New burrito restaurant opens

Friday, April 27, 2007

Two simple words signal a new Lawrence food possibility that only existed in students’ imaginations until last week: burrito delivery.

Photo by Grant Snider

Big 12 Burrito, 620 W. 12th St., behind The Crossing, is testing mostly uncharted Lawrence waters as it offers its main menu item, build-your-own burritos, by delivery.

Justin Emmons, Big 12 Burrito general manager, said delivery burritos would tap into a market created by students desiring Mexican meat wraps without leaving their homes.

“Now people don’t have to drive to Burrito King from the bars,” Emmons said. “They can go straight home.”

The restaurant’s burritos cost $4.99 each and use a build-your-own format, allowing customers to choose from different tortillas and meats, as well as salsas and other toppings.

Big 12 Burrito will deliver until midnight through the rest of the spring semester and the summer, but Emmons said he planned to stretch deliveries to 3 a.m. in the fall.

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This will not be the first time a Lawrence burrito restaurant has tried offering delivery. Burrito King, 900 Illinois St., tried offering delivery service several years ago and couldn’t make it work, said Burrito King owner Jesse Zuniga.

“Our primary target is the college students,” Emmons said.

“I think delivery is mainly for pizzas and Chinese food,” Zuniga said.

He said he couldn’t make enough money from burrito delivery orders to justify the overhead costs of hiring delivery drivers and buying insurance.

Zuniga said Big 12 Burrito could find success, but he said no burrito business in Lawrence would be able to make a fortune. He said he had seen several Lawrence burrito restaurants close since Burrito King opened 12 years ago.

Qdoba Mexican Grill, formerly at 10th and Massachusetts streets, closed earlier this year.

Emmons said that cooperation with The Crossing had helped spread word about Big 12 Burrito. He said word of mouth about the restaurant had spread so fast that several people, unaware that the restaurant was only open until midnight, left phone messages after it closed Saturday night pleading for burrito deliveries.

He said Big 12 Burrito and The Crossing would offer joint promotions when the fall semester started.

Kansan staff writer Matt Erickson can be contacted at merickson@kansan.com.

— Edited by Kelly Lanigan

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