Bubbakoo's Burritos food on display
By Ed Avis
When Bill Hart and Paul Altero started putting together the pieces of their new concept, Bubbakoo’s Burritos, about a dozen years ago, they tapped into their 10 years of shared experience at Johnny Rockets and their love of burritos, fueled by visits to Chipotle.
“We never talked too much about the idea until we started eating at Chipotle during our last year at Johnny Rockets,” says Hart, co-CEO with Altero of the growing chain, which is based in New Jersey. “Chipotle wasn’t franchising, so we took the talents we developed at Johnny Rockets and mashed them with the burrito concept.”
The result is a make-your-own burrito restaurant with a strong focus on customer service, similar to the level of Johnny Rockets, where fun interactions with customers are part of the concept. Bubbakoo’s opened its first location in 2008, and has 32 locations now. And growth is accelerating – 31 additional locations are in various stages of development.
“We have locations in five states now, and we’re working on locations in two other states,” Hart says, adding that they hope to have 100 locations open or in some stage of development by the end of 2019.
Innovative Food, Service Focus
Bubbakoos Burritos burrito line
Bubbakoo’s menu is broader and more innovative than a typical fast food burrito shop. Customers order in a four-step process. First they choose the form their entrée will take, such as burrito, tacos or Chiwawa (a proprietary deep-fried cheesy rice ball). Next they choose from a list of innovative proteins, such as Hibachi Style Steak, Hand Shredded Carnitas, or Vegan Boca Patty. Third, they select toppings, which range from brown rice to corn salsa to spring mix. Finally, they choose from among eight sauces of increasing degrees of heat, from Southern Style BBQ to Ghost Pepper.
Hart says he and Alero develop the menu themselves. “Paul and myself sit down and have lunch and find different flavors to add to our meats. We were messing around with sriracha one day and that led to our sriracha pork burrito, and it’s terrific. We are always looking for those kinds of things – we want stay on top of things.”
Hart says the chain’s success is also due to the total customer experience it offers.
Vincent Damiano
Bubbakoo's Innovative Burritos
“Service was the number one thing we took out of our experience at Johnny Rockets,” he says. “It’s a throwback to the ‘30s and ‘40s, when everyone knew your name, you sat down and relaxed and enjoyed your time in the restaurant. That’s our thing at Bubbakoo’s – it’s quick service, but when customers sit down we ask them how their day is and ask what else they need. It’s quick service with a full-service feel.”
Hart says employees all carry a card with the “guest promise” on one side and the “steps to service” on the other side. The steps include greeting the guests as they come in the door, checking on tables regularly, and offering refills or dessert.
“We take care of them quickly, but once they leave the cash register, the experience is not over,” he says. “It lasts until they leave.”
Using Existing Spaces
Bubbakoo's Burritos dining room
Another key to Bubbakoo’s growth has been repurposing existing restaurant spaces, Hart says. The company’s first eight locations were all buildouts of closed restaurants, which saved them money because much of the infrastructure was already in place.
“We like pre-existing, second-generation restaurants,” he says. “I wouldn’t say we always prefer it, but it’s an avenue we’ve taken many times. If you save $100,000 on a buildout, you do it.”
The company owned all its locations until 2015, when it began franchising. It has 23 franchised locations now, and the majority of the upcoming locations will be franchises.
Maintaining quality can be a challenge with franchise locations, but Hart believes the training program they’ve developed overcomes that.
“We spent an entire year putting together the training materials and the franchisee guidelines,” he says. “We came up with a four-week training program, increased it to five weeks this year. From the franchise side, they send two or three managers, or the owners come if they want. And when they go back and get ready to open, we spend seven to 10 days on site helping them. We send a crew that includes an opening unit coordinator and another crew member or other manager. They train the crew members while the managers get their feet wet in their new store.”
Future
Hart and Altero have top-level executive help these days. They hired their former boss at Johnny Rockets, Ron Bidinost, as the vice president of construction about two years ago, and recently added Gus DiGiovanni as vice president of operations. DiGiovanni oversaw the addition of 500 Dunkin’ Donuts locations in his previous position.
Even with those experienced pros helping, Hart and Altero are deeply involved in the strategic decisions.
“My partner and I live around the corner from each other and have coffee and talk about what’s ahead,” Hart says. “We’re blessed with what we have so far, and want to continue to grow. We want to be a successful brand that is longstanding, and to do that, we need to do it strategically.”
Ed Avis is the publisher of el Restaurante. Is your restaurant doing something interesting or growing successfully? Please tell us! Send Ed an email at edavis@restmex.com.