Downtown Vancouver residents are getting another option for one of North America’s fastest-growing restaurant concepts: fast and fresh Mexican food.
An Ontario-based Mucho Burrito franchisee is about to open its second B.C. restaurant on Davie Street near Burrard Street. Mucho Burrito franchisee Joe Sangha opened the chain’s first Lower Mainland restaurant in Burnaby in March. (See “Mucho competition sprouts from Chipotle success” – issue 1090; September 14-20.)
“Our Davie Street store should have been open by now, but there’s been delays in the permit process. We should be open by February,” Mucho Burrito president and CEO Alex Rechichi told Business in Vancouver Friday.
Other planned Mucho Burrito openings in B.C. in 2011 are set for Victoria, Vernon, Kelowna, North Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey and Vancouver, Rechichi said.
Franchisees of the chain are intending to cash in on the recent upswing in demand for upscale fresh Mexican fast food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG). The McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE:MCD) spinoff chain’s stock price has zoomed 167% since the beginning of 2010 and closed at US$235.95 on December 3.
All Chipotle stores are in the U.S., except for two locations in Toronto.
Rechichi plans to double Mucho Burrito’s current 33-store count by the end of 2011.
Rechichi has had previous success founding and then growing Extreme Pita to 270 locations, including 19 in B.C.