LET'S EAT: The Original Burrito & Company

If you’re a regular at The Original Burrito & Company, it’s likely they’ve got your number.

Your order number, that is.

For the past 25 years, The Original Burrito & Company has made Ahwatukee Foothills its home. When the restaurant started, manager Monica Delacruz was 9 years old.

She said restaurant regulars have seen her grow up, and she’s witnessed her regulars’ kids and grandkids mature. Delacruz has gotten to know what her customers usually order, even down to the “extra” sides.

Delacruz added that it’s great seeing new faces as well.

Her mother Margaret and her uncle Tommy Martinez are the ones who started the restaurant.

For Martinez, making burritos was a hobby he turned into a business.

“I did a little bit as far as searching to see what was out there, and I noticed that the concept of the burrito had not been established like a sandwich shop,” Martinez said.

Location was crucial to the restaurant’s success. Back then, the store’s address at 4865 E. Elliot Road was located in the only strip mall in the area.

The liquor store next door used to be a Circle K, and Martinez said the construction workers in the area would stop there for coffee all the time.

“That’s really what triggered the success, besides the food,” Martinez said.

The fare is based off Delacruz’s grandmother’s recipes, very traditional dishes from Mexico.

The Original Burrito & Company is running a special on tamales for $12 a dozen and plans on rolling out chicken and vegetarian tamales next week.

Delacruz said a large banner outside lets people know about the sale because most think tamales are only for the Christmas season.

Other promotions are 99-cent soft tacos on Tuesdays, and they give special discounts to high school students.

For more information, call (480) 893-3857 or visit www.burritocompany.com.