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New Burrito Bros. beckons

A Gainesville landmark will open a location in Carrollwood on Monday.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published April 9, 2006

The postage stamp-sized location, nothing more than a cash register and a tiny kitchen, is part of its charm.

Local Burrito Bros. fans will have a lot more elbow room, and plenty of places to sit, when Burrito Bros.' first-ever franchise location opens Monday in Carrollwood. Another Burrito Bros. is planned for South Tampa.

But University of Florida alumnus Ryan McDonald, a former Outback marketing executive who got the Burrito Bros. founders' blessing to venture outside Gainesville, promises the food will be the same as what founders Janet and Randy Akerson still serve today.

"There's no way to reproduce what's up there physically," said McDonald, 33, a Gaither High School graduate. "The main reason people love Burrito Bros. is the food. We have 30 years of Janet and Randy creating a brand. We're not changing that."

All of the Burrito Bros. staples - burritos and tacos featuring Randy Akerson's secret seasonings, and his famous red sauce - will be on the menu in the new 2,000-square-foot restaurant at 11417 N Dale Mabry Highway. And the freshness standards that are the Akersons' signature still apply. That means nothing frozen, nothing microwaved, nothing canned. The restaurant won't even have a freezer, just a walk-in refrigerator for storing lettuce, tomatoes and fresh meat, McDonald said.

But he is adding a few things in the name of progress. Chicken will be offered for the first time in Burrito Bros. history. The menu will feature quesadillas with chorizo sausage, enchiladas, and a few salads topped with Mexican staples like jicama and corn. Vegans can try a sweet potato burrito.

The local Burrito Bros. will serve beer and wine, and a signature drink that is part beer, part margarita.

In an attempt to evoke the spirit of the original Burrito Bros., the famous T-shirts will be sold at the front counter, just like in Gainesville. At the back, a wall will display a collage of pictures of Burrito Bros. T-shirt sightings from around the world.

The restaurant has competition. There is a Tijuana Flats down the street, and Chipotle continues to expand its presence in Hillsborough County. But McDonald and the Akersons, who met in St. Petersburg, say they aren't worried.

The Tampa area has the state's fifth-largest population of UF alumni, many of whom pay steeply to have Primo Burritos shipped from Gainesville. Cravings for Burrito Bros. are so strong, the Akersons have shipped 28,000 burritos in the past five years to places like upstate New York, South Florida and Seattle. "It's a nostalgia thing," Janet Akerson said. "It reminds people of being in college."

[Last modified April 9, 2006, 06:38:58]