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PHOTO BY ALICIA NICKLES
BATTLING BURRITOS^
ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY SUPPORTS 1A MEXICAN RESTAURANTS
"PLEASE, PASS THE SALSA"
“T” I I r \/^ r A 1999 was not the year
L. I L f\ I \ Starbucks began the corporate
takeover of downtown Athens. Looking back to the last year of
the old millennium, people will not recall the bickering, heavy
scrutiny and moral dilemmas that arose from choosing where to
purchase and drink coffee. In the future, 1999 will simply be
known as "The Coming of the Bum to."
Skeptical? The proof lies everywhere. Once upon a time there
were three Mexican restaurants to choose among: Manuel's, and
later, the Taco Stand and Mean Bean (four if you include the fast
food chSin Taco Bell). Today, you can still go to all of those. Or La
Bamba or Agua Linda. Oh, and of course Taqueria La Parilla, Tierra
Caliente and Compadres. Oops, almost forgot La Caruela, Francis'
Mexican Restaurant and the two La Fiestas. Oh, and remember
Mexicali Grille, On the Border and Z-Teca. Three more—
Jamburritos, Barbaritos and Xtreme Burrito —are all coming soon.
And do not assume this is a complete list, for there are even more
local restaurants that will be more than happy to o’ve Athens citi
zens their burrito fix.
So why all the sudden are
burrito establishments
springing up all over Athens?
Of course, the most obvious
answer is the presence of UGA,
but there are other reasons.
Heather Johnson, Marketing
Director for Z-Teca, stated that
Athens has perfect demo
graphics for the burrito busi
ness, plus the added bonus of
being near Atlanta.
There are some burrito
entrepreneurs, however, who
feel they're offering something
new to the diet of Athenians.
Adam Jaffe, owner of
Jamburrit-'S, says his reason for
coming to Athens is to provide
an upscale, healthy alternative to fast food. While conducting stu
dent studies, he found that many students did not feel there were
any healthy fast food establishments here.
Instead of the traditional, non-decorated fast food restaurant,
Jaffe explains that Jamburritos will be an upscale fast food estab
lishment that will be an attractive place to hang out with friends.
"We're offering a new product to Athens" says Jaffe. "No one
has done it yet.
"No one" would have to refer to Manuel's, the Taco Stand and
Mean Bean, the three "founding fathers and mothers" of the bur
rito business in Athens. For years, Manuel's reigned unchallenged
as Athens' source for Mexican food. It recently reopened as
Manuel's The Next Generation. The Taco Stand opened back in
1977, when Randal Roberts and a partner from Kansas opened the
doors to the Athens community. They thought Athens needed a
burrito restaurant like the ones that littered their home state.
Their plan worked, and their success inspired Susan Atkinson, the
owner of Mean Bean, to start her own version of a burrito restau
rant in 1984.
"We copied the Taco Stand outright," said Atkinson. "The
owner (Roberts) knew it He even gave us some of his old equip
ment. We ate there so much we decided to do it ourselves."
Meanwhile, events on the West Coast were beginning to shape
a new image of the burrito. Richard Greene, owner of Xtreme
Burrito, explains that the sadden explosion of burrito establish
ments is not limited just to Athens; it's becoming a countrywide
trend.
"The gourmet burrito is the fastest growing niche," said
Greene. "In California, there are no burger joints, but there is a
burrito shop on every comer."
Why have gourmet bunitos become so popular? Unlike the tra
ditional bunitos that the Taco Stand, Mean Bean and others serve,
a new concept of gourmet bunitos has been changing the face of
popular dining. The traditional burrito, served with rice, beans,
salsa and meat, has been revamped to better satisfy a more health
conscious society. Hence, many of the new burrito restaurants are
riding on the health wave.
"A tfhrrito is tons of flavor and tons of fat, hence gourmet bur-
ritos," said Greene.
And the new places are making sure you notice their healthy
approach. At Z-Teca, information cards (located conveniently next
to the take-out menu) break down rutrition content versus reg
ular fast food. Z-Teca, like
Jair Bunitos and Xtreme Burrito
and other new gourmet burrito
restaurants, grills its meats to
allow excess fat to drip off and
strives to moke each burrito
fresh and nutritious.
"Some places have can-
openers. We don't have a can-
opener in the place," said
Johnson. "We prepare every
thing fresh in front of your
eyes."
One fact remains: these bur-
ritos, too, are far from Mexican.
With names and bunitos such
as the buffJo chicken burrito
and Farmer Bob's garden bur
rito, the new burrito restau
rants are experimenting with flavors and trying to change the face
of bunitos.
According to the San Francisco Examiner, Americans consumed
nearly Sll billion worth of Mexican cuisine in 1995, as opposed to
$8 billion of Italian and $4 billion of Chinese. With numbers like
these, it came as no surprise to find that many of the area's bur
rito restaurants are not worried about the sudden influx.
"If Taco Stand and Mean were the only competition, we would
be in trouble, because they make great food," said Jaffe.
"I used to be afraid, and I thought they would kill us, but they
never have," said Roberts. "Everyone has their own slant on the
burrito. It's all a matter of personal preference. We might not be
the best, but we were the first."
"I think the Mean Bean will last," said Atkinson.
"Competition could make it better for everyone " said Greene.
With each burrito restaurant claiming a unique take on the
delicacy, there was only one common sentiment to be found
among restaurants. Everyone, including Tierca Caliente owner
Kimberly Moreland, almost expressed verbatim, "The food is great
here. If we got the word out to people, they'd come here."
With the growing number of burrito restaurants, it is safe to
say the word is definitely out there.
Geoff Carr
MOUTH WATERING FOR MEXICAN? HERE'S THE LINEUP
AGUA LINDA
1476 Prince Ave., S'3-6777
BARBARITOS (Coming Soon)
259 E. Clayton St
COMPADRES
320 E. Clayton St, 546-0190
1120 Baxter St, 354-1696
FRANCIS'MEXICAN RESTAURANT
1225 N. Chase St, 425-0444
JAMBURRITOS (Coming Soon)
1055 Gaines School Rd., 353-8505
LA BAMBA
151 E. Broad St, 543-0023
LACAZUELA
2455 Broad St, 548-5663
LA FIESTA NO.1
995 Hawthorne Ave., 54V4?4t
LA FIESTA NO^
1395 College Station Rd., 549-5933
MANUEL'S: THE NEXT GENERATION
840 W. Broad St, 369-9942
MEAN BEAN
1675 S. Lumpkin St, 549-4868
Georgetown Sq., 549-5411
MEXICALI GRILLE
2139 W. Broad St, 546-7327
3690 Atlanta Hwy., 369-9163
2301 College Station Rd., 546-9200
ON THE BORDER
3640 Atlanta Hwy., 543-2299
TACO BELL
2197 W. Broad St, 548-7160
3196 Atlanta Hwy., 548-9920
2075 Barnett Shoals Rd., 543-5355
TACO STAND
670 N. Milledge Ave., 549-2894
247 E. Broad St, 549-1446
2270 Barnett Shoals Rd., 549-5481
TAQUERIA LA PARILLA
3467 Jefferson Rd., 549-4977
TIERRA CALIENTE
114 Rowe Rd., 353-9020
XTREME BURRITO (Coming Soon)
730 Baxter St, 227-9444
Z-TECA
Colonial Promenade Beech wood, 354-8811
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JANUARY 19, 2000 FLAGPOLE
