MASON CITY – Mexican food lovers will soon be able to order custom-made burritos and such with locally raised meat.
Shaun Hoffman and Lance Martin, both of Little Cedar, plan to open Burrito Bunker later this month in the former Dairy Queen store just east of Hy-Vee Gas on Fourth Street Southeast at Illinois Avenue.
“We thought there should be something else on the east side for all the high school and college students,” said Hoffman.
They got the idea from visiting build-your-own-burrito places in Ames, Cedar Falls and Iowa City, he said. “A lot of people like to have a burrito now and then.” At the Burrito Bunker, customers will be able to order their burrito just as they want, similar to at a Subway sandwich shop.
Hoffman said last week there is a lot of remodeling yet to be done, but the plan is to open the eatery next week or the week after. There will be seating and a drive-through window.
“Our big push will be locally raised meat,” Hoffman said. The beef will be raised by his dad, the pork from a farm near Floyd, and Hoffman will be raising chickens himself, he said.
“Eventually we would like to get produce (onions, tomatoes, etc.) from local growers,” Martin said.
He said the build-your-own burrito shops are very popular in college towns. With Mason City High School just across the street and North Iowa Area Community college nearby to the east, the location of Burrito Bunker should be ideal, he said.
The shop will also offer quesadillas, nachos and desserts.
For more information, find the Burrito Bunker page on Facebook. By the looks of it, customers can’t wait for it to open.