SEATTLE A new fresh Mexican fast-casual concept with a focus on healthful options is crossing the border to make its debut in the U.S. next month. But it’s not crossing the border from the south, as one might expect. It’s coming over the northern border.
Mucho Burrito, with its first unit scheduled to open in Seattle around May 15, is a concept developed by Mississauga, Ontario-based Extreme Brandz, developers and franchisors of the Extreme Pita sandwich chain and “clip-on” smoothie franchise concept Purblendz.
Founded three years ago, the Mucho Burrito chain includes 26 units in Canada. Alex Rechichi, Extreme Brandz president and chief executive, envisions seeing up to 60 open in the U.S. over the next five years.
Extreme Brandz is no stranger to the U.S. The company operates and franchises 275 Extreme Pita locations, of which 34 are in America.
Sixteen Extreme Pita operators have also added the Purblendz smoothie menu to their operations with the goal of incremental sales. The company is looking at offering the natural smoothie concept as an add-on franchise opportunity for Mucho Burrito as well.
In a recent interview, Rechichi explained why he believes Americans will love a Mexican concept from Canada:
The fresh-Mex category is pretty crowded here already. What makes Mucho Burrito different?
We developed this over three years ago as a fresh-Mex grill concept with a twist. A lot of what you see in category already includes concepts with fresh-made salsas and guacamole, but you also hear about how filling the food is. You eat it once and have to skip the next meal. We looked at how that impacted consumer frequency. One of the pillars of Extreme Pita, however, is a focus on health and we’ve pulled that into Mucho Burrito. For example, we offer three sizes of burrito, based on a 10-inch, 12-inch, or 14-inch tortilla, white or whole wheat. Quesadillas are also offered in 10- or 12-inch, and we’re extending the size options to salads as well, which can be served in baked tortilla shells.
So it’s about portion control and healthful ingredients?
Everything is fully customizable. You can have vegetables and beans in your burrito or just beans, or substitute romaine lettuce for rice, or smother your burrito in our Southwestern tomato sauce. Our protein options include 100-percent white meat chicken breast or steak. We’ve introduced charbroiled chorizo sausage, and we also have a fish option with herb-chipotle-encrusted tilapia. Our focus with our company has always been quality, freshness and health. We’ve been in the healthy food business for years (with Extreme Pita) and we understand shifts in the marketplace and education of consumers. Portion size is a big part of it, and being able to give people options.
Seattle requires menu labeling. Do you post calories?
We’ve posted calories from the beginning at Extreme Pita. Full transparency in nutritional guidelines is something we have believed in for some time. We’ll do it at Mucho Burrito in the U.S. It’s already on our website, but we’ll build on that. When other operators were scrambling to comply with menu labeling requirements, we were licking our chops because we already do it.
What are the plans for developing Seattle?
We have the first unit under construction, a 2,000-square-foot store in the Lake Serene area scheduled to open May 15. We’re working on the second location in Washington state. The franchisee is Feisal Ramjee, who operates an Extreme Pita in Seattle. He will serve as sort of an area developer to recruit and help develop the Mucho Burrito brand there. We’ll do 20 to 25 locations with other franchisees in Seattle. We’re not going to blow this out overnight.
Any differences in the way the U.S. stores will operate?
One of the challenges we had in going to the U.S. was developing flavor profiles that would account for the differences in palate. As close as we are as neighbors, there really is a difference, so we’ve been working with our culinary partners to make sure those differences are addressed. Canadians think spicy with Mexican food. We have our own brand of hot sauces that will be retailed in the restaurants. There are five sauces under the Johnny Mucho brand. One is XXX Death by Johnny. Started off a lower-skewed item but as people got more exposed, it has become one of the most popular. People are looking for spice, but spice can mean heat and flavor. We’ve been able to deliver on both.
Times are tough here. Are you offering any incentives or support for franchisees?
We’ve been doing business in U.S for five years. When we entered, the economy was doing very well. We have endured the challenging times and learned a lot about how to manage growth. With that comes planning for growth in tough times and planning for access to capital. We have had a lot of support from our lenders and we have been able to build on our expectations for Mucho Burrito working with those lenders.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].