience and a desire to help clients and support our team.”
FROM LEFT: Corbin and Craig Caudle with Scott and Charlie Burford. (PHOTO: JULIAN NOEL) Nice. But what’s the biggest challenge of working with your dad? CHARLIE BURFORD: Because he is my dad, and he knows I love him, I can definitely be less cordial with him than I would a normal coworker. Meanwhile, he is much better at being patient with me. Fortunately, we navigate this by being quick to forgive and see the other’s point of view. At the end of the day, we always leave on a good note, even if we have a disagreement.
CORBIN CAUDLE: Sometimes staying quiet when my father is giving a response that I may disagree with but have to yield to because I don’t have the experience level that he does. I navigate that by being patient and doing my best to look at things the way he might. What’s the difference between your relationship as father and son and coworker and coworker? SCOTT BURFORD: At the office, our
father/son relationship sometimes enters into the mix. But we largely leave business out of family gatherings. Someone wisely advised this from the beginning. CRAIG CAUDLE: Funny enough, I think we have more patience and appreciation for each other’s point of view more as coworkers, and we certainly argue less at the office than we do as just father and son. Read more of their thoughts about working with family at peoplenewspapers.com.
