The Jamburritos Cajun Grille food truck is hoping to expand to a brick-and-mortar by next fall, said Jamburritos chef Michael Brown.
The Cajun food truck serves up classic Southern soul food with a Western twist. Take the catfish quesadilla for example, with the Southern taste of fried catfish and the Mexican influence of the flour tortilla. This is the same kind of cooking that Brown said he hopes to bring to his sit-down restaurant.
“I had originally started with a business plan for a brick-and-mortar but when the idea of a food truck presented itself we took it,” Brown said.
While his original dream of opening a restaurant in the Valley of the Sun turned into opening a mobile food truck, in the long run, it became a better option, Brown said. Being mobile helps to spread awareness from city to city, he said, and it also shows Brown where his food is most enjoyed.
Determining where to place the brick-and-mortar will be decided by how much the community welcomes Brown’s food.
“Some of the places I’m looking into are up by Seventh Avenue and McDowell Road or around the southern Phoenix area,” Brown said.
From the sounds of soulful jazz that floats from the food truck to the Mardi Gras colors in the detailing of the mobile restaurant, Brown’s future stationary restaurant will have just as much pizazz.
“Cobble stone, wrought iron and a mixture of the bayou and French Quarter is what customers can expect to see in the brick-and-mortar,” Brown said.
To understand the entire concept of Jamburritos you have to imagine a Cajun Chipotle, Brown said. The food should cater to what people want while still having Cajun flavor and the appearance of a burrito.
The brand for Brown is just as important as the food, and he said that the name Jamburritos will remain the same and the food truck will stick around too.
“I want to have both the food truck and the restaurant,” Brown said. “The food truck should serve as an extended arm; marketing our food and serving at events like Food Truck Fridays.”
Customers can also look forward to a new mascot called Jazzy Jamburrito. Brown said it will be a saxophone playing crawfish who will symbolize the jazz and culture of New Orleans while also spreading the message to kids to “be cool and stay in school.”
At the Open Air Market, located at Pierce Street and Central Avenue, customers were eager to hear about a new restaurant.
College of Public Programs student Jessi Voss said that if Jamburritos opened up a restaurant downtown she would definitely be a customer.
Carey Avery, a downtown Phoenix local, said that while the food trucks add some fun and variety to the city that restaurants are in demand.
“What this place needs is more inexpensive restaurants,” Avery said. “If we can expect the same food and prices then we’re all for it.”
Jamburritos still has a long way to go until they can open their restaurant and they are looking for investors, Brown said.
However, the food truck is still around and even has a semi-permanent location at 419 E. Roosevelt St. in the Eye Lounge parking lot Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. They offer weekly specials and a 10 percent discount for ASU students who show their ID.
Contact the reporter at angoe@asu.edu
