Last Tuesday, the Boston Avenue Boloco location celebrated its birthday in an unconventional way — by giving each of its customers a present. In honor of their 15th anniversary, various Boloco stores have been offering free mini- and small-sized burritos and $1 regular-sized burritos.
"We're excited about it," Boloco's Director of Marketing Cait Simmons said. "We usually do one or two ‘free burrito' days a year so we decided ‘Let's make it a big deal.'"
Heightened enthusiasm for the Tex-Mex staple shown outside Boloco represents an emerging trend in the greater Boston area. Over recent years, the number of burrito joints in Boston has grown tremendously, and there are now 15 locations within a five-minute walk from the Downtown Crossing MBTA station, according to Urbanspoon, an online restaurant locator.
Across the country, consumption of burritos is tipping scales and busting banks. Mint, an online personal finance resource, compiled the staggering figures in its interactive report,"The Great Burrito Breakdown: How the Consumption of this Mexican Food Favorite Impacts the National Economy." According to Mint, in 2009, the collective production value of tortillas, beans, meat, lettuce, salsa, guacamole and rice was over $127.5 billion dollars, with nearly $2 billion spent on the tortilla casings alone. "Burrito Breakdown" also included reports on the astounding amount of salsa — 89.5 pounds per capita — consumed in the United States.
Although it's not a national chain, the New England franchise Boloco: Inspired Burritos definitely contributes to these huge sales. With 19 locations across the Northeast, the company has grown exponentially since it was originally founded as "The Wrap" in 1997. The past year has been one of their best "growing years" to date, according to Simmons.
"We noticed the shift in dialogue and fear of heavy carb ‘wraps,' so one day we became ‘Boloco: Inspired Burritos' without changing a thing on our menu," she said. Since then, the company has undergone many marketing shifts to appeal to new audiences, especially the thousands of college students in Boston. Boloco flaunts its eco-friendly attitude with recycled cups that proudly proclaim where they originated. In addition, many menu items can be ordered on new touch screen monitors. More important to Simmons are the various sizes they offer.
"One thing that others don't have is variety in sizes, which I think is really important because just looking at our competitors can give me a food baby," she said.
Boloco has also found a way to capitalize on this surge in burrito culture. Simmons noted that, despite Boloco's rent troubles at the Tufts location, the company at large is expanding beyond its original Boston base.
"For us, business really has been booming," she said. "We're actually opening new locations in Vermont and New Hampshire this year."
Competition isn't short for Boloco, with national and regional chains like Anna's Taqueria, Qdoba Mexican Grill and Taco Bell encroaching on its home turf.
One restaurant that has firmly cemented its place in the stomachs of loyal customers is Chipotle Mexican Grill. Originating in Colorado, Chipotle has expanded rapidly in the Northeast, capitalizing on a market whose palate wasn't as exposed to the Tex-Mex flavors.
"I think all across the country the burrito business just boomed," Mike Mendez, general manager of Chipotle's Davis Square location, said. "Everyone loves them because they're tired of burgers."
Mendez attributes Chipotle's success to the steady stream of college students coming through the door.
"Students just love this food," he said, adding that it's an inexpensive way to eat out that's quick and easy. In particular, he cited the menu's innovative "burrito bowls," which allow for a lot of food for a low price, as a contributing factor the chain's success.
Apart from appealing to the taste buds of a younger crowd, Mendez feels that the company's "Food With Integrity" campaign resonates with his customers. Chipotle ascribes to the organic food movement, offering local produce and hormone-free meat.
"We really push that," Mendez said.
Mendez is working with Boston Sports Club on promotions for his health-conscious clients, who appreciate the particularity Chipotle offers with their food, down to how the jalapenos are cut for their salsa.
"We have a really high food cost compared to our competition, but that's not really what it's about," Mendez said.
Depending on what goes into a burrito, Mendez's message of healthy tortillas can ring true. According to Jessica McGovern, a Master of Science candidate at the Friedman School of Nutrition, a typical burrito adorned with beans, rice, chicken, vegetables and salsa contains around 500 calories, or roughly one-third of the average person's caloric intake for the day.
"Burritos can make a healthy and convenient meal if you choose wisely," she told the Daily in an email. "Try salsa instead of sour cream, pile on the fresh vegetables, choose whole wheat wraps and brown rice and stick to leaner meats or no meat at all."
McGovern also commented on the new trend of burrito joints popping up around town.
"Wraps … will always be around in a city simply due to convenience," she said. "The trend of burrito restaurants may have something to do with an increasing interest in Mexican cuisine in Boston, although I think that it has more to do with convenience and the emphasis that a few of the bigger burrito chains place on sustainability and being green."
McGovern went on to say that people look for businesses with similar values to their own, and that many burrito joints offer a convenient meal a customer can feel good about.
The Tex-Mex tortilla certainly has made an impact, both around the city and on campus, where Carmichael offers a build-your-own-burrito station twice a week. Sophomore Maia Plantevin, an international student for whom burritos are a novel meal, noted that the display at Boloco last week caught her eye.
"I noticed at lunch, but came back for dinner too," she said. "For me it's new, since when I came to the U.S. I had never had them. I'd say now burritos are a pretty regular part of my diet."
