Barberitos is a

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

restaurant chain of

Mission burrito A Mission burrito (also known as a San Francisco burrito or a Mission-style burrito) is a type of burrito that first became popular during the 1960s in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. It is distinguished from other burritos by ...

-inspired restaurants based in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Georgia, United States. , 50 Barberitos restaurants were operating in seven southeastern United States. The company name is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsburrito A burrito (, ) is a dish in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine that took form in Ciudad Juárez, consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped into a sealed cylindrical shape around various ingredients. The tortilla is sometimes lightly grilled or stea ...

'', a signature item at Barberitos restaurants. The company mascot is Pepe, a grinning

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

wearing dark glasses and clutching a burrito. The idea of the restaurant developed when Barber tried eating a healthy diet without a budget, while noticing a restaurant in

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...

serving fresh food to customers. After realizing his dissatisfaction with working in a corporate career, he decided to pursue building a restaurant in Athens. At first, the business struggled, then skyrocketed after a football game between

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

. On February 20, 2020, Barberitos celebrated its 20th anniversary. The original Barberitos in downtown Athens opened in 2000. Franchising for the company began in 2002. In 2019, NFL player and UGA alum

David Pollack David M. Pollack (born June 19, 1982) is a former professional American football linebacker who played in two seasons in the National Football League (NFL), having suffered a career-ending injury in the second game of his second season. He play ...

joined Barberitos as the brand's ambassador.

References

External links

* {{Athens, Georgia Companies based in Athens, Georgia Restaurants in Georgia (U.S. state) Economy of the Southeastern United States Regional restaurant chains in the United States Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food Mexican restaurants Fast-food franchises Fast casual restaurants 2000 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)