Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill is a chain of
fast casual
A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the United States and Canada, does not offer full table service, but advertises higher quality food than fast food restaurants, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is an intermediate concep ...
Tex Mex
Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United ...
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
s in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
serving
Mexican-style cuisine. Restaurant service consists of: dine-in, take-out, online ordering, 3rd Party Delivery with some locations offering Drive Thru options. The company is headquartered in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, and operates over 80 company-owned and franchised restaurants throughout United States.
History
The chain was founded in 2000 by Bruce Willette. It was purchased by Phil Friedman in 2011. Friedman has rapidly expanded the number of Salsarita's, claiming that to achieve success, "It's finding the best operations person and then together growing and increasing same-store sales." Friedman has stated that he wants to grow Salsarita's into a super regional chain.
Menu
Salsarita's menu consists of six core items: burritos, bowls, quesoritos (A burrito stuffed with your favorite fillings and covered with Salsarita’s Creamy Queso), tacos, quesadillas, and salads. The price of each item is based on the choice of Grilled Chicken, Ground Beef, Grilled Steak, Shredded Pork, Sautéed Shrimp, and Fajita Vegetables. There are seven made fresh daily salsas: Mild Salsa, Hot Salsa, Medium Salsa, Pico de Gallo, Tomatillo Salsa Verde, and Pueblo Corn Salsa, and Creamy Cholula Corn. Additional optional, fresh toppings are offered including rice, beans, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced onions, cilantro, black olives, diced jalapenos, pickled jalapenos, shredded cheese, sour cream, creamy Queso, and house made fresh guacamole.
Most Salsarita's locations offer a variety of beer and wine, with a few having full-sized bars.
In 2014, the chain worked with PuckerButt Pepper of South Carolina to create the "World's Hottest Burrito" using
Carolina Reaper
The Carolina Reaper is a cultivar of the ''Capsicum chinense'' plant. Developed by American breeder Ed Currie, the pepper is red and gnarled, with a bumpy texture and small pointed tail. In 2017, ''Guinness World Records'' declared it the hottes ...
peppers.
Catering
Most Salsarita's locations offer Catering that can either be delivered or picked up. Catering options include Taco Bars, Fajita Bars, Taco Salad Bars, Nacho Bars, Burrito Boxed Lunches, Taco Salad Boxed Lunches and Salsarita's signature Fiesta Packs.
References
External links
Official website
{{Fast-food chains of the United States
Fast casual restaurants
Mexican-American cuisine
Mexican restaurants in the United States
Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina
Fast-food chains of the United States
Fast-food franchises
Fast-food Mexican restaurants
Restaurant chains in the United States
Cuisine of the Western United States
Restaurants established in 2000
Restaurants in North Carolina
American companies established in 2000
Tex-Mex restaurants