Two BarBurrito Franchises Opening In Moncton
MONCTON–The franchisor that brought BarBurrito to Atlantic Canada plans to sell its signature Tex-Mex cuisine to Monctoners by late this summer.
Grateful Foods Inc. is the company behind the Toronto-headquartered chain’s Atlantic Canadian presence. Rob Green, a managing partner, told Huddle he has plans for two Moncton BarBurrito locations and hopes to break ground for the first in May.
Green, whose negotiations include talks with franchisees for new BarBurrito locations in the Halifax area, plans to open a second Moncton location in 2023.
While it’s not difficult to find franchisees in Atlantic Canada, Green said it’s a challenge to find a location that’s suitable for BarBurrito’s needs.
“I’m actually working with a landlord right now for a lease in Moncton – I can’t say who it is or what it is, because I don’t do that until the ink is dried,” he said.
“We’re in negotiations and, hopefully, we’ll have those closed in the next month or so, begin construction, and open probably in the late summer of this year.”
In an interview with Retail Insider, BarBurrito Restaurants Inc. global development VP Shawn Saraga said the ideal location for BarBurrito franchises would be “Costco-styled power centres,” a description that would fit Moncton’s Granite Centre, home to Costco and future perch of Simply For Life, perfectly.
When asked about that association, Green didn’t confirm or reject the idea of a Granite Center-based BarBurrito.
“As a general rule, our franchisees have found the greatest success in locations anchored by grocery stores. Our number two most successful franchises were at big-box locations like the Bayers Lake Shopping Centre or Dartmouth Crossing,” he said.
“Those sorts of developments draw a lot of traffic and have a lot of crossover, in terms of consumers. It could be all sorts of food and retail–and tertiary locations can really be anywhere where there’s a population to justify it.”
He said the ideal footprint for a BarBurrito in Moncton would need at between 1,100 and 1,500 square feet to accommodate the kitchen, ranges, fridges, freezers, and fryers the restaurant relies on to prepare its food, which it makes on site.
“For seating, it depends on the space, but it ranges from 12 to 26,” he said.
When built and opened, each new BarBurrito in Moncton could bring eight to 12 jobs.
“It depends on the volume of the restaurant, but based on my experience, operating the corporate store, we have 11 staff members, and six of them are full-time,” he said.
Green opened Atlantic Canada’s first BarBurrito location in Dartmouth in October of 2020 and its sole New Brunswick location in Fredericton in October 2021.
“I currently have five other under construction or with leases in negotiation now,” he said.
Atlantic Canada’s first BarBurrito opened at Tacoma Plaza in Dartmouth in November 2020 – one of 158 the chain owns across Canada.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].